Serie of collaborative portraits of transgender Latina immigrant from Central and South America living in New York City as they face discrimination and cope with the psychological consequences of their personal histories of sexual violence, and discrimination. These images are an allegory to the fantasies and challenges of each transgender woman who participates in the project.
TransLatinas document these women emphasizes portraying them as strong and resilient women, worthy of respect, rather than simply as victims deserving of pity. Exhibit at Museum of the City of New York as part of “New York Now: Home, exhibition open to the public until August 27 2023.
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"I am a mermaid. I am not afraid of the depths, but I greatly fear the surface life." write by Nayra Lee Berrios , mermaid trans from Puerto Rico. She lives her fantasy of become a mermaid at Conny Island beaches in Brooklyn. 2021
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Detail of the sea at Brooklyn Beach. 2021
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Laura before her the operation of gender reassignment surgery. 2016
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Laura Martinez is a famous performance and leader into the Latino L.GT.B.Q community in Queens. she is followed by many emerging drags and transgender people that want to be like her. Laura is waiting to get her operation of gender reassignment surgery. 2016
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Laura poses during her recuperation of the operation of gender reassignment surgery This process is delicate and painful she had more than a year to recover herself. "The most important step in my life". 2018
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"Never doubt yourself. always fight for what you want, don't let anyone steal your voice" write by Nayra Lee Berrios mermaid trans from Puerto Rico. 2021
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Laura poses after her operation of gender reassignment surgery in her home. She takes under her wing more than 40 Latina transgender immigrant woman that receives her last name, as a symbol of being into her family Martinez. many of them are alone in the city. "Many trans teens commit suicide or take drugs, or alcohol because of the lack of support of their original families,” Laura said. 2018
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Lesly Herrera Castillo Mexican. "Since I can remember I feel that I am a woman. I don't need to be called transgender because I am a woman”. 2020
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Lesly Herrera Castillo in her kitchen during the time when she was leading with cancer. 2015
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Tiffany Mathieu has been working for years with Latino Queer communities organizations that support Transgender people in Jackson Heights and Manhattan. 2016
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Lesly Herrera at Brooklyn beach is posing for a portrait. She tells of her childhood in Mexico. At the age of 17, she left home to live in Mexico City where she had a difficult time. Lesly then decided to migrate to USA to escape a life of sexual harassment, police abuse and a disapproving family atmosphere. 2020
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Juni Estudillo, Mexican, at the age of 18 she decided to tell her parents she was gay and started having romantic relationships with men, but she never bonded. She had never heard of trans women. It was her brother who shared with her some videos about trans woman in Mexico, and it was then she began to learn about what it was to be a trans woman.
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Juni: “I currently avoid going to church when there’s people or celebrations, not because I’m antisocial, but because many people at church judge me. I prefer to go and connect with God alone. I go every Friday in the afternoon, right after receiving my paycheck as a kitchen helper in a restaurant, to give thanks for my health, my job, my studies as fashion designer and my family.” 2016
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Jessica Guaman (Tamia) in her home in Jackson Heights, Queens, NY. Ms. Guaman, 33, is an Ecuadorian trans woman living in the USA for the last two decades. At 17, she decided to transform her body taking hormones, Jessica describes this process as extremely difficult due to lack of education for undocumented LGTB persons. Her mother always supported her but for many years her father would not talk with her.
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Lisa Mendez a Trans woman who also work as Uber driver talks about her feelings regarding to her resilience as Translatina. “Not just one more human being in this world. I am a person with dreams and virtues. Who fights every day to survive. I am a Trans Woman, I am someone who has feelings and good principles. Although my exterior tells me the opposite, inside of me there is a woman who is reflected inside to herself outside, loving every human being equally regardless of her sex, race or color. Remember if you are experiencing abuse, verbal or physical, I want to tell you to never allow anyone to minimize you and above all we have a creator who loves us. And ask him for everything you want and want from your heart and never lose faith. Remember Trans Woman, you and I are valuable person.2021
"I am a mermaid. I am not afraid of the depths, but I greatly fear the surface life." write by Nayra Lee Berrios , mermaid trans from Puerto Rico. She lives her fantasy of become a mermaid at Conny Island beaches in Brooklyn. 2021
Detail of the sea at Brooklyn Beach. 2021
Laura before her the operation of gender reassignment surgery. 2016
Laura Martinez is a famous performance and leader into the Latino L.GT.B.Q community in Queens. she is followed by many emerging drags and transgender people that want to be like her. Laura is waiting to get her operation of gender reassignment surgery. 2016
Laura poses during her recuperation of the operation of gender reassignment surgery This process is delicate and painful she had more than a year to recover herself. "The most important step in my life". 2018
"Never doubt yourself. always fight for what you want, don't let anyone steal your voice" write by Nayra Lee Berrios mermaid trans from Puerto Rico. 2021
Laura poses after her operation of gender reassignment surgery in her home. She takes under her wing more than 40 Latina transgender immigrant woman that receives her last name, as a symbol of being into her family Martinez. many of them are alone in the city. "Many trans teens commit suicide or take drugs, or alcohol because of the lack of support of their original families,” Laura said. 2018
Lesly Herrera Castillo Mexican. "Since I can remember I feel that I am a woman. I don't need to be called transgender because I am a woman”. 2020
Lesly Herrera Castillo in her kitchen during the time when she was leading with cancer. 2015
Tiffany Mathieu has been working for years with Latino Queer communities organizations that support Transgender people in Jackson Heights and Manhattan. 2016
Lesly Herrera at Brooklyn beach is posing for a portrait. She tells of her childhood in Mexico. At the age of 17, she left home to live in Mexico City where she had a difficult time. Lesly then decided to migrate to USA to escape a life of sexual harassment, police abuse and a disapproving family atmosphere. 2020
Juni Estudillo, Mexican, at the age of 18 she decided to tell her parents she was gay and started having romantic relationships with men, but she never bonded. She had never heard of trans women. It was her brother who shared with her some videos about trans woman in Mexico, and it was then she began to learn about what it was to be a trans woman.
Juni: “I currently avoid going to church when there’s people or celebrations, not because I’m antisocial, but because many people at church judge me. I prefer to go and connect with God alone. I go every Friday in the afternoon, right after receiving my paycheck as a kitchen helper in a restaurant, to give thanks for my health, my job, my studies as fashion designer and my family.” 2016
Jessica Guaman (Tamia) in her home in Jackson Heights, Queens, NY. Ms. Guaman, 33, is an Ecuadorian trans woman living in the USA for the last two decades. At 17, she decided to transform her body taking hormones, Jessica describes this process as extremely difficult due to lack of education for undocumented LGTB persons. Her mother always supported her but for many years her father would not talk with her.
Lisa Mendez a Trans woman who also work as Uber driver talks about her feelings regarding to her resilience as Translatina. “Not just one more human being in this world. I am a person with dreams and virtues. Who fights every day to survive. I am a Trans Woman, I am someone who has feelings and good principles. Although my exterior tells me the opposite, inside of me there is a woman who is reflected inside to herself outside, loving every human being equally regardless of her sex, race or color. Remember if you are experiencing abuse, verbal or physical, I want to tell you to never allow anyone to minimize you and above all we have a creator who loves us. And ask him for everything you want and want from your heart and never lose faith. Remember Trans Woman, you and I are valuable person.2021
Joana Toro
Joana Toro is a Colombian documentary photographer. working on immigration, Identity and social issues.