El/La Para TransLatinas

El/La Para TransLatinas emerged in 2006 after the closure of Proyecto ContraSIDA por Vida and has since then continued their work in accordance with their mission statement of "[building] a world where translatinas feel they deserve to protect, love and develop themselves. By building this base, we support each other in protecting ourselves against violence, abuse and illness."[3] Initially, El/La Para TransLatinas started as an HIV prevention organization for the LGBT community. Marcia Ochoa, Alexandra Rodriguez de Ruiz, and Isa Noyola are credited as the founders of El/La Para TransLatinas.[4][1] As of May 2019, the interim executive director is Maritza Penagos.[5]

In 2009, El/La Para TransLatinas was severely underfunded as they has lost much of their government funding because the city of San Francisco instead began allocating El/La's money towards Instituto Familiar de la Raza Inc.[6] They eventually found a way to receive the funding back, but ran into financial problems in 2013.[7] El/La was seeking an additional $80,000 from the city of San Francisco, "in order to hire a full-time case manager and expand the work it is doing around the domestic violence that trans Latinas experience."[7] However, later that year they won a grant of $200,000 from the San Francisco Human Rights Commission.[1]

El/La Para TransLatinas joins Janetta Johnson on stage at the 2016 San Francisco Trans March.

Members of El/La Para TransLatinas speak on a stage in the Compton's Transgender Cultural District, at the 2019 San Francisco Trans March.

El/La Para TransLatinas continues their HIV and AIDS prevention efforts and have collaborated with organizations like Native American AIDS Project and Mobilization against AIDS.[6][1] El/La provides transgender Latinas with, "support and referrals for immigration, housing, name changes, and other services. Many of El/La's clients speak only Spanish and have sought asylum in the United States because of transphobic violence in their home countries – primarily Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean."[6] Many transgender Latinas are afraid to seek the authorities or any government resources because of their legal status and fear of facing more harassment.[8] El/La aims to create a safe space where transgender Latinas "feel comfortable talking about any violent experiences and also case management."[9]

They also provide anti-violence resources as their 2013 $200,000 grant was awarded to fund their anti-violence efforts.[8] The organization planned on using this grant in order to train "luchadoras" fight against transphobic crimes and intimate partner violence.[8]

In 2015, El/La fundraised money for the funeral of outreach coordination and transgender activist Joana Luna and created an altar in their office space for her.[10]

On Friday June 26, 2015, El/La Para TransLatinas worked with the San Francisco Trans March for their 12th annual Trans March.[11] Additionally the organization was featured in a news segment by the popular US-based Latino and Spanish TV channel, Univision on November 19, 2015.[12] This marked a significant step as they were acknowledged as a legitimate organization by the conservative Latino community. A significant feature found within the organization's website is the presence of both English and Spanish in each individual section. This feature was highlighted within the article "Trans Latinas: You're not your mother's little boy anymore"[13] from a Berkeley journalism article from UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, wherein the issue of a language barrier is brought up.

In 2017, El/La Para TransLatinas was nominated for the award Organization Grand Marshal which is recognized in San Francisco's Annual Pride Parade.[14] This award nominates people and organizations that have made significant contributions in the LGBT community.[15] The winner of the Organization Grand Marshal is selected by the public via online voting.[15]

In 2013, El/La Para TransLatinas was recognized and awarded a $200,000 grant by the San Francisco Human Rights Commission for their anti-violence work.[1]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to El/La Para TransLatinas.

• Official website