LGBT Colombians embracing visibility

[CellarDweller]

‘It gives me joy’: the LGBT Colombians embracing visibility in town with a legacy of abuse

In a mountain town near the north coast of Colombia, three drag queens strike poses in the blazing sun. Wearing extravagant Caribbean carnival costumes, they place each high heeled step carefully to avoid puddles. Neighbours come out to take photos and cheer.

This impromptu show has unique significance in the streets of El Carmen de Bolívar, representing the remarkable resurgence of a community once brutally victimised by homophobic armed groups.

For nearly 30 years, the town and surrounding region of Montes de Maria were infamous for violence perpetrated against LGBTQ+ individuals, targeted at one time or another over the country’s long civil war by rightwing paramilitaries, leftwing guerrillas, government soldiers and the police.

In the 1990s, paramilitaries formed in response to leftist activism and insurgency throughout Colombia. They took over El Carmen de Bolívar – a geographically strategic town of approximately 70,000 people with a history of leftwing activism and violently repressed those they viewed as proxy guerrilla supporters.



https://www.theguardian.com/global-devel...y-of-abuse

[ChadCoxRox]

There remains SO much danger and risk in most all of South America and the remnants of continued civil war in Columbia despite the famous cease fire agreement means there are still millions displaced with continued armed conflict. It's just crazy.