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Speaker 1: A warning before we start.

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Speaker 2: There is a description of a sexual assault in this story.

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Speaker 2: It's early in the morning in July of twenty eighteen,

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Speaker 2: and the day is already blistering hot. I'm walking into

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Speaker 2: the Price Daniel Unit. It's a medium security prison a

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Speaker 2: few hours west of Dallas. I had to drive through

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Speaker 2: miles of wind turbines and oil rigs before I arrived

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Speaker 2: at the prison's gray cement entrance.

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Speaker 1: We got you set up over here. Do you have

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Speaker 1: any water?

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Speaker 2: Just ma own, We'll get you some more.

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Speaker 1: I'm about to kill.

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Speaker 2: Over a big, kind of bulky prison guard leads me

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Speaker 2: to the visiting room at this men's prison. But I'm

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Speaker 2: here to see estre Ye, an undocumented trans woman who

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Speaker 2: is serving a nine year sentence for a nonviolent crime.

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Speaker 2: Is Yes. Istria was convicted of fraud and theft of

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Speaker 2: property related to a check caching scheme in twenty seventeen.

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Speaker 2: She's always maintained that she was forced to cash those

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Speaker 2: fraudulent texts by her abusive ex boyfriend.

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Speaker 1: Oh my god, is.

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Speaker 2: This is my third time visiting Estria and this time

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Speaker 2: she looks noticeably different. She had to spend a year

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Speaker 2: fighting in court in order to get her hormone treatment,

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Speaker 2: and she's finally receiving it again. It's a combination of

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Speaker 2: testosterone blockers and estrogen injections. Estria calls them her marita machica,

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Speaker 2: her little magic wand that is helping align her physical

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Speaker 2: body with her gender identity.

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Speaker 1: Wow, as your eye?

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Speaker 3: What happened?

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Speaker 1: What do you mean?

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Speaker 2: And when I compliment her sculpted eyebrows, she lowers her voice.

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Speaker 2: She says she hopes the guards don't catch her. Esthria

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Speaker 2: could be given a write up for tweeting her eyebrows,

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Speaker 2: and that could lead to a lot of trouble.

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Speaker 1: I'm sorry, do you work for you?

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Speaker 2: Regligimisits And just as I'm asking Esterria why that is,

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Speaker 2: a female guard comes and sits next to us.

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Speaker 1: So you're listening for what reason?

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Speaker 4: Take a lot?

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Speaker 1: They needed an interpreter? No, no, do you want to?

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Speaker 2: The woman tells me that she's an interpreter. But when

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Speaker 2: I say to her that I speak Spanish, then she

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Speaker 2: tells me she's there for a different reason, not necess yes, but.

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Speaker 3: The warden wanted me here to make sure there was

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Speaker 3: nothing else is going on.

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Speaker 2: So they just asked somebody to come and stay and

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Speaker 2: listen to the conversation.

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Speaker 1: That I'm having with Istria.

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Speaker 2: That prison guard, well, she ended up staying with us

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Speaker 2: the entire two hours that I spent with Istralla that day.

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Speaker 2: At one time point, Estraya leaned over the cold, stainless

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Speaker 2: steel table and told me.

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Speaker 3: Not getting kas cosas in man as quenos pasan anosrosaki

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Speaker 3: in a pristian.

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Speaker 2: That prison officials want someone there because they don't want

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Speaker 2: her to talk about the inhumane conditions that gay and

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Speaker 2: trans people live with behind bars. From Futuro Media, It's

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Speaker 2: Latino USA. I'm Maria in Josa, and today the story

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Speaker 2: of Istrea punished for breaking the law, for being undocumented

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Speaker 2: and for being a woman in a men's prison. Let's

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Speaker 2: go back to the beginning. I first meet Estraya in

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Speaker 2: twenty seventeen.

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Speaker 3: Quorder patrol agents arrested Ervin Gonzalez, a transgender woman.

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Speaker 1: Irving Gonzale, that's Istria's legal name, right after she got

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Speaker 1: out of court.

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Speaker 3: She was there to get a protective order.

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Speaker 2: Istria's case was a turning point. It was a clear

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Speaker 2: statement that not even a courtroom would be a safe

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Speaker 2: space for undocumented people. Istria has been living in the

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Speaker 2: United States since she was just eighteen years old. She

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Speaker 2: grew up in Acapulco, Mexico. Back then, she identified as gay,

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Speaker 2: but she kept this a secret for as long as

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Speaker 2: she could. Things were brutal in Acapulco in the nineteen nineties,

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Speaker 2: gay men were being attacked and killed indiscriminately. When Estraya

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Speaker 2: was still in high school, she says a group of

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Speaker 2: men saw her with her boyfriend, and she says they

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Speaker 2: attacked Isthreea, nearly killing her. Istria's mother gave her an

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Speaker 2: ultimatum either get married to a woman and live a

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Speaker 2: heterosexual life, or get out and move to the United States.

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Speaker 1: Estraya did both.

