“Marquesa was my first gay friend; we met in La Habana and oh my God, when I first saw her all dressed in black, covered in white makeup—she looked like Dracula—she told me, I am the Marquesa. And I told her, What you are is my friend, carajo. We used to perform in the middle of the bushes, in the midst of passing goats and animals, the space filled with faggotry, and a boom box. I’m crazy to do something like that again. I was a drag queen in Cuba when faggots were outlawed. “

—Nelson D’Alerta

“My father’s death was very traumatic for me because he died in my arms. I kinda lost my head. I lost consciousness and was homeless for three years, sleeping in the streets. I remember waking up one day, asking myself, What am I doing here? This is not for me! And quickly I went to one of those bathrooms where you put a quarter in, took a shower, and out I went to whore it down. The first client gave me $5,000 dollars. Quickly, I rented a hotel room at The Henry Hotel down on 6^th and Mission and lived there for the next two years.”

“It was then that I found out Proyecto ContraSIDA Por Vida had an opening for a transgender outreach worker. I applied and got the job, gracias a Dios. I lit Santa Bárbara a candle and it worked out. My work consisted of distributing condoms at night inside hotels to my girlfriends, to all transgender girls, and giving out information on HIV. Many of the new girls arriving from Mexico were having sex unprotected, and this was an effort to prevent them from getting HIV. This was the beginning of the 1990s.”

 

This project is part of the National Queer Arts Festival.
When: June 19, 2014
Where: Galería de la Raza
Time: 6:30pm
Admission cost: $5-$20 (no one turned away for lack of funds)