WEBVTT - Cecilia Gentili’s Revolutionary Ask

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<v Speaker 1>This is Latino USA, the Radio Journal of News and

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<v Speaker 1>Kurturre Latino USC Latin Latino USA. I'm Maria Inojosa. We

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<v Speaker 1>bring you stories that are underreported but that mattered to you,

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<v Speaker 1>overlooked by the rest of the media, and while the

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<v Speaker 1>country is struggling to deal with these, we listen to

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<v Speaker 1>the stories of black and Latino Studio United Latino Front,

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<v Speaker 1>a cultural renaissance organizing at the forefront of the movement.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Maria Inojosa, Ola, Latino USA. Listener. Here's a really

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<v Speaker 1>important show from our archives and one quick heads up.

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<v Speaker 1>This episode contains a mention of sexual violence, so please

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<v Speaker 1>take care.

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<v Speaker 2>I believe that storytelling is advocacy, and the advocacy is storytelling.

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<v Speaker 2>The best way to create the change that we want

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<v Speaker 2>in society, in our lives is by sharing our stories

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<v Speaker 2>and asking for what we need.

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<v Speaker 3>So this book is not.

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<v Speaker 2>Just about stories. This book is screaming revolutionary ask to

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<v Speaker 2>support trans young folks.

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<v Speaker 1>From Fudromedia and PRX. It's Latino USA. I'm Mariao Oosa.

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<v Speaker 1>Today transactivist actor and author Cecilia Gentili on the intersections

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<v Speaker 1>of advocacy and storytelling. Cecilia Gentili is a very busy person.

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<v Speaker 2>I work a lot, have a company, and I do

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of extra activities or related with community.

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<v Speaker 1>When she's not advising organizations or government agencies on how

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<v Speaker 1>to better serve the trans community, Cecilia might be writing

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<v Speaker 1>an op ed for The New York Times or speaking

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<v Speaker 1>in that a rally sharing her thoughts on the need

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<v Speaker 1>to decriminalize sex work.

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<v Speaker 4>Sex workers are again being forced to the impossible situation

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<v Speaker 4>of choosing between prioritizing their heads or having enough money

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<v Speaker 4>to survive.

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<v Speaker 1>Some of you might be familiar with Cecilia for her

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<v Speaker 1>role as MS Orlando on the FX hit series Pose,

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<v Speaker 1>a show portraying underground black and LATINX queer culture in

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<v Speaker 1>the late nineteen eighties and nineties.

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<v Speaker 3>Now are we going to do this or not?

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<v Speaker 2>Because it's going to take time and I'm I have

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<v Speaker 2>a hair forming at them.

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<v Speaker 1>Pose, of Course, was the first TV series with a

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<v Speaker 1>mostly transcast, but when the pandemic struck, Cecilia decided to

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<v Speaker 1>try her hand at something new, writing a memoir. Because

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<v Speaker 1>of the pandemic, she no longer had to commute to work,

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<v Speaker 1>so instead she used that time at home to start writing.

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<v Speaker 2>I Open My Eyes and walk to my computer and

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<v Speaker 2>start writing with a coffee.

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<v Speaker 1>And so last year, at fifty years old, Cecilia published

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<v Speaker 1>five tests, her first memoir, in the form of seven

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<v Speaker 1>letters written to people in her hometown in Argentina. Writing

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<v Speaker 1>to people like her grandmother or her father's mistress, Cecilia

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<v Speaker 1>uses humor and vivid storytelling to talk not only about

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<v Speaker 1>abuse and trauma, but also about joy and survival. Here's

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<v Speaker 1>Cecilia Gentili in her own words.

