Long before Lizy Tagliani, Florencia de la V and Mariana Genesio Peña, among many others, Cris Miró shone with his own light, when being a trans woman was almost considered a cardinal sin. However, she made her way onto the scene in Buenos Aires when she was just in her twenties. Her presence was magnetic and aroused curiosity and admiration as much as prejudice.
In 1985, together with the dancer Jorgelina Belardo, he starred in Cris Apocalyptic orgasm at the IN Vitro Pub on Azcuénaga street at 1000. Today, 23 years after his death, Belardo revived that show, in homage to the person who paved the way for transsexuality to be made visible and destigmatized. The job is now called Cris Miró Apocalyptic orgasmoy shows up at the Multiescena, in the middle of Calle Corrientes.
Cris would have been 50 today but passed away early, aged 33, in 1999. However, his memory, his imprint and his legacy are valid. The show, today as then, is directed by Belardo and protagonist Joel Castañeda, who amazes with the similarity he gets in the characterization. It is an erotic musical about love from a non-binary perspective of human relationships.
What Cris Miró represented
-Cris Miró was the first trans woman to gain public recognition and defended LGBTIQ+ rights in Argentina through her artistic work. What does she represent for you today?
Belard: She was the first trans woman to be visible in the media, breaking an established paradigm in which trans women were associated with scandal, they were stigmatised and she breaks with this structure. Furthermore, in a context where clearly the situation in the country, two years after the return to democracy, was difficult, with repression and official edicts.
castaneda : Chris for us represents rejoicing, breaking the ice. Many times we ask ourselves when I will have the courage to say that I am gay, that I am a lesbian, to go out on the street dressed as I perceive myself, as a woman, as a trans girl, as what I feel and believe that Cris was that “let’s encourage ourselves to do it”.
Esteban Costa, producer of the work and historic photographer of Cris Miró, agrees with this idea. “She was a fighter. Very clear in ideas. Without ideological crossings or political affiliations, however, has been able to clearly take sides in favor of the rights of sexual minoritiesespecially from the trans community.”
-And all she got was to work on what she was passionate about.
Belard: Cris came from a middle-class family, He was a dental student and breaks through as an iconic figure without asking permission to be who he was. He teaches us a lesson through his polite way of speaking and it is he who opened the door on the path of non-binary, breaking with a structure of a system that excluded minorities.
It costs: She was a woman who had courage and ideas and who, having an education, He knew he had to push his way politely. Every time he spoke he wanted to clear things up. That was her way. A woman who had a great desire to belong to the entertainment world, who achieved it, and from that goal she has gathered many political ideas that have been a tool for change through art.
studious and hardworking
Cris Miró studied dance with Julio Bocca and theater with Alejandra Boero. She has participated in several films, including, Plaguedirected by Louis Puenzo. She has also distinguished herself in several theatrical seasons as an actress and lookout. But that short but intense career of hers was enough for the figure of Cris to leave its mark.
-Time has passed but the complaints are still pending. What do you think your figure represents today?
It costs: Those who knew her remember her as a good companion, affectionate and sincere. There’s a young sector that doesn’t know it, but I see it When they have information and know its history, they refer to it. I have never heard a young man speak ill of Cris Miró. For those of us struggling to claim rights, its validity is remarkable.
Belard: Continue to represent freedom, don’t ask permission to be who you want to be in a world where, evidently, there is still a long way to go. It is necessary to break the paradigm of sexuality associated with heteronormativity and the patriarchal figure. We mean this with work: you don’t have to ask permission to be human beings with the right to love.
castaneda: Today his figure represents the connection with the outside world. I think for a long time the collective has repressed their way of loving in a different society and she represents the “look, here we go, we can do it”. Love in all its forms is absolutely natural, it is that freedom and claim that it has left us.
It costs: Cris left too early and I think she was exploited commercially, even if she wasn’t given great development opportunities. At the moment, belonging to the trans community did not favor her in the sense. She was an exotic case in the commercial world and had no chance of progressing beyond beauty status.
-What can the new generations bring as a legacy of Cris?
Belard: His struggle and his example. He taught us that we can be who we want to be.. His legacy is also this wonderful cast of young artists who dare not ask permission to express their art. I believe that trans and non-binary people stand before this world today to say that we exist, that this is our art, and that they respect us.
castaneda: I feel it is the feeling of freedom, because thanks to it many of us can show who we are and how we love, with a little less fear. I can’t really say “fearless” because sadly I feel there are people who hate the LGBTIQ+ collective but I think Cris, in the 80’s, was encouraged to open up and show the collective so raw without thinking what they will say.
It costs: He clearly demonstrated that something is always possible and that is a great legacy. That with education and family support, even if it wasn’t always like this in her case, she can develop. Cris chose to take what life gave her and fought for her rights. She has left a mark, a legacy of love, politics and art.
Belard: Cris’ legacy is equality before love. We come to stand up and say that we have the right to be, to love and to be loved. We are not talking about tolerance, but about respect and equal rights.
Imagine it in today’s world
How do you think he would feel in today’s world, with much more openness but still with prejudices and rights to acquire?
Belard: Of course he would have been happy with the progress and would have supported the law on gender identity, equal marriage, It would have been a standard bearer in that sense because it was the engine that gave this openinglike many other anonymous militants.
castaneda: I feel Cris would be calmer now. The company has evolved little, but the level of awareness and acceptance is higher and this important step would allow it to continue to project its art more calmly.
It costs: Of course, today we have another Argentina, with progressive laws and a more favorable environment for the LGBTIQ+ community. But he would continue to fight for what is missing, for acceptance and for love and would take advantage of this moment to be on the crest of the wave. I would try to influence to break down prejudices and injustices.
– Seen from the present, the positive remains, but we must not forget that the path he had to travel was neither easy nor simple.
Belard: No doubt, Cris had to pay a heavy price to be visible, as it often happens. Today I’d be happy to show the artist I was, but I wouldn’t stop fighting. I think that to think that Cris was an artist only because of her beauty is to minimize her true talent, because she has achieved so much more and that is what we claim today in her work.
castaneda: Cris Miró’s appearance allowed us to feel a little more freedom. His departure, after so much discrimination, so much homophobia and transphobia, was worth it to open this channel of love and acceptance among people.
Information
The job Cris Miró Apocalyptic orgasm Has performances on Thursdays at 20:30 at the Multiescena, Av. Corrientes 1764. Tickets on sale through PlateaNet.
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Source: Clarin
