THE Argentine trans actress and activist Cecilia Gentili He died in New York at the age of 52. She was a renowned defender of the rights of the trans community and sex workers in that US city. You were also part of “Pose”, the FX series broadcast by Netflix that caused a sensation.
This was confirmed by people close to him through a post on his personal Instagram account.
“She was very recognized as a Latina activist in the United States, she had a very strong commitment to this cause and she was very close to the girls of the ‘Transgrediendo group’ from Queens,” said the president of the Argentine Trans Memory Archive. , Maria Belen Correa
“But he is also remembered for his character “Mrs. Orlando” from the television series “Pose” (from the FX TV signal) where he would only appear in the first season, but he stood out so much that he eventually appeared in all three seasons,” he added when talking about his participation in this strip focused on the African American and Latino LGBTIQ+ cultural scene in New York in the 1980s and 1990s.
That series was created by Ryan Muprhy of “American Horror Stories.”
Born in the Santa Fe town of Gálvez, she emigrated to New York at the age of 26, where she co-founded the organization DecrimNY, which succeeded in decriminalizing sex work and repealing a law that criminalized vagrancy. of prostitution that critics had long denounced as a tool to attack transgender people based solely on their appearance.
Likewise, he held senior positions in non-profit organizations such as LGBTQ GMHC and APICHA, which worked on HIV/AIDS prevention. She also co-founded a free clinic for sex workers and founded Trans Equity Consulting in 2019.
“She, a girl from Rosario who dabbled in theater, in the underground of Rosario for a long time. In 1999 or 2000 she went to the United States and began to build a life there, but over time she also began to do activism. In 2018 wins the casting to play a fairly emblematic character from the series ‘Pose’, where she represented a (trans) Latina living in the United States who placed silicone of dubious origin,” Correa said.
Messages from organizations that defend the rights of the LGBTQ+ community are multiplying due to the death of this “icon of the trans movement”, as defined by the New York State Governor Kathy Hochulin your X account.
“As an artist and strong activist in the trans rights movement, he has helped countless people find love, joy and acceptance,” Hochul wrote.
The New York Department of Health also noted that the activist was a “strong advocate for trans and queer communities and all marginalized people.”
In recent years, Gentili has expanded his work into the arts, according to the publication Gothamist, which notes that his 2022 memoir “Faltas: Letters to Everyone in My Hometown Who’s Not My Rapist” “Everyone in My City Christmas Who Are Not My Rapists” “), won the Stonewall Book Award.
He had recently premiered his solo show “Red Ink” at a theater on the so-called outskirts of Broadway, the center of Manhattan’s theatrical and musical activity.
“His death was unexpected, January 31st was his birthday, which he celebrated with a party with many guests. Now we see it as a sort of farewell”, concluded Correa.
Source: Clarin