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<v Speaker 2>My name is a Legende Lely. I live in Brooklyn,

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<v Speaker 2>New York City, and I am originally from Argentina. I

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<v Speaker 2>didn't know what storytelling was. One time, after I changed

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<v Speaker 2>my name legally, Transgender Legal Defense helped me navigate my

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<v Speaker 2>name change. And during those meetings of changing my name,

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<v Speaker 2>I met this amazing trans individual. His name is Noah Lewis,

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<v Speaker 2>and he invited me to be a part of a

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<v Speaker 2>storytelling event. And I was like, what is in a

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<v Speaker 2>storytelling event? And he explained to me that he thought

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<v Speaker 2>that I could be good at telling stories. So I

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<v Speaker 2>was like, what, sorry, I'm gonna say. So he asked

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<v Speaker 2>me to practice with him. That we were driving to

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<v Speaker 2>my grandmother's house and my brother while.

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<v Speaker 3>We were crossing a railroad. Elbowed me and said, do

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<v Speaker 3>you see the railroad? And I said, why are we whispering?

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<v Speaker 2>And I found the process of talking about an event

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<v Speaker 2>and talking about my feelings and talking about my story

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<v Speaker 2>and talking about people around me throughout those times was

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<v Speaker 2>really healing and very entertaining. We found you in the

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<v Speaker 2>railroad and I said, what's that in the basket and

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<v Speaker 2>he said, no, no basket, which is kind of depressing, right.

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<v Speaker 2>The basket would make it look cute. I love attention.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm an aquarius. I enjoy being the center of attention.

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<v Speaker 2>And that was all put together was perfect. But I

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<v Speaker 2>loved telling stories life right. So you know, when you

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<v Speaker 2>tell a story, it's easy because you manipulate the story

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<v Speaker 2>as you want, rights on the goal, You change things around.

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<v Speaker 3>Because it's your story. Who's going to tell you anything

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<v Speaker 3>about it? You can do whatever you want.

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<v Speaker 2>But when I started writing, it's different because you write

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<v Speaker 2>something and it's structure and its rigid. It's there, it's

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<v Speaker 2>in a piece of paper, and every time somebody reads it,

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<v Speaker 2>it's going to be the same. There's no way to

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<v Speaker 2>tweak it or to play around. When I started writing

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<v Speaker 2>these stories, I thought it would be important to have

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<v Speaker 2>a public that for these stories to be told to somebody.

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<v Speaker 3>So that's how I came with letters.

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<v Speaker 2>I thought, I'm gonna say these things that I have

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<v Speaker 2>to say to the people that I want to say

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<v Speaker 2>them right.

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<v Speaker 3>Many of them are alive and many of them are not.

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<v Speaker 2>And that's how I started writing these letters to There

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<v Speaker 2>are seven letters to seven individuals that had some kind

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<v Speaker 2>of impact in my life, good or bad. That you

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<v Speaker 2>love to talk about my hometown I was born, and

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<v Speaker 2>see that de Galabes. Most of people live from agriculture.

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<v Speaker 2>The town is very little, and everybody knows you, and

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<v Speaker 2>everybody knows everything about you, and everybody talks about everybody,

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<v Speaker 2>and everything that is a little bit outside the normal

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<v Speaker 2>becomes some kind of sensation. When I was a leader

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<v Speaker 2>in Argentina was going through a dictatorship, my mother was

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<v Speaker 2>very clear about the political climate. She told me that

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<v Speaker 2>she wanted me to know what the reality was because

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<v Speaker 2>she clearly saw me as a queer kid. And you know,

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<v Speaker 2>oppressive regimes go first for people who think, write for poets,

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<v Speaker 2>for thinkers, and for artists, and many of those folks

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<v Speaker 2>are queer. So the queer community is one of the

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<v Speaker 2>communities that suffered the most when it comes to repression

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<v Speaker 2>from oppressive regimes or government. So my mom told me

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<v Speaker 2>that most of the things that she was oppress round

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<v Speaker 2>was just because she wanted me to leave. I grew

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<v Speaker 2>up with an extreme sense of a binaryness. So a

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<v Speaker 2>person who was a sign melobird should be masculine and

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<v Speaker 2>do all masculine things and be rough and be all macho,

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<v Speaker 2>and a woman had the expectation of being submissive and

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<v Speaker 2>beautiful and wear dresses. And at the time, as it