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Speaker 2: She moved to La to start a new life with

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Speaker 2: the woman who would soon become the mother of her

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Speaker 2: two children. They eventually separated, and Estrallam then began to

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Speaker 2: openly identify as a trans woman. In twenty fifteen, she

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Speaker 2: began a relationship with Mario de Abilap. He's a US citizen,

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Speaker 2: and she says he's the one that forced her to

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Speaker 2: cash those fraudulent checks, threatening her with physical violence and

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Speaker 2: even with calleen immigration authorities against her if she didn't

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Speaker 2: do what he said. The abbe Lamp was also later convicted.

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Speaker 2: He was given a much shorter sentence. Today, Estralla has

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Speaker 2: served nearly four years of her nine year sentence, and

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Speaker 2: throughout it all we've remained in communication. Almost every week,

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Speaker 2: and sometimes multiple times a week, Istria calls me. I

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Speaker 2: always hold my breath until I hear Istria's voice on

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Speaker 2: the other end of the line. I can tell a

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Speaker 2: lot about what's going on just by the way she says.

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Speaker 1: Hello, Lesriyah.

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Speaker 2: Sometimes istrias Hellos are super cheerful. Prison life is really hard,

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Speaker 2: but she's trying her best to adapt. Recently, she's taken

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Speaker 2: to calling her cell Sukasa her house, and she tells

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Speaker 2: me how much she enjoys keeping it neat and tidy

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Speaker 2: and clean. Below Istria always loved cooking. On this day,

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Speaker 2: Istria tells me she's making pizza. Because Istria has to

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Speaker 2: make do with whatever ingredients she can find in the commissary.

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Speaker 2: Today's pizza crust is made with mashed up instant ramen

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Speaker 2: and saltine crackers. Esterreya tells me it was delicious.

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Speaker 1: Oh my god, Issterdya can't even the gist that was Kisstaia.

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Speaker 2: Aqui. But Esterreya also spends a lot of time thinking

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Speaker 2: about her life once she gets out of prison, and

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Speaker 2: there's one particularly simple but powerful dream that she holds onto.

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Speaker 1: Undia Assistia Aldestila Gain.

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Speaker 2: She wants to be part of a pride parade here

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Speaker 2: in the United States. But other days I can tell

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Speaker 2: that something is wrong. She often talks about the contradiction

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Speaker 2: of transitioning to a woman in a men's prison. On

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Speaker 2: the one hand, she feels happier and more aligned with

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Speaker 2: her general identity than ever before in her life, But

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Speaker 2: on the other hand, she's in prison and she's constantly

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Speaker 2: being harassed because she's trans by both guards and prisoners alike.

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Speaker 2: Right now, we're going to pick up her story in

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Speaker 2: January of twenty nineteen when I get a call from

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Speaker 2: Istraa but it's from a different prison.

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Speaker 1: In all red unit. Yes, That'sujeta.

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Speaker 2: Istria had been transferred again. This was the fourth time

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Speaker 2: in only two years, and this time she was being

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Speaker 2: moved to a maximum security prison, even though she's been

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Speaker 2: convicted of a non violent offense.

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Speaker 1: O La Bella.

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Speaker 2: On January second of twenty nineteen, Istria arrived at the

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Speaker 2: Already unit in North Texas on the border of Oklahoma,

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Speaker 2: and that's where she's currently serving her sentence. Already is

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Speaker 2: one of the last places where you hope to end

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Speaker 2: up as an incarcerated person. It's a prison that has

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Speaker 2: a long record of sexual violence.

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Speaker 4: One four Pasini.

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Speaker 2: Esria tells me she was shocked when she got there.

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Speaker 2: The prison has three floors. Door after door would be

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Speaker 2: slammed and locked behind her as she made her way

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Speaker 2: to her cell. The first day that Estria got there,

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Speaker 2: one of the other trans women in the prison came

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Speaker 2: up to her and.

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Speaker 1: Gave her a warning, very cool with.

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Speaker 4: It and I leave it.

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Speaker 2: She told Istria to be careful with her cell mate.

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Speaker 2: Word around all read was that her cell mat had

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Speaker 2: raped several women before he was incarcerated. After that, Estria

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Speaker 2: went into her new cell to meet him. Esria said

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Speaker 2: she followed the prison code, which means that the person

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Speaker 2: who is in the cell first gets to make the

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Speaker 2: rules and any new arrival has to follow those rules.

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Speaker 2: Ticket She told her cellmate that she knew this was

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Speaker 2: his space, and to her surprise, her cellmate told her

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Speaker 2: it was her home too. So Isterria tried her best

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Speaker 2: to make it feel.

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Speaker 1: Like her own. I think.

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Speaker 2: She called me one day to tell me about a

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Speaker 2: small envelope of pictures that a friend had mailed to her.

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Speaker 2: There were photos of her before her gender transition. There

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Speaker 2: was even a picture of her the first time Estraya,

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Speaker 2: dressed in gender affirming clothes, in tight jeans and a

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Speaker 2: colorful blouse. Istria remembers how happy she was to finally

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Speaker 2: feel like she was herself. Looking at this photograph, Esterria

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Speaker 2: thought about just how far she's come in her transition.

