While the Brazilian congress continues to delay discussion of gay marriage legislation, the justice system made a decision yesterday, 14th May, determining that same-sex couples cannot be denied marriage licenses.

Although Congress is still debating the issue, the judicial decision makes gay marriage legal by outlawing denial of licenses to same-sex couples.

The National Justice Council (CNJ), a panel that oversees the country’s justice system, approved the measure yesterday with a vote of 14-1. The resolution states, “it is prohibited for the related authorities to reject the authorisation or celebration of civil marriage or the conversion of a civil union to marriage of people of the same sex.” It also indicates that authorities that fail to recognise the court order would be penalised.

Yesterday’s CNJ announcement is the first major decision regarding the subject since the Supreme Court approved civil unions of same-sex couples in 2011. Since that date some gay and lesbian couples have received marriage licenses, although others have only been able to attain civil union recognition, based on the discretion of individual notaries. Now, denial of this documentation based on the sexual orientation will be illegal.

Upon hearing yesterday’s decision, Carlos Magno Fonseca, President of the Brazilian Association of LGBT People (ABLGBT) stated: “This is a great step–a victory, because it is advancing something that many civil notaries have failed to recognise. We are living in a moment of celebration”.

With yesterday’s decision, Brazil became the world’s fifteenth country to permit gay marriage on a national scale. This aligns the country with its neighbours Uruguay, which legalised gay marriage last month, and Argentina, which made the decision in 2010. However, Brazil’s legalisation is not complete as it stands, and detailed legislation still warrants congressional approval.

Brazil is the world’s most populated Catholic country and home to an estimated 60,000 same-sex couples. Religious and conservative members of Congress have consistently rejected same-sex marriage legalisation, and opponents could challenge the CNJ decision in the Supreme Court.

On Saturday 10th November the annual Argentine Pride Festival was held in Buenos Aires. The festival started in the afternoon at Plaza de  Mayo and after a spectacular parade it ended by Congreso in the evening.

The motto for this year was “Education in diversity to grow in equality.”

 

Sexy pool parties with locally-brewed blond beer. A stripper dressed as an alien going full monty. Simply a coffee, a comfy chair and some eye-candy.

Whatever you’re looking for in a gay bar, Buenos Aires is sure to have it. Known for years as the gay capital of Latin America, the city is famously welcoming to LGBT people from around the world.

Maps and guidebooks showing off the homosexual side of Buenos Aires can be picked up at most gay-friendly locations, such as the Axel Hotel or El Lugar Gay. Tours highlighting the city’s active gay bar scene can be found either through this literature, or just from chatting with local bartenders and hotel managers.

There are hopping dance clubs like Glam, with tight security and beautiful people. Then there’s Bach Bar – the city’s oldest gay bar – a lesbian bar that has been an icon in Buenos Aires for about 20 years. With so many to sample, the Indy stepped out to bring you this week’s Top 5 of some of the best gay bars in town.

Sitges

For those wanting a good overall experience, Sitges is the place to go. Now 15 years old, the second-oldest gay bar in town doesn’t look its age.

The magic is in the details. Classy, modern light fixtures cast a warm glow, while flat screen televisions give off cool rays. The black-and-white polkadot walls stand as a good canvas for the blue and green pot lights to decorate.

The service here is great. The bartenders work together like the Borg on a drink-making mission. Well-dressed and professional, they move in unison to prepare pricey but fancy beverages and move them to customers in reasonable time.

The rooms are filled mostly with men, but there are women at Sitges too. There is usually a cover charge, but you get what you pay for.

Wednesday night includes free pizza with a show after 1am. Thursdays offer two-for-one on drinks until 1am, while Fridays’ cover charge pays for the open bar. Saturdays have a dance party with performances, and Sundays are famous for their karaoke and “telegram” chat ups.

Sitges opens Wednesday-Sunday from 11pm. Av. Córdoba 4119, sitgesonline.com.ar

KM Zero

KM Zero claim to host “The Hottest Night in Buenos Aires”, and their Monday night stripper night is certainly not for the faint of heart (or skin). The only place where you might find more fun this early in the week is in San Francisco’s Castro district.