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<v Speaker 2>was the seventies, it was no concept of like trans

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<v Speaker 2>people or non binary people. I didn't meet another transperson

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<v Speaker 2>until I was seventeen, so for many years I thought

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<v Speaker 2>like I was an extra terrestrial or I thought that

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<v Speaker 2>I was crazy. I never never felt like anybody was

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<v Speaker 2>like me. So that's how I grew up. I grew

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<v Speaker 2>up having to perform a sense of masculinity that it

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<v Speaker 2>was not really innate or really came naturally to me,

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<v Speaker 2>but I navigated in a way in which I was

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<v Speaker 2>able to indulge in my femininity and in the beauty

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<v Speaker 2>of being a queer kid. My mom used to give

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<v Speaker 2>me flowers to bring to the teachers very often. It's

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<v Speaker 2>a form of appreciation that we do in Latin America.

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<v Speaker 3>My mom sent me to.

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<v Speaker 2>School with my carnation in my hand, and when I

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<v Speaker 2>got to school, I was confronted and told that I

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<v Speaker 2>shouldn't go to class, that I had to go to

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<v Speaker 2>see the superintendent la Dilectora de la Cuela. And you

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<v Speaker 2>know that something is wrong, and they don't send you

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<v Speaker 2>to see the superintendent if you are doing good. They

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<v Speaker 2>send you to see them if it did something wrong.

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<v Speaker 2>And there was my mom and Tho these two women,

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<v Speaker 2>one was a psychologist and another one psychiatrist, and.

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<v Speaker 3>They with very.

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<v Speaker 2>Not very pedagogic ways. They explained to me that I

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<v Speaker 2>shouldn't use the girls bathroom because I was using the

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<v Speaker 2>girls bathroom.

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<v Speaker 3>I thought that that was normal.

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<v Speaker 2>I felt and always see myself as a girl, so

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<v Speaker 2>are would going to the girls bathroom? So they explained

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<v Speaker 2>to me that because of my gen italia, which is

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<v Speaker 2>such a difficult conversation to have with the kids six

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<v Speaker 2>years old, you know, it's just hard. I think that

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<v Speaker 2>was the first time that I learned to negotiate, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>with people. And I was like, you know what, I'm

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<v Speaker 2>not gonna have find this. I'm just gonna do what

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<v Speaker 2>they tell me and I stop using the girls bathroom.

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<v Speaker 2>But I actually thought at the moment that they were

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<v Speaker 2>all crazy. As a child, I was obsessed with UFOs.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm from an area of Argentina that was very famous

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<v Speaker 2>for people seeing UFOs. One day, we were driving with

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<v Speaker 2>my father and my mother to my grandmother's house. We

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<v Speaker 2>were driving and we passed through a railroad and my

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<v Speaker 2>brother was like, that's where we found you.

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<v Speaker 3>And I was like what he says, like, yeah, we

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<v Speaker 3>found you there.

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<v Speaker 2>You're not my brother, you know, we found you there,

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<v Speaker 2>and you in race, you know, with us, but you're

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<v Speaker 2>not part of this family.

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<v Speaker 3>Which is like really really nasty.

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<v Speaker 2>But you know, I guess as both brothers and sisters

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<v Speaker 2>and siblings do, right, And I totally believed him, and

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<v Speaker 2>it kind of made sense, right. I put to a

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<v Speaker 2>two together and I was like, this is a known

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<v Speaker 2>UFO area. I was found in a railroad. I am

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<v Speaker 2>a girl, but I have a peepee and I can't

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<v Speaker 2>use the girl's bathroom. Everything led me to believe that

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<v Speaker 2>I was left in this earth by mistake, by a

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<v Speaker 2>group of extraterrestrials. And I went to my grandma and

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<v Speaker 2>I explained that to her, and my grandma, being the

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<v Speaker 2>amazing woman that she was entertained, and she said that, yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>maybe you are. I told her, like, maybe they'll come

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<v Speaker 2>back for me. And that night we waited for the

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<v Speaker 2>UFOs to come back to get me. So we waited,

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<v Speaker 2>and of course nobody came. But she told me that

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<v Speaker 2>we have to thrive with what we have a hand.

