Monthly Archives: November 2014

Agustín, Writer, Buenos Aires, Argentina

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

Agustin, in his own words: “Ser gay significa SER. No hay demasiada vuelta que darle. Uno nace con un corazón. Y ese corazón tiene vida propia y habla por sí sólo. Actúa y se enamora de otro corazón, independientemente del sexo. Ser gay es SER.

Mi primer reto fue aceptarme y mi primer éxito es haberlo logrado. Pero el mayor reto en mi vida fue habérselo contado a mis amigos y a mi familia; y mi mayor éxito es saber que todos me apoyan, me quieren y respetan.

(With regards to the gay community in Buenos Aires) No estoy muy enterado de lo que hacen o comunican. Sé que existe, nada más.

(With regards to coming out) Confirmé lo que hacía años sospechaba y me predispuse a ser feliz con lo que soy. Lo afrenté (esa es quizás la clave), lo comuniqué, me acepté, me aceptaron y soy feliz.

(Advice I’d give my younger self) Que sean fieles a lo que de verdad sienten. Que entendamos (todos) que hay cuestiones en la vida que sí se pueden controlar y que la felicidad, la tranquilidad espiritual y la alegría dependen de cómo actuemos nosotros con lo que nos pasa y lo que somos.”

In English:

“Being gay means being. Not much way around it . One is born with a heart. And that heart has its own life and speaks for itself . Acts and falls for another heart , regardless of gender . Being gay is being.

My first challenge was to take myself and have my first successes achieved. But the biggest challenge in my life was to tell my friends and family; and my greatest success is knowing all the support I had, I have love and respect .

(With regards to the gay community in Buenos Aires) I’m not aware of what they do or communicate . I know there is nothing else.

(With regards to coming out) I confirmed what I suspected for years and I decided to be happy with who I am . I affronted ( this is perhaps the key), I communicated, and accepted myself, accepted myself and I am happy.

(Advice I’d give to my younger self) Be true to what they really feel . Understand (all) that there are issues in life that itself can be controlled and happiness, peace of mind and happiness, depends on how we act with what happens to us and what we are.”

Wilfred, Teacher, Cusco, Peru

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

Wilfred, in his own words: “I think that being gay should not be considered something extra special. A gay man for me is another human being with a different object of affection. I don’t believe in ghettos since all that just brings isolation and more suffering.

When I look back in my life I feel amazed how I passed through some shitty situations and survived, for example some issues regarding family, loneliness and relationships. I guess, I did it right since I am still here and I don’t have hard feelings for anybody in my life. Now I’m more focus on the bright side of life like my boyfriend and our common life.

I don’t understand very much the term of “coming out”. Maybe it implies that my duty as a gay man is to declare to society that I’m a special type of man (gay) or do a stand or propaganda for being what I am? I don’t think so. Every human being has the right to live their life as they want so it doesn’t matter if they are gay or straight of if they are vegetarian or vegan or anything.

Anyway, since my childhood I felt attracted by men so, I didn’t pay much attention to girls. I thought it was kind of natural. Of course, I felt the pressure of the latin macho society as I was growing and I had my short crisis period. But in general I tried to live my life ignoring the traditional female or male roles of the latin society and follow my instincts. I don’t like the idea of putting labels on anybody’s life and I don’t want my life to spin around the idea of just being gay. That’s a waste of time and energy. Life is more than that.

I would say (the gay community in Cusco) is growing and new generations of gay men are less and less afraid of showing what they are which I consider very positive. But still the influence of religion and traditional values is a hard burden for many gay people.

(Advice I’d give my younger self) Keep doing what you are doing. Don’t give up. And live one day at a time and smile, fucker.”

Renatto, Painter, Buenos Aires, Argentina

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

Renatto, in his own words: “A medida que pasan los años me voy dando cuenta que el significado de ser gay es muy importante, significa, libertad, alegría, significa liberarse de prejuicios, plenitud en todos los aspectos, si existe algo que agradezco a Dios, es que soy homosexual.
Soy el hombre mas feliz del mundo siendo gay, aunque como todo en la vida siempre tiene su pro y su contras, jamás cambiaria el hecho de que soy gay.
Ser Gay significa, libertad, plenitud y alegría.

El primer desafío importante que tuve fue hablar con mi padre y contarle sobre mi verdadera sexualidad, fue increíble sentir la aceptación de mi padre, eso, también fue un éxito
El segundo desafío es convertirme en un escritor y pintor reconocido en Buenos Aires, hoy por hoy sigo trabajando en este desafío, no es fácil abrirse camino en un país tan artístico y cultural como Argentina.

Argentina hoy en día es un país adelantado en cuestiones de respeto y tolerancia, nos hemos vuelto un país abierto a todas las formas de vida y sociedades, conviviendo juntas, pero no siempre fue así, yo soy uno de los miles de homosexuales en la Argentina que presenciamos la historia, cuando los legisladores aprobaron la ley de matrimonio para personas del mismo sexo, se creo el paradigma mas hermoso de todos los tiempos, ese fue el mas grande triunfo de mi vida, aunque fue el de todos; todos y cada uno lo vivimos de forma personal.