As you walk down to the basement, you first see the long bar. Blue lights brighten the black walls, and a slightly dark and dingy atmosphere lingers – it’s the kind of place where anything could happen.

Leather couches sit in-front of the stage where the shows take place and tables are arranged behind the couches cafeteria-style, allowing people – including the strippers – to move easily between them.

The staff are friendly and welcoming, and the shows are interesting to say the least. From strippers both dressed and undressing as aliens, to a tequila contest that involves licking salt from a stripper’s belly, the things that happen at this bar promise to be too much for an even slightly prudish person.

Like Sitges, KM Zero draws a lot of men, but women are also welcome. Besides the Monday stripper night, a variety of shows take place on every night of the week. Drinks hover around the $30 mark, with many cocktails coming in at $28.

KM Zero opens everyday from 11:30pm, except Wednesday when it opens at 12:30pm. Santa Fe 2516, kmzero.com.ar

Pride Café

Pride Café, as you can tell from the name, is far more café than bar. That said, it sells alcohol and it’s a lovely place – warm and welcoming, with a serene atmosphere.

On arrival, you can choose between the sunny patio on the corner or the cool comfy seats indoors.Outside, the neighbouring trees lend a touch of greenery, and inside, the white walls are decorated with modern art. The occasional rainbow adds a spot of colour, too.

It’s a relaxed location, and the speed of service is comparable to most cafés in town. You should probably give yourself (and your partner) at least an hour to unwind and enjoy the day.

 The coffee is delightful and, although $13 might seem a little steep for a café con leche, the quality is high and the mug comes more like a bowl.

The chocotorta is also highly recommended. The layered cake with mousse is rich, but not too sweet and, topped with cinnamon, it’s the perfect Sunday afternoon treat to share with a lover.

The café is open from 11am-8pm Mondays to Saturdays, and from 10am-8pm Sundays, and all genders are welcome.

Pride Café opens every day from 11-8pm except Sunday, when it opens at 10am. For more information, click here.

Flux

Flux is a nice, discreet place for those who need a quieter moment. Like KM Zero, you enter by walking downstairs into a basement. There, the lights are dim, and the interior is inventive.

There’s a giant Indian wall hanging that sits beside photos of “Flux” tattoos adorning men’s bodies. The bar is filled with shabby chic couches and chairs, providing a lot of canoodling space, and the music won’t draw your attention from your date. The bathroom stalls don’t all have doors or lights, but are clean.

If you’d like a menu, you’ll be handed a record – that’s right, an old-school black record – that has the drink and food lists pasted on the back of the cover and on the record itself.

There isn’t always a cover charge, but Flux closes a little earlier than some other bars, shutting its doors around 2 or 3am. Drinks are a little cheaper here than at many of Buenos Aires’ other gay bars, sitting around $30 each, with a litre of Quilmes for $24.

Again, there tends to be more men than women, but women are certainly allowed.

Flux opens every day from 7pm. Closing times vary. Marcelo T. de Alvear 980, fluxbuenosaires.blogspot.com

Amerika

If you want a hopping party and a chance to pick up through dance moves, Amerika is where you want to be.

With a maximum capacity of 1,866 people – most of whom are quite attractive – you’re bound to find someone to suit your tastes.

Red and green strobe lights brighten the dark, black room. A giant disco ball spins extra light around the main room, where a DJ sits on stage. Security is everywhere.

Upstairs, there’s a separated area with a bunch of strong-backed black couches. Blocked by curtains, and darker than the rest of the bar, you can only imagine what sexy deeds go on here.

Amerika’s several bars sell drinks at around $20-40, which is comparable to other gay bars. Most nights have a cover charge, however, so don’t leave home without a few pesos tucked in your pocket.

Men and women are welcome.

Amerika opens Thursday-Sunday from 1-8am. For more information, click here.

A series of social laws was passed yesterday in the Lower House, achieving preliminary approval before continuing on the Upper House in Congress.

