Raras no tan raras

Raras no tan raras exists to shed light and raise awareness of the issues facing sexual/gender diverse women from the Colombian Caribbean region, especially from the department of the Atlantic in Colombia, and their resistance.

Raras no tan raras exists to shed light and raise awareness of the issues facing sexual/gender diverse women from the Colombian Caribbean region, especially from the department of the Atlantic in Colombia, and their resistance.

Visibilizar y sensibilizar sobre las problemáticas y resistencias de las mujeres sexo-género diversas de la región Caribe colombiana, especialmente del departamento del Atlántico, Colombia.

Caribe Afirmativo

Caribe Afirmativo’s community has one of the highest levels of inequality, violence and lack of opportunities for its inhabitants, including violence and discrimination against LGBT communities.

Caribe Afirmativo, founded in 2009, is an LGBT organization working in the Caribbean region of Colombia, with offices in Cartagena and Santa Marta. Caribe Afirmativo’s community has one of the highest levels of inequality, violence and lack of opportunities for its inhabitants, including violence and discrimination against LGBT communities. Caribe Afirmativo documents and monitors human rights violations of LGBT people and provides support to individuals who file complaints to demand justice at the local, regional and international levels. They conduct research on lesbophobia, homophobia and transphobia and has produced work on race and racism in the Caribbean. They also work to insert the voices of LGBT communities in post-conflict processes. Finally, they use art and activism as strategies to raise visibility and create participatory spaces for community development, including supporting the popular theatrical group led by transgender women in Cartagena. *** En Español*** Caribe Afirmativo, fundada en 2009, es una organización LGBT que trabaja en la región caribeña de Colombia, con oficinas en Cartagena y Santa Marta. El Caribe colombiano tiene uno de los niveles más altos de desigualdad, violencia y falta de oportunidades para sus habitantes, incluyendo la violencia y la discriminación contra las comunidades LGBT. Caribe Afirmativo documenta y monitorea rigurosamente las violaciones de derechos humanos de las personas LGBT y ofrece acompañamiento a personas que someten quejas para exigir justicia a nivel local, regional e internacional. Realiza investigaciones sobre la lesbofobia, la homofobia y la transfobia y ha producido trabajo sobre la raza y el racismo en el Caribe. También trabaja para insertar las voces de las comunidades LGBT en procesos posteriores a conflictos. Por último, usa el arte y el activismo como estrategias para elevar la visibilidad y crear espacios participativos para el desarrollo comunitario, incluyendo apoyar al grupo teatral popular liderado por mujeres trans “Transformando” en Cartagena.

Astraea Grantee Partner Premieres at Sundance

Astraea grantee partner PARIAH premieres today as a Sundance Film Festival official selection in the U.S. Dramatic Competition.  The film is a powerful example of the power of arts and culture to move hearts and make change by telling the untold story. It is a coming of age feature-length film that asks the critical question, “Who do you become when you can’t be yourself?” It chronicles the struggles of a young Black lesbian as she juggles ill-fitting identities in attempts to please family and friends.

PARIAH is one of few LGBTI projects that have garnered support and accolades from the film industry including the Tribeca Institute, IFP and Film Independent. The short version of the film toured festivals widely, winning 25 best short awards.

The struggles of LGBTI youth of color to juggle community and sexual/gender identity are largely unexamined in the mainstream. PARIAH brings these issues to light in its compelling story. The filmmakers write “We aspire to the idea of change, one popcorn bucket at a time.”

Astraea Believes Arts and Culture are Powerful Tools that Change Hearts and Minds.

Organizations the world over are using media for social change. Astraea funds film, theater and dance projects as well as organizations who have integrated arts and culture in their social change work.

  • Now in its fifth year, Queer Black Cinema in New York holds an annual film festival showcasing films about the Black LGBTQ experience from around the world.
  • Mujeres al Borde in Bogotá, Colombia presented their play To Be Different: a Right at 30 public high schools, reaching more than 5,000 students.
  • In China, China Queer Independent Film has reached more than 2,000 people across the country by showcasing some of the first Chinese-language LGBTI films.

To read more about Astraea grantee partners, visit our interactive grants map.