Here are the stories of our community collaborators: 

 

ARI VERA MORALES

Trans activist and founder of Almas Cautivas, A.C., a nonprofit community organization that provides legal and community support services to trans people imprisoned in Mexico City's penitentiaries. 

Founder of a community-based activist organization, Ari Vera Morales talks about the challenges trans women face in Mexico City today.

nomi ramírez

Nomi serves as Executive Assistant at the Centro Nacional de Educación Sexual (CENESEX) in Cuba and is an active member of the TransCuba network. In her role of activist, she advocates for the inclusion of Afro-Cuban trans people in the public sphere. 

Story by Havana-based trans activist Nomi Ramírez, who shares her views on hope and the future of Cuba.

ROSHELL TERRANOVA

Relentless entrepreneur, cabaret performer, and trans activist, Roshell Terranova has helped the political stage for the inclusion of trans rights in Mexico City's legislation. A fierce entertainer, she is in charge of running the acclaimed night club Casa Roshell. 

As an entrepreneur, cabaret performer, and activist, Roshell Terranova shares her personal story as a trans person in Mexico City while encouraging new generations to get involved in the fight for trans rights.

roxana rojo

A cabaret performer, iconoclast, and activist, Roxy The Red, also known as Pedry González Reynoso, has captivated all audiences across Cuba. Her performances are proof that activism also takes the shape of a cabaret show through which a critique of heterosexual structures are challenged. 

Roxana Rojo, Cuban performer and activist, recounts the development of her playful doppelganger in a time when the Cuban government persecuted the social manifestations of sexual difference.

Lia la novia sirena

Lia García, better known as Lia La Novia Sirena, is a trans activist and performer whose public interventions insist on reflecting on the emotional charges that bind us. Affective encounters, or encuentros afectivos, are a series of public performances through which Lia invite the audience to think about sexuality, intimacy, and social change. 

Trans performer and activist, Lia La Novia Sirena, talks about the important role emotions play in our notions of hope.

angeline llorente

Angeline is an active member and activist of TransCuba Network, which provides health support and legal advice to trans-women living in Havana, Cuba. 

Angeline Llorente, a TransCuba member, and activist, shares the difficulties of migrating from the eastern side of Cuba to the capital city of Havana in order to find better living conditions.

In honor of activist and artist Vivian Rocco, this video pays homage to her life and artistic trajectory. Her sudden death in early 2016 reminds us of the fragility of trans lives. Rocco intertwined photography and film as a form of cultural activism from which she could speak about the diverse experiences of LGBT collectives. 

Late trans photographer Viviana Rocco, explains what it means to use her camera as a form of trans activism in Mexico City.

sisi montiel

As an activist working with Alianza Cubana Manos and director of Red Trans Fantasía, Sisi has been part of an autonomous LGBT rights movement in Cuba. In this video, she talks about the difficulties trans women face in Cuba today in spite of the many efforts to eradicate transphobia across the island. 

Sisi Montiel, an activist working with an independent NGO network in Cuba, narrates her personal story and provides insight into the status of rights for trans people in post-Soviet Cuba.