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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. Bamby has dedicated more than 25 years to community advocacy and organization.[4]
Bamby Salcedo | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 12, 1969 Guadalajara, Mexico |
| Occupation | Activist |
| Organization | TransLatin@ Coalition |
| Known for | Transgender activism |
| Title | President |
| Awards |
|
| Website | https://bambysalcedo.com/ |
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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 at the hands of her stepfather. 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.[5] Later, through her teenage years “as an escape from her confining home environment, she sought out support in other forms. She joined one of the only LGBTQIA+ clubs in her community, the El Grupo Orgullo Homosexual de Liberación (GOHL). The club provided sexual health education, support and contraceptives."[6] At night, the club would convert into a night club where Bamby and her friends would dress-up and go out to dance.[7]
Bamby reunited with her father during his trip to Mexico, where he visited her in a juvenile recovery center where she was staying at the time. She decided to flee Mexico with him after being released, as she was relentlessly persecuted due to her gender identity. She immigrated to the United States in 1985 at the age of 16, crossing the border through Tijuana accompanied by an uncle. They arrived in Los Angeles where they met with her father, and they stayed with him in Visalia, California. Here, she experienced unwelcomeness and was sent to live with her father's cousins in Gridley. Salcedo began working in a tortilla factory, packing tortillas, with the hope of being able to assist her mother financially back in Mexico. Here, she endured dangerous working conditions, long work days with cut pay, and faced exploitation as an undocumented teenager. She turned to stronger drugs and struggled with addiction for the following two years. It was during this time that Salcedo applied for amnesty under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which granted her a work permit and should have been a gateway to citizenship, however, the permit was taken away due to her increasing number of arrests, imprisonment, and deportations.[7]
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.[8] 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.[9] Soon after, she came to learn that she was HIV+, and felt both victimized and helpless.[10] After such traumatizing events, she became a citizen, relocated to Los Angeles once having turned 18, and continued her substance abuse treatments. It was around this period, backed by a supportive LGBTQA+ community, that she began her journey of transition. Salcedo attended her first trans people support group in 1998. However, she was arrested again on account of her addiction.
Bamby 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.[11] 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 was deported again in 2001 and upon getting back to the United States, accepted the opening in a rehabilitation center.[7]
This was the start of her embarkment on a journey of self-healing and rehabilitation. Beginning to build a new future for herself, Bamby completed her associate degree in Liberal Arts from a community college.[7] She then transferred to California State University, Los Angeles where she received her bachelor's degree and pursued a master's degree in Mexican and Latin@ American Studies, launching her career in the field of social justice.[12] She minored in Women and Gender Studies.[7]
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TransLatin@ Coalition
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. “Even though I am the leader of the organization and many members of our community consider me a leader, I don’t see myself as that. I see myself as a servant to the people,” Salcedo tells HipLatina.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15] Bamby quit her paying job as a coordinator for the transgender program for Children's Hospital Los Angeles in 2015 to fully devote her time to the organization. Her and her partners received their first grant for funding for the program in 2016 from the Elton John AIDS Foundation and were able to hire case managers to assist in connecting immigrant trans women released from detention centers with any necessary services.[7]
In 2018, TransLatin@ Coalition was joined beside Laverne Cox in the Los Angeles rally for the #FamiliesBelongTogether National Day of Action.[16] 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.[17] “GARRAS highlights the spirits of trans, gender non conforming, and intersex people who walk the runway as high fashion models,” she says. “Members of the trans and queer community also contribute with hair, makeup, and clothing, so it’s a collaborative process to celebrate members of our community while we’re still here, not just remember us when we’re gone. This year (2024), we’re celebrating the 10th anniversary of GARRAS and our 15th anniversary as an organization, our quinceañera, so to speak.”[13] It was created to contrast Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20, which honors trans people who have lost their lives to anti-trans violence.
In 2020, The TransLatin@ Coalition also used it's impact to help pass the Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund Bill which issued $13 million USD towards acquiring resources for transgender communities such as arts and housing.[4]
Angels of Change
Bamby Salcedo collaborated with The Center for TransYouth Health and Development, and the Children's Hospital Los Angeles Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine to produce the annual "Angels of Change Runway Show" and calendar, which started in 2017.[18] 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.”[12]“There were a lot of young trans people who didn’t have the resources to get their healthcare and the hormonal treatment and stuff like that,” she said. “And that’s why we created this project, Angels of Change.”[6]
As a result of her work with the trans community, Bamby Salcedo has been recognized by both the state and federal governments on a number of occasions. In 2015, Salcedo also spoke at The White House as part of the White House United State of Women Summit.[19] She has also spoken at the Transgender Women of Color and Violence and LGBTQ People of Color Summit. She was even appointed Vice Chair for the Commission on the State of Hate by California State Governor, Gavin Newsom, in 2023.[4]
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Transvisible: Bamby Salcedo's story (2013)
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.”[20]
The Trans List (2016)
Directed by filmmaker and photographer, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Bamby Salcedo was featured as one of eleven transgender Americans and activists who starred in this HBO documentary. Salcedo was given the platform to share her story and experiences as a transgender immigrant, alongside other famous transgender American icons such as Laverne Cox and Caitlyn Jenner.[21]
LA Queenciañera (2021)
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.[22]
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.”[23]
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- James Earl Hardy Legends Award, The Black & Hispanic Gay Coalition[24]
- The West Coast Liberty Awards, Lambda Legal[24]
- Susan J. Hyde Award for 'Longevity in the Movement' from The National LGBTQ Task Force[24]
- Good Neighbor Award, State Farm Insurance[24]
- Connie Norman Leadership Award, LA PRIDE[24]
- Shiela J. Kuehl Trailblazer Award, Stonewall Democratic Club[24]
- The Women in Leadership Award, City of West Hollywood[24]
- Virginia Uribe Leadership Award, The Models of Pride Youth Conference[24]
- The Sol Award, National Latin@ AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD)[24]
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