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Speaker 2: There's another picture where she's with her ex wife, the

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Speaker 2: mother of her children, back at their house in Los Angeles.

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Speaker 2: Esterrea tells me she wants to reunite with her family

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Speaker 2: when she gets out. She wants to show them how

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Speaker 2: much she's changed after just a year of being back

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Speaker 2: on her hormone treatment. Is Theeya is amazed at how

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Speaker 2: her body is changing right before her very eyes. She

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Speaker 2: says she loves looking at her hips. It's little moments

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Speaker 2: like these where she can celebrate everything that she's fought

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Speaker 2: for the first couple of weeks in already seemed to

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Speaker 2: be going okay. Esdrea was settling in and her cellmate

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Speaker 2: seemed to have no interest in her, but soon things

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Speaker 2: started to get ugly. It all started one night when

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Speaker 2: Israa asked if they could turn off the light in

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Speaker 2: their cell because she wasn't feeling well. Her cell mate

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Speaker 2: told her no. Istria didn't insist. She knew that she

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Speaker 2: had to pick her battles. When Istraya got up to

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Speaker 2: take a pill, she says, her cell mate got up

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Speaker 2: to and then pushed her hard. Mon Istria went back

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Speaker 2: up to the top bunk and began to cry out

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Speaker 2: of frustration, but now also out of fear. Okay, she

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Speaker 2: heard that this man was violent and had even allegedly

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Speaker 2: killed people in other prisons before coming to Already, Aria

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Speaker 2: was terrified, but in a moment of courage, she leapt

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Speaker 2: down from her bed and asked him what did he

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Speaker 2: want from her. She expected to be slapped or to

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Speaker 2: be pushed around, but she did not expect to have

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Speaker 2: her nose bashed in Now blood was gushing everywhere. After

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Speaker 2: that first incident, Istria tried putting on a smile for

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Speaker 2: the world outside her cell. She says she was terrified

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Speaker 2: of what her cellmate would do if she told anyone

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Speaker 2: what had already happened. Three weeks passed and by now

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Speaker 2: Estriya had been able to resume her daily routine without

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Speaker 2: being assaulted, and then Valentine's Day rolled around. It started

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Speaker 2: out okay. One of her friends even gave her a

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Speaker 2: radio and told her, thank you for being my friend.

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Speaker 2: Went back to her cell and turned on her radio.

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Speaker 2: As she began to cook, she remembers the radio station

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Speaker 2: was having a Marco Anton special. Without even thinking about it,

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Speaker 2: Esdreya had turned up the music. It was a love

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Speaker 2: song and she began singing it to herself.

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Speaker 1: And just gopping.

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Speaker 2: Suddenly, her cell mate got up and turned off the radio.

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Speaker 2: Yesterdya plugged in her headphones and turned the radio back on,

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Speaker 2: but her cell mate ripped the headphones out from her

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Speaker 2: ears and threw them across the cell. He pushed her

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Speaker 2: around until he heard the doors unlock. It was time

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Speaker 2: for the eleven o'clock count. A guard began walking down

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Speaker 2: the hall making his rounds. Look she says, her cell

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Speaker 2: mate hit her and told her that she would be

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Speaker 2: all right only if she kept quiet. So when the

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Speaker 2: guard knocked on the door of their cell, Esterriya didn't

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Speaker 2: say a word Throughout that entire night. Estralla says she

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Speaker 2: was brutalized. She couldn't get any sleep, but the worst

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Speaker 2: was going to come much later the next morning, at

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Speaker 2: about three o'clock, when the cell doors open for the

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Speaker 2: breakfast call, Estraya wanted to leave as soon as possible,

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Speaker 2: but her cellmate told her she had to stay inside.

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Speaker 2: When her cellmate returned from breakfast, she told me he

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Speaker 2: forced himself on the bed with her and began to

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Speaker 2: violently assault her. She says she pleaded with him to

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Speaker 2: leave her alone, but he didn't stop. Estella never reported

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Speaker 2: the rape to prison officials. She was too afraid to

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Speaker 2: do that.

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Speaker 1: She says.

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Speaker 2: Everyone behind bars knows that the administration's involvement doesn't make

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Speaker 2: it any safer for them inside the prison once they've

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Speaker 2: been attacked, and this is something that seems to happen

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Speaker 2: far too often in Already and in other state prisons

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Speaker 2: like it in Texas and across the country. A survey

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Speaker 2: conducted by two advocacy groups in twenty sixteen gathered testimonies

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Speaker 2: from Allred and from two other state prisons, presenting page

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Speaker 2: after page of anonymous stories that sound eerily similar to

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Speaker 2: what Istrea has recounted. Many of the respondents were gay

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Speaker 2: or trans, and all of them said that they felt

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Speaker 2: they had been targeted for their sexual orientation. We reached

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Speaker 2: out to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice requesting an interview.

