Hello conference organizers, i will be attending this conference with my organization LOUD.
My name is Xelestiál Moreno-Luz and I am a Latina transgender woman of color currently living in Los Angeles (Tongva Nation), CA. I would like to participate in the Political Leaders Conference so that I may continue building relationships to enhance my transnational art practice that centers advocacy with LGBTQIA+ communities across the Americas. In the summer of 2019, I began working with my community at an international scale when I studied abroad in México and Colombia. I spent two months in Colombia working with LGBTQIA+ youth in Cartagena, Sincelejo, and Bogotá; learning about the Peace Treaties and the violence queer and transgender Colombians experienced due to the Armed Conflict. I interviewed community members using a participatory action research method that utilized photography and cinematography to record my findings. That same summer I lived in México City, documenting the work of social and art movements conducted by LGBTQIA+ communities within its metropolitan landscape, as well as the rural cosmology of Oaxaca de Juarez, Oaxaca. My research findings were presented at the 2020 Harvard Undergraduate Research Conference, where I was awarded first place for research in the Arts and Humanities. Since then, I have continued working with transgender communities in Mexico: specifically in Tijuana, Baja California and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, transforming the visual narratives of transgender people within the borderlands by illustrating a need to honor self-determination and combat institutional transphobia. I currently work as the Program Manager at the non-profit organization REACH LA: where I direct Youth Programs that center harm reduction and HIV prevention; art production and policy to advance systemic change within schools and the local level; Transgender Programs that advance equity, emotional support, and linkage to gender affirming care; and Creative Arts to address LGBTQIA+ health holistically. Although working for REACH LA has been a critical and life changing experience, I felt that I needed another outlet that was more volunteer based, and that’s when I found the work of the international affinity group Somos LOUD. I currently serve as the Vice-President of the Los Angeles chapter of Somos LOUD, an affinity group under the AIDS Healthcare foundation that serves to empower Latiné communities across the Americas through their three foundational pillars: Educate, Advocate, and Motivate. Somos LOUD hosts wellness events, educational workshops, and national campaigns to address the social determinants of health Latiné people experience across the diaspora. Being a part of this conference and receiving a scholarship will support me in addressing LGBTQIA+ health at a transnational scale and create relationships with international leaders to develop new strategies for advancing LGBTQIA+ civil rights. I want to continue working alongside LGBTQIA+ communities in Latin America to discuss new approaches to developing coalitions, strategizing advocacy tactics, and addressing exclusionary policy within our local and national governments. I also want to conduct short photo interviews with leaders and create a photo essay of the conference to expand on my developing art practice that highlights LGBTQIA+ people across the Americas. Additionally, I would love to share my experiences doing work in Latino America at the next Voz Y Cuerpo. It would be an absolute pleasure to attend this conference, and create new experiences with LOUD leaders seeking to transform the landscape for Latiné communities internationally.