SAN ANTONIO — Richard Montez enjoys telling his story of finding himself. 

“I didn’t come out until much later. I was I think 32 when I came out, so I’m bit of a late bloomer,” Montez said. 

Montez said he’s proud of his LGBTQ+ community but also doesn’t forget his Chicano roots. He grew up in one of the most impoverished ZIP codes in Texas, the 78207. It’s a community where a lot of activism was born.

“Both communities, as you know, historically have had their challenges, so now I find myself doing work on the West Side defending my gente (people) and doing work here in the Pride district,” Montez said. 

Montez was vocal about the removal of San Antonio’s pride crosswalk, which was mostly privately funded. 

“If you let him have the crosswalk, he will come for your cultural district,” Montez said in 2025 meeting.  

Late last year, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to enforce the removal of any political ideologies from public roadways. Any city that didn’t comply would lose state and federal transportation funding. 

San Antonio, Dallas and Houston removed their pride crosswalks. New ideas followed.

“Not only is it beautiful, it’s emotional,” Lily Teran said.

Teran said she found her community when she moved to San Antonio. She’s glad the city found a solution to the removal: a rainbow sidewalk going for two blocks.

“To organize something like this is for us to let them know we are not going anywhere, we are not going to be hiding,” Teran said, walking along the pride sidewalk. “There’s no way we are going to be in a closet, if you will.” 

Montez said that is what separates San Antonio from other Texas cities. 

“The City of San Antonio is doubling down. We are standing together, and they are standing with us,” Montez said. 

San Antonio isn’t alone in finding a workaround. The City of El Paso is replacing its crosswalk with pride cylinders wrapped around streetlights. 

The governor said the goal of the removals is to enhance public safety in cities across the Lone Star State. San Antonio’s gay strip is following those guidelines while still expressing who they are. 

“Now you see three blocks of sidewalks in a pride cultural district in Texas, adorned with rainbows up and down, so we found a workaround,” Montez said.