By Yolanda Salazar |
La Paz, (EFE).- A photographic exhibition takes a tour of part of the history of the Transvestite, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual (TLGB) movement in Bolivia so that the new generations can learn about the struggle and activism of people who have contributed to the collective.
“We always say that those who walked allowed us to run today, which is why it is important to know who we are and what we did,” the president of the Citizen Council for Sexual and Gender Diversities in La Paz, José Luis Maldonado, told EFE.
The photographs are part of the archive of the Community of Diversities, which has been a “historic rescue,” especially of activist David Aruquipa, Maldonado said.
“One of the biggest motivations for making this story was the absence of a study of this type that describes the path that the movement followed,” the exhibition description states.
The sample details how dance and folklore have been key moments to “transgress” and show themselves as they were with colorful costumes in different dances such as the morenada, the kullawada, among others.
Sample of a silent struggle of decades
Record material and photographs of relevant characters such as “Barbarella” are also on display, who held a coronation at her home in 1971, to which the Police ended up showing up and arrested her along with other guests, in the middle of the celebration.
In the same way, images of the “Galán family” are exhibited, considered one of the pioneers and promoters of the TLGB movement in the country, the first collective meetings, the Pride marches, international forums in which they have participated, among others.
“It has not been a gift from the State, from society, it has been a gift from the people who have preceded us in struggle, in dance, culture, politics, protest, literature, each one has been contributing their grain of sand,” said Maldonado.
In his opinion, it is an “ethical and fighting obligation” that the new generations also know this story and see that the “faggots, the effeminate, the tomboys” were probably born “from the least expected places”, who have marked and opened the path.
“It is unknown who has made the history of the collective, it was not sculptural bodies that started the fight, they were belittled bodies, discriminated against and that is important for them to identify and recognize,” Maldonado emphasized.
He highlighted the progress made over the years, such as the Gender Identity Law, in force since May 2016, which allows one’s name, sex and image to be modified, but commented that there is still much to do for the movement.
“The State needs to see us as its equals, but I do not deny that there have been great advances,” Maldonado concluded.
The exhibition of at least 30 photographs is held at the Tambo Quirquincho Museum in La Paz and will be open to the public until June 23 as a tribute to those who preceded the struggle for the movement and exhibit the main historical milestones, regarding this month TLGBI International Pride Day is celebrated.