“In a city inundated with sights and sounds, where there is no shortage of things to do and people to meet, I want to know–where in Los Angeles does literature go and where does Literature come from?”

Take Me With You is DUM DUM’s recurring series that pairs a publication with a sensory experience. In our second installment, it’s a hand-selected L.A. locale with a beverage to boot. From bars in Koreatown to cafes in East L.A., parks in the Valley to the alleys behind Venice Boardwalk, we seek out corners in our city for literary gems to read.

It’s 2019 and the world feels like it’s on fire. Fortunately, we have art, literature, and amazing community organizers and advocates fearlessly leading the way.

Being so, I decided to take ¡Cuéntamelo! Oral Histories by LGBT Latino Immigrants by Juliana Delgado Lopera with me to a very special place in Los Angeles, the Translatin@ Coalition Center.

  • Time: Weekdays between 12pm-2:30pm
  • Location: TransLatin@ Coalition
  • Beverage pairing: Agua Fresca

As its title indicates, ¡Cuéntamelo! is a collection of oral histories from 7 LGBT Latinx immigrants from Nicaragua, Peru, Cuba, and Puerto Rico, respectively. The stories were recorded, transcribed, and compiled by Juliana Delgado Lopera (Radar Productions) in San Francisco, CA. Earlier iterations of ¡Cuéntamelo! started as a column in the SF Weekly and a first edition of the book was published in 2014.

I was finally able to get my hands on one when it was reprinted in late 2017. At a time when the basic human rights of both LGBTQ people and immigrants and asylum seekers from Latin America are being alarmingly threatened, a book like ¡Cuéntamelo! feels so essential. It’s important that the stories of TransWomen and other queer pioneers be told and shared. And it’s important that we remain committed to serving as a platform that elevates these words.

As I read the histories of some of the TransWomen in the book; stories of discrimination, violence, and abuse, I also read feelings of triumph, pride, courage, and conviction interwoven throughout. I understood how as a Queer, Literary Latina, it was part of my responsibility to the community to amplify and support these voices. And that’s when I remembered the TransLatin@ Coalition.

 

 

I first learned about the Translatin@ Coalition about 2 years ago through word of mouth. The Translatin@ Coalition, “advocates for the specific needs of the TransLatin@ community that reside in the U.S.A. and plan strategies that improve quality of life”, per their mission statement. They do so by developing and hosting a wide-range of programs centered around advocacy, education, health, housing assistance and financial empowerment, as well as job training and resume building. I took up their invitation to join the staff and visitors for a lovely lunch at their drop-in center recently while reading ¡Cuéntamelo! It felt right. I was in a space with people on the frontlines creating solutions for the specific problems facing the Trans community and it helped bring me closer to the book and to my call to action.

¡Cuéntamelo! Oral Histories by LGBT Latino Immigrants’ (2017) is out now on Aunt Lute Books. Check it out here.

Learn more about the Translatin@ Coalition.

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Got a book or zine you want me to pair with a beautiful place in Los Angeles? Send me your suggestions at submit [at] dumdumzine [dot] com

 

Thursday, January 17th 2018