Location: Cali
3.451647, -76.531985
Love is a Revolutionary Practice
Love is a Revolutionary Practice
To love in these times is revolutionary. We are reminded, every day, how radical it is to truly love as we confront homophobic laws, violence and discrimination. As radical philanthropists, activists, organizers and artists, we fight to make this world a better place for LGBTQI folks everywhere. Love–motivating lots of hard work & brilliant organizing–will create this world. We should never have to choose safety over self-determination. An army of lovers cannot fail!
On this Valentine’s day, we celebrate our brilliant and brave community who live the Revolution of Love by:
Painting the town Pink in Colombia
Santamaría Fundación marching for trans womens visibility and rights at the Marcha Fucsia in Colombia
Becoming Penpals with incacerated LGBTQI folks
By building community and working to demolish the violent prison system.
Black & Pink, Astraea grantee partner running a LGBTQ prisoner newsletter and Penpal program
Raising fists against violence and demanding lesbian rights in Honduras
Red Lésbica Cattrachas Honduras
Taking queer and trans* power to the streets!
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CUAV members in SF at the Trans* March, June 2013. Photo by Erin Johnson.
Photobombing Program officers
E.D. J. Bob Alotta with Astraea Program Officer, Namita Chad, 2015
Making art not war, because all queer her-stories are important
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Guyana Trans United (GTU) and the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) hosted a week-long “Stand Against Transphobia” photo exhibition of work by artist and curator Ulelli Verbeke.
Opening hearts and homes for fundraising
Astraea donors come together to raise funds at house parties to resource LGBTQI work.
Friends gather at Fran and Anna Simon’s Denver House Party, 2015
Choosing safety over truth, and being an army of lovers marching for equality
More than 300 folks walked for equality to end all violence in Guyana
Guyana Equality Forum (GEF), at Walk for Equality, say NO to Violence in Feb 2014, Guyana. Organized by Astraea grantee partner SASOD
Waging love with our wallets
Every penny counts. Whether it’s $5 or $5000 every month because love and compassion go hand in hand.
To the thousands of donors who support us, we love you.
To the fearless folks on the frontlines, we love you.
The moment we choose to love we begin to move towards freedom, to act in ways that liberate ourselves and others. That action is the testimony of love as the practice of freedom.
– bell hooks
Santamaría Fundación
Santamaría Fundación focuses its work on the idea of self-determination.
Santamaría Fundación was founded in 2005 by four trans women who had witnessed the death of one of their friends as a result of lack of access to health services. Today, Santamaría Fundación has ten years of experience in fostering the leadership of transgender, transgender and transvestite people in Cali, the fourth largest city in Colombia and one with one of the highest levels of transphobic hate crimes. They also works with migrants who come to Cali in search of opportunities. Santamaría Fundación focuses its work on the idea of self-determination. It provides legal support for trans women, implements holistic health strategies and campaigns, and advocates for policies with local and national governments. Santamaría Fundación’s current strategies include laying the groundwork for a campaign for a gender identity law; Documenting human rights violations through its “Observatory” program on human rights; Monitor the police; Raise the visibility of LGBT people and build alliances with other social movements; And organize the annual march for sexual and gender diversity in the Pacific region in Cali. *** En Español*** Santamaría Fundación fue fundada en 2005 por cuatro mujeres trans que habían sido testigos de la muerte de una de sus amistades como resultado de la falta de acceso a servicios de salud. Hoy, Santamaría Fundación tiene diez años de experiencia fomentando el liderazgo de mujeres trans, personas transgénero y travestis en Cali, la cuarta ciudad más grande de Colombia y una con uno de los niveles más altos de crímenes de odio transfóbicos. También trabaja con migrantes que vienen a Cali en busca de oportunidades. Santamaría Fundación enfoca su trabajo en la idea de la autodeterminación. Ofrece acompañamiento legal para las mujeres trans, implementa estrategias y campañas de salud holística y hace trabajo de defensoría de políticas con gobiernos locales y nacionales. Las estrategias actuales de Santamaría Fundación incluyen sentar las bases para trabajar una campaña por una ley de identidad de género; documentar las violaciones de derechos humanos a través de su programa “Observatorio” de derechos humanos; monitorear a la policía; elevar la visibilidad de las personas LGBT y construir alianzas con otros movimientos sociales; y organizar la marcha anual por la diversidad sexual y de género en la región del Pacífico en Cali.
