As two Queer Mexican immigrant artists, we feel honored to be part of this collection of murals in the Transgender district, just blocks away from where the Compton’s Cafeteria riot happened back in 66. One of the earliest documented uprisings against police harassment led by trans women, drag queens, and gender-nonconforming people.”
-Simón Malvaez and Juan M Carmona
“We see our own story reflected in San Francisco—a city where migration and queer liberation have shaped one another for generations. Frida was the first strong image of a Queer woman when I was growing up. I remember seeing photos of her with very short hair and wearing men’s clothes. That was a big middle finger to Mexican society and Machismo. It’s crazy to think she walked these streets and even she remarried Diego here in San Francisco. Same place where Simón got married, same place where Harvey Milk made Queer history, and same place where the only Transgender district in the world exist.”
-Juan M Carmona
“The Immigrant experience and the Trans experience are different, yet both confront systems that attempt to define who is and who belongs. This mural honors everyone who has crossed borders—physical, cultural, or personal—in pursuit of a more authentic life. At the end, we just want to be seen as human.”
Simón Malvaez
“This mural is a love letter to everyone who has crossed a border—of country, of gender, or identity—and discovered that freedom begins the moment we claim the right to define ourselves, finding peace and feeling safe and protected in the world we want to create.”
-Simón Malvaez and Juan M Carmona