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Speaker 2: On several occasions, we did not receive a response.

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Speaker 1: We'll be right back.

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Speaker 2: We're back, and today we're listening to the story of

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Speaker 2: Estria Gonzalez, an undocumented trans woman serving a nine year

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Speaker 2: sentence at the James V. Already Unit, a maximum security

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Speaker 2: men's prison in Texas. Estria says she was sexually assaulted

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Speaker 2: by her cellmate inside the prison. A few weeks after

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Speaker 2: the assault, Estria called me to tell me that she

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Speaker 2: had news to share. She had been moved to a

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Speaker 2: new unit, and she said she was meeting other undocumented

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Speaker 2: people just like her.

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Speaker 3: From the.

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Speaker 2: Isterreya says things are a bit more calm here. The

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Speaker 2: other undocumented people in her unit are on their best

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Speaker 2: behavior because they, like Estheya, are hoping to apply to

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Speaker 2: stay in the United States. Esterraya is applying for a

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Speaker 2: U visa. It's also known as a victim visa. It's

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Speaker 2: reserved for people who are victims of crimes in the

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Speaker 2: United States. Who can help in the prosecution of the

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00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:40,440
Speaker 2: person who committed that crime. In Israea's case, that would

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00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:44,520
Speaker 2: be her abusive ex boyfriend. If approved, Isriya could one

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00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:48,159
Speaker 2: day hope to become a US citizen. It's not like

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Speaker 2: it's an official undocumented unit in the prison, but there

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Speaker 2: just happened to be a lot of undocumented people all together,

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Speaker 2: and they share something else, which is is that in

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Speaker 2: the Texas prison system, these people don't have the same

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Speaker 2: access as other prisoners to the very few rehabilitative programs

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Speaker 2: at already no school, no NAA, the classes Sparta, for example,

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Speaker 2: they can't go to class to get their ged or

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Speaker 2: participate in any of the college programs. Estreya says she

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Speaker 2: was told she couldn't even go to the English language

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Speaker 2: learning programs. The only thing undocumented immigrants held in this

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Speaker 2: prison are allowed to do is work.

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Speaker 3: No no, no, no.

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Speaker 1: They don't even get paid for the work they do,

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Speaker 1: she tells me. She says.

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Speaker 2: The most the prison will do is reduce time from

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Speaker 2: your sentence, and not being able to make money legally

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Speaker 2: behind bars poses a real challenge for all in car

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Speaker 2: t rated people, and for undocumented prisoners. It's especially hard

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Speaker 2: for them to stay afloat. They often are alone in

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Speaker 2: this country or their families are depending on them financially,

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Speaker 2: and many incarcerated people increase their food supply substantially when

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Speaker 2: they buy from commissary, So not being able to earn

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Speaker 2: money and then buy food from the commissary can have

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Speaker 2: a real impact on your survival. But for Estrella, the

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Speaker 2: bright side of moving to a new unit is that

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Speaker 2: she doesn't have to worry about her cellmate anymore. I

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Speaker 2: Estraa says she even got a hold of a radio

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Speaker 2: again and hasn't slept because at night she's been dancing

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Speaker 2: and dancing. Prison has become a little bit more bearable

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00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:11,359
Speaker 2: until things started to sour again.

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Speaker 1: Haidia aim Amita.

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Speaker 2: It was March of twenty nineteen and there was a

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Speaker 2: prisoner in her new unit, an older man who was

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Speaker 2: trying to extort her. He was demanding sixty dollars from

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Speaker 2: her or He said he was going to beat her up,

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Speaker 2: but Isthreya without any means of making money. She told

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Speaker 2: me that she didn't know what to do. She was

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00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:37,879
Speaker 2: really scared. Nothing much came of it. Esteya didn't have

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Speaker 2: the money, and eventually.

303
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Speaker 1: He dropped it.

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Speaker 2: But then in June of twenty nineteen, out of nowhere,

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00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:49,560
Speaker 2: Esteya stopped calling me. The silence went on for weeks,

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Speaker 2: and I started to get really worried, so I called

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00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:55,919
Speaker 2: istraea as lawyer. She told me that Estraya had been

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Speaker 2: put into solitary confinement, at first with no explanation, and

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Speaker 2: then eventually, she says, Estraya was told that she had

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Speaker 2: committed an infraction, that by telling me the story of

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Speaker 2: the extortion attempt, Estralla was really trying to extort me

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Speaker 2: for the money. And then, just a few weeks after

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Speaker 2: Estralla had been moved into solitary, now I receive a

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Speaker 2: very official looking letter in the mail from the Texas

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Speaker 2: Department of Criminal Justice. The letter informed me that I

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00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:43,240
Speaker 2: was being officially removed from Estralla's visitation list. I couldn't

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00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:45,480
Speaker 2: wrap my head around what was going on, so I

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00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:49,840
Speaker 2: called Melissa Unterrecker, who is Estria's immigration lawyer, to ask

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Speaker 2: if she understood what was going on.

