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Bamby Salcedo

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Bamby Salcedo
BornOctober 12, 1969
Guadalajara, Mexico
OccupationActivist
OrganizationTransLatin@ Coalition
Known forTransgender activism
TitlePresident
Awards
Websitehttps://bambysalcedo.com/

Bamby Salcedo (born October 12, 1969) is a transgender activist and a recognized public speaker born in Guadalajara, Mexico and based in California, United States. Bamby has developed several activist work in efforts to advocate for topics such as latin immigration, LGBTQIA+ issues, HIV cases of inequality within the healthcare system, and more. She is the founder of the Los Angeles-based TransLatin@ Coalition, "an organization form[ed] by Trans Latin@ immigrant leaders who have come together in 2009 to organize and advocate for the needs of Trans Latin@s who are immigrants and reside in the US."[2][3] She is also the producer of the Angels for Change Runway Show for trans youth.Salcedo was recognized as one of "14 Women of Color Who Rocked 2014" by ColorLines[2] and as one of their OUT100 pioneers of the year by OUT magazine. In 2015, Salcedo also spoke at The White House as part of the White House United State of Women Summit.[4]

Early life

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Bamby Salcedo was born at the "El Hospital Civil de Guadalajara" Hospital in Guadalajara, Mexico on October 12, 1969. At an early age, Bamby experienced abuse and stigmatization as a child. She was brought up in poverty alongside her two siblings and her mother. Bamby Salcedo bears the first name of her late father, who had left home shortly before her birth. Bamby embarked on a troubled course with street gangs, drugs and crime. At the age of 12, she was arrested on November 20 and sent to a rehabilitation facility for minors. Once out, she befriended a group of young homosexual Mexicans with whom they joined the Menudo Fan Club, where they amused themselves playing dress-up.[5]

Bamby reunited with her father and fled from Mexico with him to the United States as she was relentlessly persecuted due to her gender identity. While waiting for her asylum claim to be examined, she was placed in an Immigrant Detention Center where she faced constant harassment by other inmates due to her identity.[6] Bamby recalls the inhumane treatment, and how it all began since the moment that she was processed and told to get undressed while men were in the room. Such acts give men the wrong idea and they take advantage of the fear individuals like Bamby feel. Meanwhile, men felt entitled to sexually harass or sexually abuse Salcedo while she was in custody[7]. After such traumatizing events, she became a citizen, relocated to Los Angeles and continued her substance abuse treatments. It was around this period, supported by a supportive LGBTQA+ community, that she began her journey of transition.[5]

Bamby, later, was sent to a men's penitentiary in the State of California. During her stay, Bamby stated that her stay in the penitentiary made her reflect about the direction in which she was going with her future.[8] Bamby almost faced on several occasions both mortality and physical abuse inside confinement. As stated by Bamby, "I'm a miracle, yo soy un milagro, I'm not supposed to be here", her survival story is "a reminder [...] of what she could have been and what she is today".[5]

She, later on, embarked on a journey of self-healing and rehabilitation. Beginning to build a new future for herself, she pursued a Master's degree in Latin American Studies at California State University, Los Angeles, launching her career in the field of social justice.[9]

Career

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TransLatin@ Coalition

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In 2009, Bamby Salcedo initiated her acclaimed TransLatin@ Coalition in collaboration with a group of transgender, gender non-conforming and intersex (TGI) immigrant women. It is recognized today as a nationally acclaimed non-profit organization, whose primary concern is advocating for the rights of transgender Latinas and TGIs nationwide. While the organization is based in Los Angeles, California, it has grown considerably over the years and operates in 10 different states across the U.S., including Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, the District of Columbia, Maryland and New York. With funding from local and state government sources, private foundations and organizations, the TransLatin@ Coalition harnesses its resources to devise advocacy strategies in response to structural and institutional discrimination.[10] The Coalition focuses on key issues relating to U.S. identity documents & and immigration, education, employment, health care, and experiences of interpersonal and structural violence.[11] In 2018, TransLatin@ Coalition was joined beside Laverne Cox in the Los Angeles rally for the #FamiliesBelongTogether National Day of Action.[12]Bamby Salcedo was also known to organize events to raise funds for the TransLatin@ coalition. She organized an event in 2014 called GARRAS (Groundbreaking Activism Redirecting and Reforming All Systems) in which trans Latinas would model for a fashion show. This fashion show alluded to a double meaning since "Garras" was used in the statement "garras que te pones" and the "grrr" alluded to the level of fierceness these women possessed.[13]

