An Ode to Ante Books
Ante Books closed its doors, but its legacy lives on. Discover the impact this unique bookstore had on the community.
February 17, 2026
“Espacio Seguro”: A Testament of Queerness
Words by Nina Alegre
Edited by Abigail Vela
Harlingen native Joseph Decilos (he/him) holds a strong passion to inject his artwork with his queer identity. Many of his ongoing projects involve celebrating his ancestry and where he comes from. One of his recent projects is “Espacio Seguro,” which explores intersectionality and intimacy. This project was Decilos’ testament to finding comfort in his own queerness, as it is sometimes hard for people of color to fully embrace who they are.
Although Decilos attended college to study photojournalism, he prefers to describe himself as a “long-form documentarian” instead. Decilos reminisced on his upbringing in South Texas and about his photography teacher, Carlos Leal, who gave Decilos his first film camera. Decilos recalled the life-changing moment when he first touched the camera and how this magnificent and adored tool introduced him to how a photo can change our perception and help us illustrate stories in a complex, beautiful way.
The Delicate Intimacy within Photography
From a young age, Decilos was always interested in exploring the world around him through the lens of a camera. Now that he is much older and has been practicing photography for seven to eight years, Decilos states the art form has helped him in many ways, “It helped me meet new people, just get outta my comfort zone and be able to ask people to make their portrait and find ways to connect with them so they give me that intimacy that I’m looking for in my photos.”
Holding onto this sense of close comfort, Decilos gave insight about his photography exhibit “Espacio Seguro,” shown at the Corcoran School of Arts and Design in Washington D.C. and Cactus Valley Art in Harlingen. “I think for me a safe space is just somewhere out of creation that people have made for themselves […] because the world can be a shithole sometimes and especially if you’re not only being queer but also being Hispanic, you have double [the] chances of getting oppressed,” he mentioned.
Most importantly, to Decilos, an “espacio seguro” or safe space isn’t a physical place but the people he’s with. Decilos “wanted to be able to show different people’s spaces in a cohesive way that gave you a feeling of warmth and comfort.”
The Hidden Parts of OCD and Art
As an artist who has obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Decilos feels that “in a photo, in a frame when everything lines up, and everything’s just framed perfectly and just intimately, it just like clicks something in my brain, like a release of serotonin.”
In the United States, approximately 2.3% of the population has OCD, which is about 1 in 40 adults and 1 in 100 children. While OCD cannot be cured, it can be treated with medication and psychotherapy or with other treatment options such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness.
Like Decilos, many artists such as Edvard Munch and Vincent van Gogh have lived with mental health conditions, but this does not mean that an artist is limited or defined by them. In many cases, people with mental health problems can surpass any disabilities that they may have and create captivating works of art that connect people together.
Past and Present Forms of Queer Artivism
Decilos believes that just by being a queer person of color, the title of “activist” comes with it.
“I feel like, as someone who makes intimate queer art, it’s somewhat politicized no matter what it looks like. In my exhibition, I have a nude up that caused a bit of stir because people aren’t used to seeing queer bodies in that intimate setting, and automatically it becomes a political topic rather than anything,” he said.
Throughout history, many artists of all backgrounds have also fought for the LGBTQIA+ rights of their time. These include artists who have used their mediums through a political and societal lens, such as Keith Haring, the trio of artistic Canadians, General Idea and Nan Goldin, to name a few.
“I feel like I’m inherently an activist because I see things going on around me and I’m seeking to further develop and explore the story to show people,” Decilos said.
Like Haring and Goldin, Decilos uses his own art form to take control of a situation and “bring narratives out of the shadows that we don’t usually hear or see and put some on display where people can empathize and see in real-time.”
Support for the Arts
“I think growing up, it was very hard because I feel like our programs were constantly getting cut and things like that. The only reason why my teacher gave me that camera was because they were trying to take away [the] black and white photography class at my school. And so it was hard, I didn’t realize it at the time that I had such a lack of resources,” Decilos said.
Lack of funding in the arts is a common problem, especially in the RGV. When our artists have to leave to find other opportunities, they are confronted with the harsh reality that while the Valley is glowing with talent, it lacks the resources to support their creative dreams.
Decilos persevered and was able to carve his name out into the world. He currently resides in New York but thinks fondly of the Valley, where he spent most of his time living in the same house underneath the hot South Texas sun.
“The Valley is a beautiful place and a beautiful place to explore,” he said, “and now there’s like an uprising of artists that are coming out and helping educate the community and just great people like Souther at Cactus Valley [Art] that is dedicated to getting this equipment in people’s hands and having them play with it and learn about it.”
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