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Speaker 1: So, what do you know about what happened with Istralla?

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Speaker 4: Me, I really don't understand what the accusation fully is.

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Speaker 4: But because of that, you, Maria, I lost visitation for laches.

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Speaker 4: We're threatened with being completely locked out of the Texas

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Speaker 4: State prison system entirely.

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Speaker 2: And then soon after I received another official letter telling

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Speaker 2: me that I was being banned from communicating with Israea

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Speaker 2: by mail. Strange they were allowing me to communicate with

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Speaker 2: her by phone, which they say was the way she

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Speaker 2: was extorting me.

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Speaker 4: And I think it's crazy. I mean, it's absolutely I

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Speaker 4: can't even begin to understand how the prison would would

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Speaker 4: justify based on that conversation, some criminal olitation against you.

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Speaker 2: And it was just also strange, strange because all of

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Speaker 2: this was happening really months after Istheya had told me

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Speaker 2: about the extortion.

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Speaker 4: But I don't know if they're doing it, if it's

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Speaker 4: just a way to punish Istraea, if it's a way

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00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:01,800
Speaker 4: of punish she was a journalist. They just don't want

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00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:05,920
Speaker 4: their treatment of been meates exposed. They don't want people

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00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:07,640
Speaker 4: to know what's really going on in there.

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Speaker 2: One thing these official letters did say was that I

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00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:20,080
Speaker 2: could file an appeal, so I sent off a response

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00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:23,520
Speaker 2: to both letters in the following weeks. And then after

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00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:27,399
Speaker 2: several months, when Estraya was finally given access to a phone,

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Speaker 2: and when she was more comfortable explaining to me what

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00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:32,480
Speaker 2: had happened, she.

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Speaker 1: Told me the story.

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Speaker 2: She said prison guards had come into her cell one day,

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Speaker 2: asking who is the woman that Estraa was communicating with.

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Speaker 1: Of course that woman would be me.

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Speaker 2: Esrea says the guards were holding onto a pile of

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Speaker 2: papers that they looked like transcripts of all of our

353
00:25:55,520 --> 00:26:00,479
Speaker 2: phone calls. She was punished with one year in restrictive housing,

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00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:05,000
Speaker 2: which is similar to solitary It would mean that Estria

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00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:15,000
Speaker 2: is kept away from the general population. Eventually, Istria and

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Speaker 2: I are back to our regular phone calls. Hello Ola, Istraa.

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Speaker 2: It's September of twenty nineteen, and Istraa calls me again.

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00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:37,600
Speaker 2: This time she sounds agitated. Guards had come in and

359
00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:41,440
Speaker 2: searched herself top to bottom. She said that this had

360
00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:44,399
Speaker 2: happened a few times, but they were never explaining to

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00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:50,960
Speaker 2: her why. Istria tells me she doesn't have anything to hide,

362
00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:55,360
Speaker 2: but still the searches feel intrusive and she feels targeted.

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00:26:55,640 --> 00:27:06,000
Speaker 2: Porquere porquekres istria gestanasiosto. Prisoners are taken out of their

364
00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:09,480
Speaker 2: cells for these searches. But Istera says someone taught her

365
00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:13,200
Speaker 2: a trick when she went to prison. They said, always

366
00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:17,800
Speaker 2: number your photographs, your letters, your legal documents so that

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00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:21,040
Speaker 2: you have a record. And Esteya has written tiny numbers

368
00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:23,840
Speaker 2: on the back of each document and keeps them all

369
00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:28,200
Speaker 2: in numerical order. After the search, it's easy to know

370
00:27:28,359 --> 00:27:32,199
Speaker 2: whether they've rifled through her private photos and letters, because

371
00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:36,280
Speaker 2: just like this time, the numbers are now out of order.

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Speaker 2: They're going to say, I worry about what this extra

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00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:53,120
Speaker 2: attention that Isya is getting from the guards could really

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00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:57,199
Speaker 2: be about. And I worry if I'm partly or wholly

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00:27:57,440 --> 00:28:01,119
Speaker 2: responsible for this. I wonder if yesterday I hadn't been

376
00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:04,679
Speaker 2: talking to me a journalist, maybe they wouldn't have been

377
00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:10,160
Speaker 2: listening so closely to her phone calls. So I thought

378
00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:13,119
Speaker 2: about this a lot and investigated this and ended up

379
00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:16,920
Speaker 2: speaking to the ACLU Prison Project. There they told me

380
00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:20,600
Speaker 2: that prisoners benefit from having their stories told, that it

381
00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:24,640
Speaker 2: forces the prison to be held accountable for their actions.

