Pedro Lemebel was already ahead of in some interviews in the early 2000s that his book was almost a cinematic libreto. Well, “I’m afraid Of Bullfighter” will soon be on the big screens and not at any time: just in times where we went through the biggest political and social crisis during this democratic case – as Lemebel said – and a pandemic that will completely or partially reconfigure contemporary society. When Lemebel in 2001 presented his book, he did so at the former National Congress and it was not a coincidence, but in reference to the country’s political work swerved in that building: it was a policy with convictions and ethics versus the one we have today institutionally. That’s why Lemebel came back so we can stand up for who we are.
Defending who we are
In LGBTIQ+ Pride month, the various flags and struggles will not see the streets but will only fill virtual social networks with the colors of the rainbow. Amid this resistance to the agonizing democratic affair, LGBTIQ+ struggles loome with transformative potential in the face of a world that faces hatred, racism and discrimination strongly. LGBTIQ+ struggles invite us to stand up for who we are and will be.
This time we will not be on the streets facing neoliberal hegemony and traditional and conservative politics, but in a process of reflection and memory that allows us to organize more and better, unides for common interests, with ideas and actions of a “culture of cooperation” with otres, building locally, nationally and internationally the challenges we have to face this pandemic and the years to come. To defend who we are, is therefore, to defend the projection of our society. A Chile with Lemebel-like cities: free, alive and governing us.
The LGBTIQ+ city
Moments when cities seem to be more empty, LGBTIQ+ cities are a projection that today is in latency, hoping to mobilize and contest the neoliberal Chilean streets, which as Lemebel said “are an erratic, meaningless urban erratic erratic: a city stinking for its directionality”. We play adventure, the act of collectively thinking about the city from the action that in front of the neoliberal logics of conceiving life. We need to start new relationships with the environment and everyday life, a horizon of collective meaning that sees the city not only as something physical but as something that is full of memories and meanings.
In this smelly democracy, pride is political and the challenge of our pride to the Chilean, Lemebel, is the Chile to come.
The content poured into this opinion column is the sole responsibility of its author, and does not necessarily reflect the editorial line or position of El Mostrador.