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<v Speaker 2>And she told me that what I had was her

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<v Speaker 2>and my family, and even if it wasn't my family,

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<v Speaker 2>even if I was from another planet, I had to

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<v Speaker 2>make the best out of it. It was a very

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<v Speaker 2>important lesson of a very, very wise woman. I think

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<v Speaker 2>it's important that we talked about the importance of giving good,

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<v Speaker 2>healthy attention to our children, because if we don't give

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<v Speaker 2>them good, healthy attention, somebody may try to give them

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<v Speaker 2>a negative attention, like it was my case. I've been

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<v Speaker 2>in therapy for more than ten years, and I believe

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<v Speaker 2>that was the time that took me to come to

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<v Speaker 2>terms with my history of abuse and also with my

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<v Speaker 2>history of survival. Right because this book is not just

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<v Speaker 2>about sexual abuse. It's about surviving sexual abuse. It's about

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<v Speaker 2>finding ways to thrive as a young person. It is

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<v Speaker 2>one phrase in the book that for me summarized a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of the whole book that when we talk about

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<v Speaker 2>sexual abuse and the person who sexually abused me, I

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<v Speaker 2>say that he saved my life and.

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<v Speaker 3>Ruin it forever.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, because this person was the only person that was

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<v Speaker 2>understanding me as a girl, that was entertaining my femininity

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<v Speaker 2>in the terrible way that it happened. It was also

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<v Speaker 2>life saving for me because I felt validated and recognized

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<v Speaker 2>through the terrible actions that he committed. I think is

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<v Speaker 2>important that we talk about sexual violence, and that we

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<v Speaker 2>talk about sexual violence and children and young adults. So

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<v Speaker 2>this book is a lot about that, but it's a

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<v Speaker 2>lot about surviving and the beauty of surviving and the

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<v Speaker 2>strength of surviving and thriving. So, after ten years of therapy,

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<v Speaker 2>I found the courage to talk openly about my history

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<v Speaker 2>because that history and the terribleness of some of the

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<v Speaker 2>things that happened to me were a big part of

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<v Speaker 2>my bad mental health, my need to use substances. So

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<v Speaker 2>as part of my process of therapy, I came to

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<v Speaker 2>understand that I could talk about these things that it

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<v Speaker 2>was a hate to talk about these things. Finally, after

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<v Speaker 2>so many years of therapy, I understood that it was

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<v Speaker 2>not blame of my part, and all of these terrible

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<v Speaker 2>things that happened to me that I was not to blame,

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<v Speaker 2>which I did blame myself for many years. I decided

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<v Speaker 2>not to soften any of the narrative. But also I

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<v Speaker 2>decided that I didn't want to create a piece that

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<v Speaker 2>was just about trauma, because I.

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<v Speaker 3>Believe that.

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<v Speaker 2>People in general, specifically cis gender people, have a tendency

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<v Speaker 2>to fit said with the trauma and with the pain

0:18:05.320 --> 0:18:10.600
<v Speaker 2>and with the terribornness of the lives of a transperson. Right,

0:18:12.400 --> 0:18:19.119
<v Speaker 2>So I wanted to intertwine the trauma with the joy

0:18:19.520 --> 0:18:24.480
<v Speaker 2>that I experienced. So at the same time that these

0:18:24.960 --> 0:18:30.360
<v Speaker 2>bad things were happening to me, I was also experiencing joy,

0:18:30.400 --> 0:18:33.159
<v Speaker 2>and those two things can live.

0:18:33.080 --> 0:18:34.119
<v Speaker 3>At the same time.

