On June 20, the yearly Miss and Mr. Safe Latino pageant took place for the first time entirely in Spanish, with the goal to continue to inform and celebrate the LGBTQ+ Latinx community.
In tradition, contestants competed to win a spot in three categories; Mr., Miss and Miss Transgender (TG). The goal of the pageant is to spread awareness of the continued discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community — outside and within the Latinx community — and to inform people about HIV, other health risks and prevention.
Winner for Mr. category, Esteban Cuaya-Muñoz, said the event is important because it’s a platform to share one’s voice and the physical appearance is key to showing people “We exist, we are still here.”
“If you want to participate just do it, sign up,” Cuaya-Muñoz said. “It’s definitely an experience especially if you have a message to share. In the Spanish-speaking community, we already have a lot of labels that we have to navigate and just being able to embrace who we are allows us to feel free.”
Elly Maldonado, the winner of the Miss TG category, participated to send a message and continue the fight for equality.
“This contest is the perfect place to educate, not only cisgender people, but the whole community. We as a community are not exempt from not having proper education,” Maldonado said in Spanish. “There is a lot of information on social media, but sometimes it’s not correct.”
“Este concurso es perfecto para poder educarnos no solo a las personas de cisgenero si no también a nuestra comunidad. Nosotros como comunidad no estamos exempto a no tener buena educación,” Maldonado dijo. “Hay mucha información en las redes, pero a veces no está correcta”.
Maldonado is a 43-year-old transgender woman who came from Mexico to the United States at 26 years old. She began her transition at age 14 and said discrimination has and continues no matter where you are in the world.
“When you go to apply for a job, they see me as a transgender woman and then they see I’m a Latina and also I don’t speak English very well. So it’s like three times harder, but that’s something that I and many others are used to and it’s sad. And we continue to fight and bring awareness,” Maldonado said.
“Cuando vas a aplicar por un trabajo, te ven como mujer transgenero y luego te ven que eres Latina, okay y no hablas bien el Inglés. Entonces es como que tres veces más difícil para nosotras. Pues eso es lo que estamos acostumbrados entonces seguimos luchando,” Maldonado dijo.
For her, it’s always been a struggle as she didn’t get any support from her family growing up. For Maldonado, it’s her passion to speak about and inform others about feeling included in society.
Karla James, the winner for Miss category, shares a similar sentiment and although she had support from her mother, she has experienced the struggle of friends and others who did not support her. And she too faces discrimination every day and wants people to be informed.
“People always judge just on what they see but they never talk or get to know that person and I think each of us who participated left a beautiful message that touches people’s hearts,” James said. “I think if every person makes a difference then everything will be better in the community.”
Maldonado believes the pageant is far beyond a crown and wearing beautiful outfits. Although it is the theme, she encourages future participants to contribute to society by sending viewers a message that will leave a mark on them forever.
“Be prepared to leave a message to the community,” she said. “It’s not about sequins or feathers or looking good and carrying a crown, that’s beautiful, fun and encouraging but that’s not the principal reason.”
“Vayan preparados para dejar un tema que deje un mensaje a la comunidad, no solo se trata de lentejuelas o plumas este evento se trata más que nada de aportar algo a la comunidad, no solo de verse bonita y portar una corona en el desfile eso es bonito y te motiva mucho pero no el la principal razón.” Maldonado dijo.
Cuaya-Muñoz said there is still much work to do even within San Francisco, let alone throughout the Bay Area and beyond.
“As somebody who experienced, firsthand, hate crime in San Francisco, there’s lots of work to do,” they said. “It’s not only up to us but also our heterosexual cisgender accomplices to also step in and protect us just as much as we protect them. We talk about police brutality, immigration, gun violence, we are out in the streets demanding and fighting for the rights of everybody, not just for LGBTQ folks, but for everyone else and it’s a call out to do the same for us.”
