Here I Can Shine

"The Ballroom allows us to live our maximum fantasy. It means to live as if we were not born in the wrong body. It is a space where I can shine, something that does not happen in my everyday life. In the makeup class, for example, I'm too masculine, and in barbering class, I'm too 'sissy'. In the Ballroom I feel like I can show off and develop the talents that I know I have." Said Yamil, a Venezuelan transgender man, during a conversation about how the Ballroom had changed his life.

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Despite the ongoing political, economic, and social crisis in Venezuela that has led almost 8 million Venezuelans to flee the country in the past years, some members of the LGBT+ community who migrated to neighboring countries have returned and brought with them what they learned about ballroom culture along the way. They are now helping a younger generation navigate the challenges of being queer in Venezuela.

 

Rooted in the necessity of community and safety the Ballroom culture born in New York City is an underground queer subculture, founded by black trans and queer folks, in which people compete, perform, lip-sync, and model in different categories, which are designed to at once illustrate and satirize gender constructs.

 

"Here I Can Shine" is a photographic project that seeks to showcase Ballroom scene in Venezuela and how it can positively impact the lives of those who are part of it.​