The gender identity bill was partially approved by the majority after five hours of debate. This law allows citizens to change their name and sexual identity without court permission. The president of the General Legislation Commission, Vilma Ibarra from the Nuevo Encuentro Party said: “This is an initiative which will bring respect and dignity to the transsexual people, which includes our Constitution and the human rights treaties that have been incorporated into it.”

Members of the Argentine Federation of Lesbian, Gays, Bisexuals and Transsexuals (FALGBT), the Travesties, Transsexuals and Transgender Association (ATTA), and the National Front for the Gender Identity Law in the Argentine Homosexual Community (CHA) were present during the session and celebrated the preliminary approval.

The part of the law which reached no agreement was that which relates to minors receiving hormonal treatment and sex change with the consent of their parents.

The dignified death bill has also been passed with the approval of 142 lawmakers. Six voted against it and two abstained. This law gives patients more control over which medical treatments they wish to receiveor reject after being informed of their situation. It also takes away the responsibility of the professionals who, working within the law, are faced with the patient’s decisions.

Projects that were also approved included the authorisation of joint military training with foreign troops, a bank holiday scheduled for the 27^th of February 2012 celebrating the bicentenary creation of the national flag,and Argentina’s adherence to the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank.

Additionally, lawmakers ratified agreements with Mercosur for the equalisation and recognition of primary and secondary education between the member states, with Unasur for the commitment to protect democracy and with Unesco for the creation of an international human rights centre in Buenos Aires.

Other bills such as assisted fertilisation and crimes against a minor’s integrity bill have not reached a conclusion. These will be further debated in 2012, after half of the parliamentary seats change.

Nine days of celebrations are to be held between the 10^th and the 18^th of December, as Buenos Aires will be hosting the first New Gay Pride Fest BA.

There will be big parties but also cultural activities and educational talks, which will address topics ranging from HIV and discrimination, to equal marriage and adoption.

The organizer, Gianni Beck, has been working on this project for the past two years. The aim of the festival is to celebrate the worldwide achievements of the LGBT community and promote an “inclusive” mood. ”This story of ‘fighting’ for everything that is gay has ended, there is egalitarian marriage, the gender law will be passed… So what’s missing is that society joins together as a whole. It’s about inclusion,” he said. “This is a much happier campaign. So our idea is to show those who haven’t realised it yet that we are all equal.”

The two most important parties will be on the 15^th and 17^th of December. Fresh Power Pool Party, a pool party with a host of international DJs, will start in the afternoon and finish in the early hours of the evening. Dutch DJ Dash Berlin, Spanish DJ Iván Pica and the Argentine duet Heartbeat, amongst others, will be present at the Gay Power Party, to be held in the Malvinas Argentinas Stadium.

It is expected that 5000 people will attend the main parties.

Recently published autobiography ‘Malva, mi recorrido’ could be a take on Argentina’s recent history through a transvestite lens, giving the word to a community segregated for many years.

According to statistics from transvestites’ organisations, this community has an average life of 35 years, giving Malva, a 90-year-old transvestite, the opportunity – if not the need – to recall a collective memory that has nearly vanished.

Malva would not be your typical history teacher, but her life story as a transvestite in the 40s and 50s in Argentina is certainly an eye opener on Argentina’s complex history. When I came across Malva’s story through a Centro Cultural Rojas (CCR) programme and saw that she was signing her autobiography, I immediately contacted her for an interview.

You have just published your autobiography, how did this project come about?

I am proud to say this is my book; this is my story, my life story. I could not get my book published for a year and finally Centro Cultural Rojas opened its doors to me, their communication project Technology Gender coordinated by Paula Viturro was interested in publishing my book. They are great people and I am very thankful for their collaboration. The book was published on 27th April and we had a presentation to the public on 15th May. It was wonderful. I have been writing my journals for some time, but this book took me a lot of time and thought, recollecting all the bits and pieces of my memory to make it what it is and what I wanted it to be.

So what is it about, what did you want it to be?