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<v Speaker 2>So that's why the book, I hope it translates as

0:18:41.160 --> 0:18:52.840
<v Speaker 2>those two feelings living together and intertwine. All the letters

0:18:52.920 --> 0:18:59.280
<v Speaker 2>that I wrote were really important for me. It was

0:18:59.480 --> 0:19:03.560
<v Speaker 2>very important. Letters that is addressed to my grandmother is

0:19:04.640 --> 0:19:11.040
<v Speaker 2>meant to describe the joy and the beauty that we

0:19:11.160 --> 0:19:18.359
<v Speaker 2>can create when we support people, specifically in this case

0:19:19.160 --> 0:19:24.199
<v Speaker 2>children who are different and is the story of a

0:19:24.280 --> 0:19:33.560
<v Speaker 2>woman who decided to stand up for her grandchild. My

0:19:33.600 --> 0:19:38.480
<v Speaker 2>grandmother loved tangos and Argentina. The tangos is, you know,

0:19:38.560 --> 0:19:42.719
<v Speaker 2>part of the culture is so important, right. But my grandmother,

0:19:44.000 --> 0:19:48.600
<v Speaker 2>who watch a show called Grandest Ballories del Tango. In

0:19:48.680 --> 0:19:51.239
<v Speaker 2>the middle of the show, at a moment where I

0:19:51.280 --> 0:19:54.960
<v Speaker 2>thought it was the most important for me, with the

0:19:55.000 --> 0:19:58.720
<v Speaker 2>song that I like the most, I come out of

0:19:58.760 --> 0:20:03.720
<v Speaker 2>her room with all her clothes and jewelry and I

0:20:04.000 --> 0:20:08.119
<v Speaker 2>do a performance of a tango for them. So they

0:20:08.320 --> 0:20:12.840
<v Speaker 2>stopped looking at the TV and they moved their heads

0:20:12.880 --> 0:20:15.880
<v Speaker 2>to look at me. And the TV was just the music,

0:20:16.840 --> 0:20:19.520
<v Speaker 2>but I was the show. I was doing the show.

0:20:20.680 --> 0:20:26.800
<v Speaker 2>And I remember myself doing this at four or five, six,

0:20:26.960 --> 0:20:30.160
<v Speaker 2>seven years old. That's one of the most beautiful memories

0:20:30.200 --> 0:20:35.160
<v Speaker 2>of my grandmother, her just allowing me to be me right.

0:20:35.480 --> 0:20:38.679
<v Speaker 2>And if more people will have allowed me to be

0:20:38.840 --> 0:20:44.640
<v Speaker 2>me like she did with good intentions, maybe my life

0:20:44.680 --> 0:20:47.680
<v Speaker 2>would have been a little bit better. But even though

0:20:47.760 --> 0:20:51.159
<v Speaker 2>it wasn't better, it was a life and it's to

0:20:51.280 --> 0:20:55.200
<v Speaker 2>be celebrated, and that's what we do.

0:20:56.560 --> 0:20:57.879
<v Speaker 3>That's what we do as trans people.

0:20:57.960 --> 0:21:06.080
<v Speaker 2>We have to celebrate ourselves when others don't. Trans kits

0:21:06.400 --> 0:21:11.639
<v Speaker 2>are extremely underattacked with business of legislation throughout the whole country,

0:21:12.280 --> 0:21:16.760
<v Speaker 2>where like trans kits are not supported in helper or

0:21:16.840 --> 0:21:21.320
<v Speaker 2>like demands on sports for trans people right, and all

0:21:21.400 --> 0:21:26.000
<v Speaker 2>of this is the result of this ideology that trans

0:21:26.000 --> 0:21:29.679
<v Speaker 2>people are this new phenomenon. Trans people have been here forever.

0:21:29.760 --> 0:21:32.840
<v Speaker 2>I've been here for fifty years. This is not new.

0:21:33.680 --> 0:21:36.320
<v Speaker 2>The thing is that now trans kids are able to

0:21:36.960 --> 0:21:42.639
<v Speaker 2>better understand themselves because like the Internet, because information. But

0:21:42.680 --> 0:21:45.160
<v Speaker 2>in my time, I didn't have any of that. So

0:21:45.320 --> 0:21:49.400
<v Speaker 2>I had to improvise, and I had to be myself

0:21:49.520 --> 0:21:52.880
<v Speaker 2>and my feminine self and the little girl that I was.