Angels for Change

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Bamby Salcedo collaborated produced with The Center for TransYouth Health and Development & Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Division of Adolescent to produce the "Angels for Change Runway Show". She created this as, cited in her website, to create “an opportunity for trans and gender non-conforming youth to develop self-presentation skills in a safe, fun environment by participating in […]  the world’s first calendar featuring trans youth.”[9]

Filmography

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Transvisible: Bamby Salcedo's story (2013)

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An LA based filmmaker and activist, Dante Alencastre takes on a documentary regarding the life of Bamby Salcedo and the personal challenges she had to overcome in her personal life and in face of oppression. It discusses how she became a role model for “multiple communities including the Trans, Latina, immigrant, youth, and LGBT communities.”[14]

LA Queenciañera (2021)

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Pedro Peira, an L.A director and former friend of Bamby Salcedo, suggested making a documentary collaboration with Bamby Salcedo to celebrate her 50th year old anniversary.  “LA QueenCieñera” is a touching portrait of authenticity and finding your chosen family.[15]

The movie follows Bamby “organizing her 50th birthday celebration attended by people significant to her life and survival. As she prepares for the event, Bamby travels through LA county and watches her life go by; from the streets where she smoked crack and the Men’s County Jail to journalists and academics she has enlisted for her causes, plush homes of supporters, and communities and organizations she has gathered together to change the lives of transgender people in the United States.”[16]

Awards

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  • James Earl Hardy Legends Award, The Black & Hispanic Gay Coalition[17]
  • The West Coast Liberty Awards, Lambda Legal[17]
  • Susan J. Hyde Award for 'Longevity in the Movement' from The National LGBTQ Task Force[17]
  • Good Neighbor Award, State Farm Insurance[17]
  • Connie Norman Leadership Award, LA PRIDE[17]
  • Shiela J. Kuehl Trailblazer Award, Stonewall Democratic Club[17]
  • The Women in Leadership Award, City of West Hollywood[17]
  • Virginia Uribe Leadership Award, The Models of Pride Youth Conference[17]
  • The Sol Award, National Latin@ AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD)[17]

References

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  1. ^ "Biography". Bamby Salcedo. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  2. ^ a b Zoila, Miriam (2014-12-17). "14 Women of Color Who Rocked 2014". ColorLines. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
  3. ^ "About Trans-Latina". TransLatin@ Coalition website, created by Paola Coots. 2014. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
  4. ^ "White House United State of Women Summit". whitehouse.gov. 2016-06-10. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  5. ^ a b c Salcedo, Bamby; Sérráno, Bri; Salinas, Cristóbal; Cervantes, Diana (2022). ""I Am a Miracle, Yo Soy Un Milagro, I Am Not Supposed to Be Here": A Conversation with Bamby Salcedo". Journal Committed to Social Change on Race and Ethnicity. 8 (1): 87–105. doi:10.15763/issn.2642-2387.2022.8.1.86-105. ISSN 2642-2387. JSTOR 48676898.
  6. ^ Medina, Luis (2017-05-01). "Immigrating While Trans: The Disproportionate Impact of the Prostitution Ground of Inadmissibility and Other Provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act on Transgender Women". The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice. 19 (3): 253–295. ISSN 1537-405X.
  7. ^ Cabage, Nic (2023). Handbook on Prisons and Jails (1st ed.). p. 295. ISBN 9781003374893.
  8. ^ "Our Partners: Bamby Salcedo | Stories@Gilead". stories.gilead.com. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  9. ^ a b "Bio | Bamby Salcedo". bambysalcedo.com. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  10. ^ "About TLC". The TransLatin@ Coalition. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  11. ^ "TransVisible: Transgender Latina Immigrants in U.S. Society". VAWnet.org. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  12. ^ Salsbury, Eleanor; Baskin, Carmiya (3 July 2018). "Rallying for Migrant Families". Ms. Retrieved 2018-07-20.
  13. ^ Borges, S (2019). "Home and Homing as Resistance: Survival of LGBTQ Latinx Migrants. Women's Studies Quarterly, 46(3), 69-84". Scholarly Journal.
  14. ^ "Transvisible: Bamby Salcedo's story". tricolib.primo.exlibrisgroup.com. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  15. ^ Rodriguez, Josef (2021-10-28). "Q&A with Bamby Salcedo, 'LA QueenCiañera' Lead and TransLatin@ Coalition President". Latina. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  16. ^ "LA Queenciañera - reviews and where to watch - good.film". good.film. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Bio | Bamby Salcedo". bambysalcedo.com. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
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