382
00:28:27,119 --> 00:28:30,760
Speaker 2: But the reality is there are many ways people behind

383
00:28:30,840 --> 00:28:34,960
Speaker 2: bars can be punished for speaking out. Already esterday and

384
00:28:35,119 --> 00:28:38,600
Speaker 2: I are only allowed to speak on the phone, and

385
00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:42,240
Speaker 2: there really isn't a fair way to fight back. There's

386
00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:46,880
Speaker 2: so little transparency around prisons that every decision I make

387
00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:50,200
Speaker 2: is like a gamble, and sometimes it feels like we're

388
00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:55,120
Speaker 2: betting on yesterdaya as well being. Oftentimes I feel like

389
00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:58,600
Speaker 2: I'm in a losing battle here. Esterya wants to tell

390
00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:02,400
Speaker 2: her story, but by giving Istralla the possibility of speaking

391
00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:05,120
Speaker 2: her truth about what it's like to be an undocumented

392
00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:09,000
Speaker 2: trans woman in a men's prison, I worry that I

393
00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:20,840
Speaker 2: also may be putting her into danger. I'm eager to

394
00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:24,760
Speaker 2: go visit Estralla at already, and I don't give up hope.

395
00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:28,920
Speaker 2: Our phone calls are listened too closely and monitored that

396
00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:33,360
Speaker 2: much I know since the accusations came to light. But

397
00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:36,840
Speaker 2: in person is therea and I talk more freely without

398
00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:40,560
Speaker 2: a recorder or a guard listening in. It's a chance

399
00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:43,960
Speaker 2: for me to see her, to make sure that she's

400
00:29:44,520 --> 00:30:01,680
Speaker 2: really okay. Finally, in late February of I come into

401
00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:05,480
Speaker 2: work at the Latino USA office. This is before the

402
00:30:05,600 --> 00:30:09,120
Speaker 2: pandemic and the quarantine, and there's a letter on my desk.

403
00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:12,960
Speaker 2: It's from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and so

404
00:30:13,440 --> 00:30:15,960
Speaker 2: I run into the studio immediately.

405
00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:23,560
Speaker 1: I have a letter here. Oh my god, I feel

406
00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:24,600
Speaker 1: like they're going to reject me.

407
00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:28,040
Speaker 2: It's from Correctional Institution's Division Director's Review Committee.

408
00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:29,719
Speaker 1: Okay, I'm reading it now.

409
00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:33,760
Speaker 2: Correspondence requesting your name be removed from the negative mailing

410
00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:37,680
Speaker 2: list of offender has been received and reviewed. The information

411
00:30:37,800 --> 00:30:40,040
Speaker 2: and said letter was considered. However, it was the decision

412
00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:47,680
Speaker 2: not to grant the request. Your name will remain on

413
00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:51,960
Speaker 2: the negative mailing list for offender. Gonzalez irv Irving Gonzalez.

414
00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:58,000
Speaker 2: Remember that's Estree's legal name. And right now I'm livid. Actually,

415
00:30:58,120 --> 00:31:03,840
Speaker 2: I'm like shaking, so upset. I'm just so pissed off.

416
00:31:18,040 --> 00:31:21,040
Speaker 2: I decide that I'm going to pursue another appeal, so

417
00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:24,000
Speaker 2: there'll be more waiting, but I'm determined to take on

418
00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:27,160
Speaker 2: the fight to be able to see Estrella in person again.

419
00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:31,560
Speaker 2: That feels like our biggest obstacle right now, and then

420
00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:34,040
Speaker 2: everything changes again.

421
00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:37,600
Speaker 3: At this point, the virus hits fifty four countries with

422
00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:41,760
Speaker 3: nearly three thousand deaths worldwide. As we enter the month

423
00:31:41,800 --> 00:31:46,800
Speaker 3: of March, state governments of California, New York, Maryland, Utah, Kentucky,

424
00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:49,640
Speaker 3: and Oregon declare a state of emergency.

425
00:31:57,040 --> 00:32:00,720
Speaker 2: It's March of twenty twenty and already is on lockdown

426
00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:05,080
Speaker 2: twenty four hours a day. COVID nineteen has arrived and

427
00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:08,520
Speaker 2: the prisons are especially a dangerous place.

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00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:09,160
Speaker 1: For a virus.

429
00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:17,960
Speaker 2: Istria says the prison has even blocked access to the

430
00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:21,400
Speaker 2: common shower areas. Now they're only allowed to bathe on

431
00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:23,000
Speaker 2: Wednesdays and Fridays.

432
00:32:24,840 --> 00:32:27,600
Speaker 1: In yes, I did.

433
00:32:35,560 --> 00:32:42,280
Speaker 2: Despite everything that's happening, Istria is well. She's still Istria.

434
00:32:42,840 --> 00:32:50,760
Speaker 2: She's managing to find the bright side in everything. Look

435
00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:53,920
Speaker 2: he on this day, she calls to tell me that

436
00:32:54,040 --> 00:32:58,520
Speaker 2: they've finally been given face masks. Isa says she loves

437
00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:02,640
Speaker 2: her mask, and just because it makes her feel safe.

438
00:33:07,960 --> 00:33:22,280
Speaker 2: She says the mask is great because it covers her

439
00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:25,360
Speaker 2: beard and that comes in handy now that their bathroom

440
00:33:25,480 --> 00:33:26,480
Speaker 2: time is restricted.

