Trans pioneers celebrated at Vives Q
by Vern Hester 2016-07-07
This article shared 1908 times since Thu Jul 7, 2016
Vives Q presented their inaugural First Tuesday forum of 2016 on July 5 at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen.
With the recent murders of so many Latinx LGBTQA people in Orlando, this edition of the series had more heft and a more immediate level of purpose. The interview subjects for the evening were trans activists Franky Piña and Maritxa Vidal, and the forum was dedicated to the memory of the Pulse nightclub victims.
Emcee Antonio Elizondo started the evening with a dedication of the event before reading the names of all 49 victims of the Pulse shooting. Next came an acoustic performance by Elijah Fallas, then the evening promptly dovetailed into the interview segment of the forum.
With Emmanuel Garcia moderating, Latinx activist Franky Piña spoke about how he came to this country and became an out activist when he realized the U.S. was far from what he expected.
Maritxa Vidal was interviewed next, and she spoke about her family's immigration from Cuba and growing up in Skokie, Illinois. She touched on a period where she was harassed by police routinely because of her clothing. She also spoke about her past addiction to drugs, her rehabilitation and her becoming involved in community activism.
When speaking on her activism Vidal said, "You can talk 'til the cows come home but you have to back that up with action. … Change comes with revolution. … I don't want something special, I want what everybody else has."
Vidal also stated, "I'm here, I'll be 60 at the end of next week and I'll be damned if I'm going back in that closet."
Vidal has worked for the Puerto Rican Cultural Center-VIDA/SIDA for over 15 years. She provides bilingual and culturally sensitive HIV/AIDS education, counseling and testing in Chicago and 11 suburbs. In addition to working to eradicate the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Vidal is also deeply committed to fighting for the rights of the LGBTQIA community, especially her transgender sisters and those who are undocumented. Presently, she is an executive board member for the TransLatina Coalition and a co-chair for its Chicago chapter. The TransLatina Coalition is a national association to increase equality for TransLatinas, including undocumented TransLatinas, in the USA and Puerto Rico.
The next First Tuesday event is Aug. 2 at the National Museum of Mexican Art. Community partners for the event were the Chicago Freedom School, Project Vida, Gozamos, United Latino Pride, Queer Youth Exploring Spirituality ( QYES ), ALMA, and The ElevArte Community Studio.
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This article shared 1908 times since Thu Jul 7, 2016
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