Well, it is the story of my life in Argentina, specifically from 1943 to 1955. This not a political history book, it is simply the memories of my path. But living under Perón has had an influence on my living conditions so I reflect on that. The book starts with my up-bringing in Chile and how I eventually decided to cross the Andes and come to Buenos Aires. I could say there are two parts in the book; firstly from 1943 to 1947 when I left home, my first experiences and my settling-in in Buenos Aires. In the second part I talk about the period that starts and finishes with the presidency of General Juan Domingo Perón; from 1947 to 1955.

In what way was Perón a turning point in your life?

Perón was elected democratically but the system and society he forged was one that segregated us and many others completely. Of course he did some good things. But for people like me, no, his policies gave a disastrous turn to my living conditions. He did a lot of very good reforms for the workers, very important and good reforms, because there was no social security whatsoever before him. So people liked him because of that. But he was a fascist, completely homophobic and against any kind of behaviour deemed excessive. He installed a system that prohibited a lot of things and excluded a lot of people, he censored speech and thought, and you couldn’t say anything against Perón or his wife Eva. He had a police like the Gestapo to control everything that would be against the system. There was the Alianza National Libertadora, adulators of Mussolini and Hitler, completely anti-Semitic. He did well because he was re-elected democratically and because of a few reforms he did people loved him (pension fund, social benefits, work benefits, paid holidays, and education). But gradually people got tired, well, at least the military. It was ten years of authoritarianism, violent abuses and restriction of speech and thought, slowly shifting his personal cult into something pathological.

What was your living conditions in Buenos Aires during those times?

I did many things, from waiter, to chef, to couturier. Buenos Aires was an exciting city to live in where interesting people lived. I heard Gardel, Troilo and Pugliese live; I would go to the cabarets, cafes and other nightlife places. The city was very different from today. But it was also very difficult and restrictive, in 1947 almost every night there were arrests of transvestites and homosexuals, we would not spend more than 30 days without a judicial cause. [Malva’s several arrests and imprisonments in the Villa Devoto Prison are described in the book]. We were prisoners because we liked men, because we were “disrupting the public order”. At one point we reunited in ‘Maricas Unidas Argentinas’ as a social and political organisation but our group was quickly dismantled. Most of us lived in slums or in terrible conditions. We were subjected to constant judgement, treated brutally and humiliated for the sake of not fitting in the system. I just want homosexuals from today; and the society in general to know about the way we lived and were treated.

With the change of governments did your living conditions change?

It was the same situation, worse actually during the dictatorship. We had a community but it was very disparate, we had to hide. All the censorship, control and exclusion continued and worsened but it wasn’t just us anymore, it was generalised. There was no human rights organisations to defend anyone. The only one who wasn’t homophobic was Agustín Lanusse but other than him it was constant reprisal and repression. [Malva’s travels to Brazil and other South American countries are described in the book]. In the 60s and 70s our lifestyle became more widespread and a transvestite artistic movement started to develop with a lot of carnivals taking place. Then Perón was re-elected for a third time, after which I left to Brazil. Following the summer carnivals I came back to Buenos Aires; where my heart stands.

Since the restoration of democracy how did your situation improve?

Today we have the first government in our history that actually gives us a place in society. Any gay person can freely get married! That’s a huge step. Transvestites can dress up freely, protest, organise reunions, we are accepted and tolerated in today’s society thanks to the current government. Of course as any government there are problems in the system and negative aspects to its policies, but for us as a community the situation has gotten much better. Under Alfonsín as well our living conditions got better but it didn’t last.

In comparison to other South American countries, how does Argentina fair?

There are still quite a lot of restrictions in Brazil and even more in Peru. Venezuela is pretty restrictive as well. Uruguay and Chile are more liberal. Colombia is very free and so are Mexico and Paraguay. Argentina is definitely leading the way in terms of sexual tolerance and freedom. However our democracy is young and I think that we need to sustain it; everyone needs to participate and maintain the freedom we have acquired.

What would be your message to younger people?

