The trouble is the macho culture.
One Latina said that homophobia isn't necessarily worse in the Latino culture, it's just that Latinos are not as restrained at expressing it.
I think I can vouch for her. When I was in my 20s, Latinos were my worst tormenters, bar none. If I had a $$ for every time I was called a joto, juaco, or maricon, I'd have been a rich man by now. Oftentimes, complete strangers'd call me that on the street. That was hard to take.
But here's the thing: age helps. The same Latino culture values age much more than the Anglo culture does, so now the Latinos respect me. Whereas I used to get called maricon a lot, now it's Senor. I like that. It's one of the nice things about growing older.
With all of this in mind, please remember: gay rights in Latin countries are often more advanced than they here are in the States. Gay marriage has been legal in Spain for a couple of years now, and in Mexico City civil unions are legal.
By contrast, in the rural South or Cowboy West of the USA, your life would still be in danger if you were "out". (Matthew Shephard was murdered in Wyoming in 1999.)