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She fled Guatemala at a very young age because she did not resign herself to rejection, violence from society, or even facing death due to her sexual orientation and gender identity. Zafiro Rivera has lived since 1992 in San Francisco, California, a place where every day she faces challenges such as transphobia, homophobia and discrimination, acts of hate that, despite the struggle, continue to persist.
Always beautiful, with a contagious smile and full of enthusiasm, Zafiro went from being a victim to raising her voice to fight for the rights of trans women and the LGBTQI+ community, especially for those of Latin origin, who, out of fear, sorrow or ignorance, they have been left behind in the protection of their rights.
Zafiro Rivera, a transgender woman, former sex worker, and currently an activist, has seen fellow fighters involved in addiction problems die and, therefore, has not remained silent about the problems faced by girls like her.
"Many transgender women in San Francisco face stigmas and problems such as transphobia, discrimination, lack of job opportunities, access to decent housing or an immigration status that allows them to have better living conditions," Zafiro Rivera told Peninsula. 360 Press.
For Zafiro, being a trans girl is not easy. ?We face many challenges, especially in our places of origin. We face transphobia, discrimination, even among ourselves, but we also experience these problems in cities like San Francisco?
Is that why we do the marches? -said Sapphire- while she adjusts her hair and verifies that she looks beautiful. ?We have to make ourselves present so that our voices are heard, to make ourselves visible, so that people understand us and understand us a little more. Is it important that the population knows and respects gender diversity?
There and here, the same problems
Her vanity prevents her from doing so, but Zafiro knows perfectly well the problems that trans girls face in San Francisco and other populations, the same problems that have persisted for years despite the fact that California is one of the most progressive states in terms of LGBTTTIQ+ rights. .
?Problems like homelessness, health insurance, migration, a lot of things that girls need. There is help, but, sometimes, there are barriers for people to obtain that help: the language, your immigration status, all of these are things that prevent girls from being able to access these services,” she stressed.
Paying bills, rent, food and clothing is something we all go through in our adult lives, but what happens when you can't get a job because of your sexual preference or gender? While it is true that discriminating for any of these reasons is prohibited, it is a constant practice behind closed doors, which is why many trans women are forced to become sex workers.
"Many of us have to resort to sex work because we are not given work because we are transgender girls, so it is an option that we have to make, although many girls do find and can do work like any normal person," she explained.
As an activist and health promoter, she acknowledged that, in the past, she turned to sex work as a way to obtain resources.
"I am currently in an organization that works for people living with HIV, that supports Latinos and members of the LGBTQI+ community. I always talk to other trans girls to let them know that they can move forward," she said.
According to information from the Trans Employment Program (TEEI), an organization that supports transgender people and gender non-conforming people (GNC), 47 percent of transgender people in the United States claimed to have been fired unfairly or They have been denied employment.
In turn, 76 percent say they have experienced harassment in the workplace. Trans people are twice as likely as the general population to be unemployed, despite the fact that trans people are also twice as likely to have a bachelor's degree. As a result, San Francisco's trans and GNC community faces widespread poverty and homelessness.
two souls
Transphobia, homophobia, discrimination, the lack of professional employment opportunities, housing and the integral development of the person, are problems that arise daily among members of the lesbian, gay, trans, bisexual, queer and intersex (LGTBQI+) community. ) who live in California, especially when they are immigrants and/or Latinxs.
This was reported by Ángel C Fabian-Tlahuizpapalotl, executive director of American Indian Two-Spirits Bay Area (BAAITS) ? Two-Spirit Indian-American of the Bay Area?, an organization with a presence in various parts of the United States, dedicated to human rights, promoting culture through spirituality, in addition to focusing on art with people who identify as double spirit, just like Native Americans or LGBTQI+ indigenous people.
?I think something that still exists, unfortunately, is discrimination. I was just giving a presentation to leaders of a health organization, is there still a lot of work to do in the community? Vera told Peninsula 360 Press.
The activist maintained that there are "indigenous people in the transgender community who identify as such, unfortunately, they experience the highest rates of homelessness and joblessness, where abuse persists. Are there people discriminated against, the highest rate is in the transgender community, and many who identify as double spirit?