I think young people, transvestites, gay, people like us, should get politicised. I think that is very important. To sustain and enhance what has been achieved until now because we don’t know what might happen tomorrow. I am not saying transvestites should have a political party as such, I think people should join whichever party they support. But younger people should strive to represent us as a community at a political level, as governors and senators.

How could the current situation continue to improve?

I am so happy that the situation is what it is today. When the equal rights law was voted we were all invited at the Casa Rosada. It was a way of saying to us that we are human beings and that we are part of this society. I went inside the Casa Rosada! Never have I thought such thing would be possible. I was scared when I went in. When I arrived, a guard said to me “Go ahead, Madam” before, it would have been “Go away, fucking bitch”. This government has done a lot in terms of human rights and in terms of gay rights. Before we would get assaulted or killed in the street, today young transvestites are free to do anything anytime.

As of challenges to come, I think we should press on the change of sex. Lawyers do not understand what it is like; they only take a medical point of view. I think we should also fight for the right of adoption. Why wouldn’t we be able to give love to a child? So many children are abandoned or mistreated. Who says we can’t have children? Who says we can’t dress them, feed them, and love them? People often see us as exuberant people, who live in debauchery, but it is really not true, we are more tamed and probably more moral than our neighbours! It is a stereotype we should confront. There are still some wars to be won but we are definitely making improvements. I wrote an article on what family is in El Teje [see below], this would never have been possible a few years ago.

Saturday, 6th November, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community of Buenos Aires celebrated its 19th annual march. In the early afternoon, people gathered at Plaza de Mayo to listen to live music, peruse the vendor stalls and show off (or stare at) the wildly creative costumes on display. Around 7pm, the march started down Av de Mayo, ending at Congreso where the community assembled to protest for the passage of the Gender Identity Law. The law, proposed by Deputy Silva Augsburger, would let transexuals change their names and gender with the National Registry and their DNIs (National Identity Document). Argentina Independent photographers, Beatrice Murch and Shooresh Fezoni, covered the event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buenos Aires is a cosmopolitan place. It described by the website www.thegayguide.com.ar as “probably one of the most open-minded cities in Latin America” and both the international press and the national government have advertised the Argentine capital as “gay friendly”. To a certain extent, this acceptance of sexual diversity does not just apply to the gays and lesbians, but also to the trans community. As Sam Walker reported for The Argentina Independent, the presence of transsexual and transvestite prostitutes in the Bosques de Palermo are a recognised, and widely accepted, feature of the city.

But despite the acceptance of trans prostitutes in certain districts, discrimination against transsexuals is still rife. María Rachid, president of the Argentine Federation of Gays Lesbians Bisexuals and Trans (FALGBT) emphasises the “extreme exclusion and marginalisation” of the trans community.

She describe how “when they’re about 12 years old they are thrown out of their homes…they are on the street and are only able to access prostitution. They can’t continue their studies. They can’t get a job. This means that they also don’t have access to public health. They have an average life expectancy of 35 years.”

Over the past 20 years, the discrimination has given birth to a political movement. The Argentine Association of Transsexuals, Transvestite and Transgenders (ATTTA) and the FALGBT are two groups that campaign nationally for transsexual rights.

Both organisations went to the national congress on the 31st March this year to lobby for the introduction of two new laws: one which would make it easier for transsexuals to change the name and gender on their official documents, and another that would broaden healthcare coverage for the community. However, despite limited progress that has already been made, Claudia Pía Baudracco, head of ATTTA, tells me: “there’s still a great fight to be fought.”

While acknowledging limited progress in the present, Baudracco is damning in her description of how transsexuals were treated in the past: “There were years of genocide, of trans-phobic deaths…the great scourge of not being able to access healthcare…today we have been able to overcome some of these obstacles that were a bane to our community.”

She describes how the greatest advances have been made in terms of the visibility of the community: “Twenty years ago we didn’t have the right to go out in public, to do what we’re doing now, to do an interview in a public space.”