La gran diversidad de la comunidad LGBT en Argentina es asombrosa, jamás se podrá catalogar en un solo colectivo a las miles de forma de pensar de actuar y de vivir, pero a pesar de esa gran diversidad siempre tuvimos un mismo objetivo, alcanzar la tolerancia y el respeto social, en cada provincia de la Argentina las formas de vida de los homosexuales es muy diferentes, algunas mas vertiginosas que otras. Y aun que la capital, Buenos Aires, es el centro de todo, el país tiene una variedad de formas de vida que enriquecen la cultura de este lugar, mi nación, Argentina.

En este aspecto, debo decir que la federación argentina LGBT es un grupo de personas que abogan por los derechos de la comunidad homosexual y que hasta el presente han logrado cumplir metas muy importantes.
En Argentina la comunidad LGBT es cien por ciento activa, en muchos aspectos.

(With regards to coming out) Para poder decirlo públicamente, me costo veinte años de mi vida.
A mis veinte años yo sabia que era homosexual, quería llevar una vida gay, quería ser como Juan Castro un querido periodista argentino que ya no esta entre nosotros; pero para lograr ser un gay en toda su plenitud, yo sabia muy bien que el primero a quien debía decir la verdad era a mi querido padre.
Mi papá era uno de esos machos argentinos que enloquecía a las mujeres con su sola presencia, para mi no era fácil contarle algo así, sobre todo porque hace diez años atrás la argentina era un país muy diferente al que es ahora; fue entonces que pensé “si realmente soy un hombre honorable, debo hablar con mi padre y decirle la verdad.
Fue algo así:
Yo: -papá, soy gay, me gustan los hombres-
Padre: -ya lo sabia, desde que eras chico, y te quiero igual, eso no cambia nada-

Ese momento fue liberador, sentí como todo el universo se abría ante mis ojos, mi papá me dio un fuerte abrazo y lloramos juntos, después de eso, jamás volvería a sentir miedo de nada más.

Yo no soy quien para recomendar nada a nadie, pero si alguien quiere escuchar o leer un humilde concejo yo diría:
1 Siempre digamos la verdad
2 Jamás nos avergoncemos de lo que somos.
3 olvidémonos del miedo y seamos felices, trabajando por un mundo más tolerable.”

In English:

“As the years pass, I am realizing that the meaning of being gay is very important, meaning, freedom, joy, meaning freedom from prejudice, fullness in all aspects, if there is anything that I thank God for, it is that I’m gay.

I am the happiest man in the world to be gay, but like everything in life there has been its pros and cons, and I never would change the fact that I’m gay.

Being Gay means, freedom, fulfillment and joy.

The first major challenge I had was talking to my father and telling him about my true sexuality, it was amazing to feel the acceptance of my father, it was also a success.
The second challenge is trying to become a renowned writer and painter in Buenos Aires, today I am still working on this challenge, it is not easy to break into an artistic and cultural country like Argentina.

Argentina today is advanced on issues of respect and tolerance in the country, we have become open to all forms of life and country societies, living together, but it was not always this way. I am one of the thousands of homosexuals in Argentina who witnessed history when lawmakers passed the law of marriage for same-sex couples, the most beautiful of all paradigms in time was created, that was the biggest win of my life, but as with everyone, every person lived it personally.

The great diversity of the LGBT community in Argentina is amazing, and can never be categorized into one of the thousands of collective thinking of those acting and living it, but despite this great diversity there is always the same goal, to achieve tolerance and social respect, in every province of Argentina lifestyles of homosexuals are very different, some more dizzying than others. And even in the capital, Buenos Aires, which is the center of everything, the country has a variety of life forms that enrich the culture of this place, my country, Argentina.

In this regard, I must say that Argentina LGBT federation is a group of people who advocate for the rights of the gay community and so far has managed to meet important goals.

In Argentina the LGBT community is one hundred percent active in many aspects.

(With regards to coming out) to say it publicly, cost me twenty years of my life. In my twenties I knew I was gay, I wanted to live as a gay life, wanted to be like Juan Castro the beloved Argentine journalist who is no longer among us; but in order to become a gay in all its fullness, I knew very well that the first person to tell the truth needed to be my dear father.

My dad was that typical Argentinian man who drove women crazy just by his presence, for me it was not easy to tell him something, especially because ten years ago Argentina was a very different country than it is now; It was then that I thought “if I’m really an honorable man, I must speak to my father and tell him the truth.

It was something like this:
Me: Dad, I’m gay, I like men.
Father: – I already know that, since you were a kid, I love you and this is not going to change.

That moment was liberating, I felt like the whole universe opened up before my eyes, my dad gave me a big hug and we cried together, after that, I would never be afraid of anything.

I am not one to recommend anything to anyone, but if someone wants to hear or read a humble council I would (tell my younger self):

1. Always tell the truth
2. Never feel ashamed of who we are.
3. forget about the fear and be happy working for a more tolerable world.”