441
00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:28,800
Speaker 1: But she says it's also a lot of fun.

442
00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:32,480
Speaker 2: Some days, Esa ties the strings behind her ears and

443
00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:36,920
Speaker 2: uses the mask as a headband. Sometimes she wears it

444
00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:53,960
Speaker 2: as a choker. Other days she tells me that she

445
00:33:54,120 --> 00:33:57,920
Speaker 2: transforms into shakita. She says, she puts on her mask,

446
00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:01,360
Speaker 2: turns up the music in her celf, closes her eyes,

447
00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:05,360
Speaker 2: and she imagines she's a belly dancer, shaking her hips.

448
00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:30,400
Speaker 1: Far far away from all red. Yes, that's hit Cargos Martel.

449
00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:38,120
Speaker 2: It's June of twenty twenty. The next time we talk,

450
00:34:38,560 --> 00:34:52,920
Speaker 2: and Estraya has some news. Estria has been informed that

451
00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:56,719
Speaker 2: she's now eligible to apply for early parole. If she

452
00:34:57,120 --> 00:35:00,719
Speaker 2: is granted parole, it would mean an early release and

453
00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:05,640
Speaker 2: this should be a joyous occasion. After all, Istria is

454
00:35:05,880 --> 00:35:15,960
Speaker 2: desperate to leave already, but Melissa, Estria's lawyer has warned

455
00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:19,560
Speaker 2: her that getting parolled now while Trump is still in office,

456
00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:24,120
Speaker 2: is dangerous, and that's because Isriya still has to fight

457
00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:31,640
Speaker 2: to remain in the United States. Estria has just one

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00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:36,000
Speaker 2: tangible avenue to gain legal status. It's the so called

459
00:35:36,120 --> 00:35:39,960
Speaker 2: victim visa that we mentioned earlier. Remember, before all of

460
00:35:40,040 --> 00:35:43,799
Speaker 2: this happened, Estraya had run away and had reported her

461
00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:47,840
Speaker 2: partner's abuse, and a judge had ruled in her favor.

462
00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:52,640
Speaker 2: But the U VISA application is a long process with

463
00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:57,040
Speaker 2: slim chances of approval, and the minute her current prison

464
00:35:57,200 --> 00:36:01,400
Speaker 2: sentence ends, there's a good possibility Esterya will be picked

465
00:36:01,480 --> 00:36:05,640
Speaker 2: up by Ice because she still has a pending deportation

466
00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:10,360
Speaker 2: order hanging over her head. And perhaps that's where the

467
00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:16,759
Speaker 2: real danger lies isdaya needs to apply to cancel her deportation.

468
00:36:17,840 --> 00:36:21,520
Speaker 2: Her lawyer thinks Estereya has a good case based on

469
00:36:21,719 --> 00:36:26,240
Speaker 2: fear of persecution. Estria says she was brutalized in Mexico

470
00:36:26,440 --> 00:36:29,239
Speaker 2: due to her status as a trans woman and would

471
00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:33,200
Speaker 2: likely be subject to violence again in Mexico. But her

472
00:36:33,280 --> 00:36:36,840
Speaker 2: lawyer says the Trump administration has made it almost impossible

473
00:36:37,120 --> 00:36:40,279
Speaker 2: to get approved for a waiver right now, and that

474
00:36:40,520 --> 00:36:45,120
Speaker 2: means that Esteria could be immediately deported to Mexico, and

475
00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:48,719
Speaker 2: that possibility, she says, is worse than all of the

476
00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:50,320
Speaker 2: violence she faces.

477
00:36:50,640 --> 00:36:51,360
Speaker 1: That all red.

478
00:36:55,960 --> 00:36:56,840
Speaker 3: No no.

479
00:36:58,040 --> 00:37:01,400
Speaker 2: Estereia tells me she thinks her only option right now

480
00:37:02,080 --> 00:37:05,400
Speaker 2: might be to commit an infraction that would get her

481
00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:09,000
Speaker 2: a write up and then get her sent back to solitary.

482
00:37:09,480 --> 00:37:15,880
Speaker 2: No better, better, de And I just can't believe what

483
00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:24,600
Speaker 2: she's saying to me. She says she could sabotage her

484
00:37:24,800 --> 00:37:29,680
Speaker 2: chances of getting paroled, and then I sit with her

485
00:37:30,080 --> 00:37:37,720
Speaker 2: on the phone for a few moments in silence. Getting

486
00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:40,920
Speaker 2: another infraction will not only extend her time in a

487
00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:44,800
Speaker 2: place where she's been abused and where she is constantly endangered,

488
00:37:47,160 --> 00:37:49,680
Speaker 2: but it won't reflect well on her record later when

489
00:37:49,719 --> 00:37:53,279
Speaker 2: she has to fight her deportation, but getting out now

490
00:37:53,560 --> 00:37:57,480
Speaker 2: will certainly mean that battle will be lost anyway. Estrella

491
00:37:57,680 --> 00:38:01,160
Speaker 2: is between a rock and a hard place once again.