There have also been improvements in access to general healthcare and HIV/AIDS treatment. However, although Baudracco acknowledges Argentina has made progress on a “social and cultural” level she also argues: “In many cases this social and cultural change, if it’s not backed up by legislation that protects it, results in obstacles.”

ATTTA, the group that Baudracco leads, fights for the rights of the trans community in three main areas: education, health and civil rights. Baudracco describes how, at present “a girl of 12, 13 or 14, when she begins to show her identity as a trans woman, is completely shut out by the system, both the education system and the health system.”

The ATTTA leader places special emphasis on the importance of improving access to education, saying that she herself was thrown out of school at 13, and only went back to complete her secondary education in 2005. Afterwards she went on to study at university, but she stresses that it is “a minority” of transsexuals who manage to complete secondary education, let alone reach university.

Access to proper healthcare is also a concern. One of the achievements of the trans movement over the past 20 years has been in improving access to HIV/AIDS treatment and general healthcare. Because most transsexuals cannot find work apart from prostitution, the community has been hit particularly hard by the epidemic. Baudracco explains that many fellow transsexuals died because they didn’t receive proper treatment. Now the access to anti-retroviral drugs has improved radically but the right to other types of health care, including feminising treatments and sex reassignment surgery, is still limited.

At present, in order to undergo a sex change operation, transsexuals still need the special authorisation of a judge and a doctor, which can take years to win. Baudracco describes how this unfulfilled need, “leads to shoddy, back street (medical) practices and… the use and abuse not just of hormones, but of hormones and silicon,” which in itself is dangerous.

Baudracco and Rachid both argue that the best way to resolve these issues is for the Argentine government to acknowledge transsexuals’ rights as citizens. With this aim in mind, both ATTTA and FALGBT went to congress on 31st March to campaign for a “law of gender identity”. The bill is modelled on a Spanish law that came into force in March 2007, which allows transsexuals to change their official details and undergo sex change surgery without the ruling of a judge.

Marcela Romero, transsexual rights campaigner, member of ATTTA and vice president of the FAGLBT argues that politicians have a responsibility to pass the bill and “to recognise us as the people and the citizens that we are.” Romero made news last year when she won a legal battle to be able to change the name that appeared on her national id card. However, although she was obviously pleased with the judge’s decision, she emphasised to the press that not many other transsexuals were in a position to appeal to the courts for their rights, and that it was “essential to resolve this legal vacuum”.

Baudracco not only agrees that she is not represented by the government, she also asserts that the state actively legitimises and participates in discrimination against transsexuals. She says that the “neo-liberal model” of Argentina politics fosters the rule of an elite and perpetuates a reactionary conservative government. She accuses religious groups of being in connivance with the political right wing, saying that they “hide behind religious fundamentalism so that the far right in Argentina can continue in power.”

Baudracco also dismisses conservative opposition as deeply hypocritical, saying that the social groups that block pro-transsexual legislation are the same ones who see transsexual prostitutes in Palermo. She says that even though Christian groups call her “‘unnatural’…for me ‘unnatural’ means being a man, the father of a family, with a typical home, and having children, and then going out to have sexual relations with a transvestite.”

She also points the finger of blame in particular at the police. She describes the security forces as rife with corruption and she accuses them of assaulting and exploiting the trans community. She also describes police negligence: “there are many cases of murders with regulation weapons issued to the security forces. The cases are never cleared up, where they always try to wipe out all types of evidence and don’t investigate them.”

Baudracco even compares the marginalisation of the trans community to “the Armenian genocide” and says that the government displays “attitudes very similar to Hitler’s”. “It would be much more direct to make us face a firing squad and kill us all, than to deny us education, work, heath and a place to live with dignity. I think that’s an even greater genocide,” she states.

With such strong language being used, it is obvious that transsexual rights are a controversial political topic. However, on another level, they are also a deeply personal issue, which don’t have to do with state, but with the individual.

Baudracco emphasises that her gender identity is up to her, and the only thing that should matter to the government is that she’s an Argentine citizen: “I can’t go through my life taking down my trousers to show whether I’m a transvestite, a transsexual or a transgender. First of all I’m a person.”