0:21:53.320 --> 0:21:54.119
<v Speaker 3>As I could.

0:21:54.680 --> 0:21:58.400
<v Speaker 2>And that's what I did, and I think it informed

0:21:58.440 --> 0:22:02.240
<v Speaker 2>a lot of my life till nowadays I find ways

0:22:02.280 --> 0:22:05.920
<v Speaker 2>to do what I need to do to survive and thrive.

0:22:11.200 --> 0:22:17.400
<v Speaker 2>I believe that storytelling is advocacy, and the advocacy is storytelling.

0:22:18.160 --> 0:22:20.760
<v Speaker 2>The best way to create the change that we want

0:22:21.160 --> 0:22:24.640
<v Speaker 2>in society and in our lives is by sharing our

0:22:24.720 --> 0:22:28.680
<v Speaker 2>stories and asking for what we need. So this book

0:22:28.720 --> 0:22:35.200
<v Speaker 2>is not just about stories. This book is screaming revolutionary

0:22:35.720 --> 0:22:43.640
<v Speaker 2>ask to support trans young faults. So this book is

0:22:43.680 --> 0:22:47.000
<v Speaker 2>an act of advocacy.

0:22:47.920 --> 0:22:48.480
<v Speaker 3>On its own.

0:22:53.280 --> 0:22:58.520
<v Speaker 1>That was Cecilia Gentily gentily passed away on February sixth

0:22:58.640 --> 0:23:01.679
<v Speaker 1>at our home in Brooklyn. She had just turned fifty

0:23:01.720 --> 0:23:26.159
<v Speaker 1>two years old. This episode was produced by Julia Rocha

0:23:26.320 --> 0:23:31.000
<v Speaker 1>and edited by Daisy Contreras. It was mixed by Julia Caruso.

0:23:31.400 --> 0:23:36.359
<v Speaker 1>The Latino USA team also includes Victoria Strada, Renaldo Lanos Junior,

0:23:36.440 --> 0:23:41.240
<v Speaker 1>Andrea Lopez Cruzado, Lori mar Marquez, Marta Martinez, Mike Sargent,

0:23:41.400 --> 0:23:45.000
<v Speaker 1>Nor Saudi, and Nancy Trujillo. Bennileei Ramirez is our co

0:23:45.040 --> 0:23:49.120
<v Speaker 1>executive producer. Our director of Engineering is Stephanie Lebau. Our

0:23:49.160 --> 0:23:52.760
<v Speaker 1>marketing manager is Luis Lunap. Our theme music was composed

0:23:52.760 --> 0:23:55.680
<v Speaker 1>by Sanie Robinos. I'm your host and executive producer Maria

0:23:55.800 --> 0:23:58.560
<v Speaker 1>Jojosa joined us again on our next episode and in

0:23:58.560 --> 0:24:01.280
<v Speaker 1>the meantime look for us all of your social media.

0:24:01.400 --> 0:24:07.640
<v Speaker 1>I'll see you there and remember off y Yes Joo.

0:24:09.119 --> 0:24:13.080
<v Speaker 5>Latino USA is made possible in part by New York

0:24:13.160 --> 0:24:17.760
<v Speaker 5>Women's Foundation. The New York Women's Foundation funding women leaders

0:24:17.800 --> 0:24:21.879
<v Speaker 5>that build solutions in their communities and celebrating thirty years

0:24:21.920 --> 0:24:25.920
<v Speaker 5>of radical generosity, the John D. And Catherine T. MacArthur

0:24:25.960 --> 0:24:31.280
<v Speaker 5>Foundation and the Ford Foundation, working with visionaries on the

0:24:31.320 --> 0:24:35.960
<v Speaker 5>front lines of social change worldwide.

0:24:37.720 --> 0:24:44.239
<v Speaker 1>From futuro Media and prx it's Latino USA. If I

0:24:44.280 --> 0:24:45.560
<v Speaker 1>remembered my name, that would be good