Alexis Vargas Uses PR to Uplift Latino and LGBTQ Communities

Alexis Vargas has made it his mission to carve out a powerful niche in public relations—one that centers and celebrates Latino and LGBTQ communities through intentional storytelling, representation, and meaningful partnerships.

But his journey didn’t actually start in PR.

“I actually used to work with Houstonia magazine,” Vargas says. “Everything from fact-checking and creating content online, working with the lifestyle editor, the editor-in-chief—it was phenomenal. And it was just so wonderful, but I knew I always wanted to be a publicist.”

Vargas says that to do this work right, it was vital to experience it from the inside. “It was imperative for me to start within the media before coming to this side of things.”

After transitioning into PR, Vargas hit the ground running with major national accounts: Ford Latino, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Walmart, and Microsoft. But despite the scale and prestige, a bigger mission began to emerge, and his work took on new meaning.

“Long story short, the pandemic hit, and it really broadened my eyes to the type of publicist and human I wanted to be on this earth with this mission. I started realizing that I was working with a lot of wonderful Latino communities here in Houston that introduced me to so many different realities and worlds,” he says. “And I was like, OK. Awesome. I see the power that I have as a publicist.”

For Vargas, that meant moving away from cookie-cutter multicultural marketing and toward authentic, community-centered outreach. “There are so many aspects to us that cannot be encapsulated into a one-way approach,” he says. “A lot of people think, ‘Oh, we just gotta translate it into Spanish and launch it.’ But that’s not how it works.”

That commitment to nuance and cultural understanding led Vargas to partnerships that deeply resonated. One of the most impactful has been with Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS), a regional theater company based in downtown’s Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. “I pitched myself to the theater,” he says. “I said, ‘Hey, I am starting The Latinx Publicist. This is what I have been doing, and this is where I’m going with you.’”

That was four years ago, and since then, Alexis has helped build bridges between the theater and Latino communities through dynamic programming, audience engagement, and media collaboration.

“We’ve been creating wonderful opportunities for our media, community leaders, and different communities, inviting them into spaces where maybe in the past they haven’t felt welcome,” he says. “It’s just been so awesome being part of that change.”

As National Hispanic Heritage Month approaches, Vargas reflects on the deeper meaning of the moment and his Salvadoran roots. “It means so much to me. In Mexico, they honor and remember the people who came before us. I feel the same way during these months of celebration—we honor the people who have paved the way. We just celebrated Pride, and it was so delicious this year in Houston. I wore a traditional indigenous costume in the parade. I felt like a Disney princess. So queer, so open, so spirited. And it was powerful to honor both my queerness and my Latinidad.”

It’s not lost on Vargas that this kind of visibility was once unimaginable. “Growing up, I saw a close mentor and friend who is the VP of marketing and community for a major communications company—a queer Latino man in power,” he recalls. “And I thought, ‘How powerful is that?’ Now I look at myself and I think, ‘A younger version of me would be proud.’ Amidst the chaos, we are still becoming what we once dreamed of.”

So what’s next for Vargas? “This year has been transitional. I’m shedding versions of myself,” he notes. “I’m on the route of becoming. Returning to school at Rice University has opened up numerous opportunities for me. I’m studying different philosophies, social and environmental sciences, and exploring literature from around the world. I just took a social-justice course, and it’s been healing to learn that the pendulum always swings.”

Vargas is now dreaming forward. “Right now, you’re meeting this version of me—the publicist,” he says. “But I can’t wait for you to meet the future version of me. I’m en route.”

Keep up with Alexis Vargas on Instagram @latinxpublicist.