3. Your project is called ‘Ser Libre’. What does freedom mean to you?
Freedom means for me to be able to be who I want and feel I am at this moment without conditions or impositions with the same rights as all people. Our identity is like water, it is in constant movement and change as long as it flows and does not remain still. Freedom is what allows me to continue being – without freedom we do not exist.
I often remember my childhood, adolescence and part of my adult life, which were taken from me in so many forms. I had happy moments and they were not exactly difficult times, but that was because I had to camouflage myself for years as someone I was not, adopting an identity that was not mine. It is so difficult to feel out of this world, to feel different and excluded, to not find representation anywhere, to blame ourselves and torment ourselves for our way of feeling or being. As human beings, we instinctively seek social connection, the desire to fit in, and be part of a community. In the absence of such connection, we often adapt or camouflage ourselves into something we don’t resonate with, just to “be part of this world.”
My freedom began by leaving heterosexuality as a system: not only the sexual orientation, but also the complex system that dictates our lives and ways of relating and feeling. I see my project ‘Ser libre’ as a channel through which I could integrate experiences from my entire life. It allowed me to heal the wounds of my past and to finally be the person I want to be. It also made me aware that my identity process is evolutionary and non-binary.
In the stories and experiences of my friends and acquaintances is where I found myself, and finally feel my freedom.