Henri Donnadieu
Henri Donnadieu (13 May 1943 – 12 August 2025) was a Mexican-French businessman and LGBT rights activist.
Life and career
Donnadieu was born in the French Riviera on 13 May 1943.[1] He studied political science at the Sorbonne University. He later lived in Australia and New Caledonia, where he founded the Anti-Racial Union Party.[2] In 1976 he migrated to Mexico as a political refugee, where he met Manolo Fernández, owner of the French restaurant Le Neuf located in Mexico City's Zona Rosa.[3][4]
In 1977, the couple opened El Nueve , Mexico's first openly gay bar, on the premises of Fernández's former restaurant.[1] The place attracted various Mexican personalities, such as Silvia Pinal, Pita Amor, Carlos Monsiváis, and María Félix, and became a safe space for the gay community of the Mexican capital.[5]
Donnadieu died at his home in Cuernavaca, on 12 August 2025, at the age of 82.[6]
References
- ^ a b Sandoval, Cristóbal (8 December 2025). "Historia de Henri Donnadieu, gestor y emblema de la comunidad LGBT". Grupo Milenio (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 August 2025.
- ^ "Muere Henri Donnadieu, promotor cultural y fundador del mítico bar "El Nueve"". El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 August 2025.
- ^ Cuxin, Alejandra Paulino (5 March 2020). "Carmen Salinas recibe reconocimiento de la comunidad LGBT". Diario de Yucatán (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 August 2025.
- ^ "La Zona Rosa: Territorio LGBTQ+, Territorio de libertad". Chilango (in Mexican Spanish). 24 June 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
- ^ Redacción, Por (13 August 2025). "Muere Henri Donnadieu, fundador de 'El 9′, primer bar gay de México al que fue hasta un presidente". El Financiero (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 August 2025.
- ^ Guadarrama, Por Armando (12 August 2025). "Muere Henri Donnadieu, fundador del bar 'El 9', icono LGBT+ y visionario de la noche alternativa en CDMX". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 13 August 2025.