Rosa and Paloma fight transphobic violence and persecution from the police while defending
their prostitution charges in court in an increasingly anti-migration political environment
in the US. Together with their friends and colleagues, they assert their identities
creatively at a drag show that allows them to exist counter to their marginalization.
Although Paloma and Rosa’s story is fictional, it captures the first hand experience
of those involved in violence, trafficking, and sex work.
This experimental documentary combines ethnofiction and observational nonfiction as
a collaboration between Nicola Mai and the TRANSgrediendo Intercultural Collective,
a grassroots nonprofit organization defending the rights of transgender Latina migrant
women in Queens, New York City.
CAER is a tribute to the work and legacy of Lorena Borjas, the mother of these Latina
transgender women in Queens, who was one of the first victims of COVID-19 in New York
City in March 2020.
StormMiguel Florez. “TRANSlations 2022 Program.” 2022. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a86d494b1ffb6251b62962f/t/676355aef2d7a7358eea490a/1734563284130/TRANSlations+2022-Program.pdf.