Vera lamented that "many indigenous young people who are part of the community also appear among the highest rates of people who think about suicide, who are discriminated against, who suffer from harassment in schools, the good thing is that in this population there are also many very nice things?
He highlighted that "among the double spirit population, we have a lot of courage, a lot of strength to move forward, especially because of our indigenous identity, our customs, our culture, our ancestral and native languages, which are very strong and very alive."
Proudly gay and positive
For Juan Pablo Medellín, who identifies as a gay man, cis gender Latino, immigrant and proudly Mexican, ?although there is progress in terms of the rights of the LGBTQI+ community, discrimination for various reasons can be present, there are laws that They protect but we have to continue working to enforce them?
In that sense, he recalled that "this whole gay pride month movement began in New York City, a few decades ago, because at the time there was a lot of repression against people of the same gender who got together."
?Finally, for me, it is a way of living, of being ourselves, of being honest with ourselves. There are many people who question ?pride in what?? It is not an issue of showing off, which is one of the things that people complain a lot about, rather it is a personal issue, of being able to be who we want to be, because the LGBTQI+ community has always been discriminated against and violated. ?, he highlighted.
Juan Pablo recalled that the attacks against the community "have reached the point where many people have to live a life of lies, lead double lives, pretend to be someone you are not; That's why it's a pride to say "this is me, no matter who it may be," for me that's the importance, accepting ourselves first, he stressed.
Originally from Mexico City, but raised in Aguascalientes, from a very young age, he had to turn to a social organization to receive information about sexual and gender orientation, as well as the issue of HIV, "I am very grateful for the help I received." At the time, because it was the way in which I was able to find peace of mind in this regard?
?I arrived in San Francisco six years ago, for me it has been a place that offers many advantages for people in the community, and I say this because the two biggest challenges I have had in my life have been coming out as a teenager, and having received an HIV diagnosis, which fortunately these days is no longer compared to what it was in the 80s or 90s, but it is still something that changes your life because you are a victim of stigma?
In favor of an ?inclusive pride?
The executive director of BAAITS, Ángel Fabian Vera, mentioned that, in many ancestral cultures, being part of the LGBTQI+ community was something admired, not under a community or under an acronym, it was simply because one could be more free, but it was not something unusual.
He explained that double-spirit people, as they were recognized, "were and continue to be special, but in colonization, specifically in our Latin American cultures, Catholicism tried to erase much of what already existed in our native communities."
"We, as double-spirit people, were in charge of our families, of ceremonies, we were people of medicine, of rituals in our communities, but that was taken away from us by colonization," he explained.
In that sense, he asked the population in general to be in favor of inclusive pride, because, unfortunately, in the case of the two-spirited population, discrimination can come from other members of the community.
?We have to continue moving forward, demanding that attention be paid to the problems that we know exist, that are experienced daily among our population, the demand has to be, above all, with our rulers, who are the ones who make decisions regarding public policies?, he added.
Important data:
LGBTQI+ is the acronym that refers to the group of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and intersex people. The term has evolved over time to include all gender identities and sexual orientations, hence the ?+? symbol.
The term LGTBIQ+ began to be used in the 90s, although over time it has been adapted to new groups in the world.
History of the gay pride celebration
International LGBTIQ+ Pride Day, also known as Gay Pride Day or simply Gay Pride, is celebrated every year on June 28 with the aim of urging tolerance, equality and dignity for gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, queers, and intersex, among others.
The celebration is on June 28 because, on that date, the Stonewall riots (New York, USA) of 1969 are commemorated, which mark the beginning of the homosexual liberation movement.
These riots consisted of a series of spontaneous and violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early hours of June 28, 1969, in the pub known as the Stonewall Inn in the New York neighborhood of Greenwich Village, one of the few spaces of freedom. for the homosexual community who were frequently harassed by the city police.
The regulars at the Stonewall Inn got fed up with this homophobic harassment and that day the law enforcement wanted to arrest several of the 200 people who were in the bar for reasons as simple as two men or women dancing together or not wearing clothes. considered traditional for its sex.
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