My Dallas Story: Leo Cusimano

Takeaways

  • Leo moved to Dallas reluctantly, following his husband Tony’s career and convinced Texas couldn’t compare to his beloved New Orleans.
  • What he thought would be a temporary chapter of volunteering turned into a found family, a community and a life he never expected.
  • 30-plus years later, Dallas is where Leo and Tony built a home together, raised two sons and found a chosen family that feels like it was always meant to be.

Leo Cusimano didn’t choose Dallas. Dallas chose him.

Growing up in New Orleans, Leo never imagined himself calling Texas home. So when his husband, Dr. Tony Cuevas, accepted a position with EDS in Dallas, Leo’s initial reaction was less than enthusiastic. He pictured cowboys, tumbleweeds and wide-open oil fields—nothing that could compare to the city he loved. He moved here, in his own words, “kicking and screaming.”

He’d been to Dallas just once before, when he visited Six Flags as a kid. Looking back, he couldn’t help but laugh at how his relationship with Dallas as an adult started the same way it did during his childhood—a little intimidating, a little thrilling and nothing like what he expected.

A Deal with Tony

Before the move, Leo struck a deal with his husband: he wasn’t going to work in Dallas. For six months, he kept his word. He threw himself into volunteering—stocking shelves at the AIDS Resource Center food pantry, counseling at the Nelson-Tebedo Clinic, writing newsletters for nonprofits and serving on the board of the Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance. It was the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and Leo found himself surrounded by a community fighting not just a disease, but stigma, isolation and loss.

“I was 30 years younger back then,” he said, “but I think that’s when Dallas really started feeling like home—not because I knew my way around the city, but because I’d found my purpose.”

By the time he told Tony he was ready for a part-time job, Leo wasn’t the same person who’d reluctantly arrived in Dallas a few months earlier. He’d found his purpose in Dallas, and he found likeminded people at Dallas Voice, where he was hired on the spot after meeting Publisher Robert Moore. Little did he know, his first job in Dallas would completely change the course of his life.

Finding His People

What surprised Leo most about Dallas wasn’t the skyline or the highways (though he remembers being struck by just how big the city felt that first week), it was the community. He discovered Dallas is home to the fifth-largest LGBTQ population in the United States, and he found it entirely by accident, one welcoming organization at a time.

“Dallas turned out to be so much more than I expected,” he said. “It’s a city where people with big ideas can make a real impact.”

That sense of belonging only deepened over time. Leo and Tony recently celebrated 45 years together, and 18 years ago, they adopted brothers Jeff and Elijah from the foster care system—two sons with special needs who Leo said, “completely changed [their] lives.” Dallas, he’ll tell you, has a way of enriching your life with unexpected turns.

Leo’s advice to anyone considering the move?: “Come with an open mind.” Dallas rarely looks like what people expect—and that’s exactly the point.

Rapid Fire Favorites

  • Spending 24 hours in DFW?: Pick up a copy of OUT North Texas. It’s the ultimate guide to exploring the city and discovering everything that makes North Texas so special.
  • Favorite restaurant: Salum—Abraham Salum has been creating one of Dallas’ best dining experiences for years.
  • Favorite local coffee shop: Union Coffee—great coffee, great atmosphere and a wonderful place to meet people.
  • Favorite neighborhood: The Oak Lawn Gayborhood—the heart of Dallas’ LGBTQ community and where so much of its history, culture and people come together.
  • Favorite hidden gem: The Nasher Sculpture Center Garden—a peaceful oasis in the middle of downtown that never gets old.
  • Favorite annual event: Black Tie Dinner—a celebration of the community’s generosity, resilience and commitment to equality.
  • Favorite place to bring visitors: The Gayborhood, followed by the Dallas Arts District and Klyde Warren Park.