492
00:38:09,160 --> 00:38:12,239
Speaker 2: Sometimes it feels like there's no place for Istria in

493
00:38:12,320 --> 00:38:16,560
Speaker 2: the United States. But there's something about Isrea's ability to

494
00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:21,360
Speaker 2: always pull through, to always emerge from the ashes stronger

495
00:38:21,960 --> 00:38:42,040
Speaker 2: that always gives me hope. Andriscan Istria has this vision

496
00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:46,560
Speaker 2: she tells me about. It's a dream that keeps her going.

497
00:38:47,080 --> 00:38:50,400
Speaker 2: That one day she'll be the Grand Marshal of the

498
00:38:50,480 --> 00:38:54,360
Speaker 2: Pride Parade in New York City. That she'll lead the

499
00:38:54,440 --> 00:38:58,960
Speaker 2: parade covered in glitter and colorful feathers. The crowd will

500
00:38:59,120 --> 00:39:02,799
Speaker 2: cheer the love and accept an applaud Istraa for who

501
00:39:02,920 --> 00:39:08,359
Speaker 2: she is, and she'll finally, she dreams, finally, be at home.

502
00:39:25,520 --> 00:39:30,760
Speaker 2: Istralla remains incarcerated at the Already Unit. Her projected release

503
00:39:30,880 --> 00:39:36,239
Speaker 2: date is July of twenty twenty three. Her fight continues.

504
00:39:56,520 --> 00:39:59,920
Speaker 2: This episode was produced by Julia Ta Martinelli, Julia Rocha,

505
00:40:00,200 --> 00:40:03,600
Speaker 2: and myself and edited by Luis Trees with help from

506
00:40:03,719 --> 00:40:08,520
Speaker 2: Niel Massias. The Latino USA team includes Ginni Montalom alisaes

507
00:40:08,600 --> 00:40:12,800
Speaker 2: Carcin and Alejandra Serrasal with help from Andrea Lopez Grusado,

508
00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:15,280
Speaker 2: adria A Tapia and Raoul Perez.

509
00:40:15,560 --> 00:40:17,040
Speaker 1: Fact checking by Amy Tardiff.

510
00:40:17,360 --> 00:40:20,719
Speaker 2: Our engineers are Stephanie Lbau, Julia Caruso and Lia Shap.

511
00:40:21,160 --> 00:40:24,680
Speaker 2: Our director of programming and Operations is Natalia fide Hutz.

512
00:40:25,320 --> 00:40:29,120
Speaker 2: This week we say goodbye to our wonderful digital editor,

513
00:40:29,239 --> 00:40:33,560
Speaker 2: Amandel Cantra. Amanda is an incredible journalist and a writer

514
00:40:33,760 --> 00:40:37,399
Speaker 2: with her own self published novel. And it's in these

515
00:40:37,560 --> 00:40:41,479
Speaker 2: times when people are making extraordinary decisions about their life.

516
00:40:42,040 --> 00:40:47,040
Speaker 2: So congratulations, Amanda, or great work here at Puturo Media.

517
00:40:47,200 --> 00:40:48,080
Speaker 1: You did so much.

518
00:40:48,680 --> 00:40:52,320
Speaker 2: And for your next big adventure back in the Dominican Republic,

519
00:40:52,600 --> 00:40:57,920
Speaker 2: ohey IGRAs, Yes, Amanda. Our interns are Jimena del Serro

520
00:40:58,280 --> 00:41:02,040
Speaker 2: and emil Se Giros. Our theme music was composed by

521
00:41:02,160 --> 00:41:03,000
Speaker 2: Zanga Ruinos.

522
00:41:03,280 --> 00:41:04,279
Speaker 1: If you like the music you.

523
00:41:04,360 --> 00:41:07,840
Speaker 2: Heard on this episode, stop by Latinousa dot org and

524
00:41:07,960 --> 00:41:11,279
Speaker 2: check out our weekly Spotify playlist. I'm your host and

525
00:41:11,400 --> 00:41:15,160
Speaker 2: executive producer marieo Rosa. Join us again on our next episode,

526
00:41:15,200 --> 00:41:17,000
Speaker 2: and in the meantime, look for us on all of

527
00:41:17,080 --> 00:41:20,560
Speaker 2: your social media Hi Los Veo Asta Aproxima.

528
00:41:20,200 --> 00:41:26,120
Speaker 1: Czoo Latino, USA is made possible in part by the

529
00:41:26,320 --> 00:41:30,080
Speaker 1: Arcis Foundation, dedicated to the idea that people can live

530
00:41:30,120 --> 00:41:33,279
Speaker 1: in harmony with one another and the natural world. Learn

531
00:41:33,360 --> 00:41:36,640
Speaker 1: more about Arcus and its partners at Arcisfoundation dot org.

532
00:41:37,480 --> 00:41:41,200
Speaker 3: California Endowment building a strong state by improving the health

533
00:41:41,280 --> 00:41:44,800
Speaker 3: of all Californians and the wind Coat Foundation