By Melina Baron-Deutsch, Alumni of Operation Groundswell
Operation Groundswell champions international LGBT+ engagement through connecting young Canadians with movements across the world.
As a program leader for Operation Groundswell, I had the opportunity to work closely with Tsanwa, a Peruvian LGBT+ advocacy group in the Amazon region. Based in Iquitos, the largest city unreachable by road, Tsanwa holds weekly meetings to promote LGBT+ community by building activities and organized actions.
Tsanwa, which means freedom in the local indigenous language Cucama Cucamilla, is best known for its role in establishing Peru’s first Amazon Pride March and Prideland Festival, honouring the Stonewall riots in 1969.
When meeting with Tsanwa, they mentioned that they’ve noticed family members and allies starting to participate in the parade and festivities, which signifies a cultural shift towards familial acceptance.
After initially meeting with the Tsanwa leaders to plan our time spent together with our Amazon Adventures crew, I was delighted to learn that Iquitos has a long history serving as a sanctuary for queer and trans refugees. Peru experienced a violent uprising of guerilla group, The Shining Path, in the 1980’s.
The Shining Path was known for targeting isolated regions of Peru, whose inhabitants were met with massacre when they refused to be recruited by Marxist-Leninist terrorist movement.
Among the victims of the wide-spread terror inflicted by this movement was the LGBT+ community. Tarapoto was a queer gathering spot best known as one of the last sanctuaries for trans women to congregate in the Amazon.
Fleeing from persecution, many queer and trans people left Tarapoto to seek new refuge in Iquitos. This marks the beginning of Iquitos’s renowned status of being and having a notorious and thriving underground LGBT+ community.
Local Loretan artists, such as Christian Bendayán, have beautifully captured the colorful queer culture that developed in Iquitos at this time and what it has since grown to be.
Our collaboration with Tsanwa largely focused on group-bonding and cultural exchange.
Upon our arrival, we were welcomed by locals with a warm meet & greet to introduce Operation Groundswell’s Amazon Adventure participants to members of Tsanwa. This event started as a series of informal ice-breakers and ended with a festive drag show and dance party, complete with karaoke.
I recall one of our cis, straight male participants disclosing to me his initial discomfort with the drag party. He later opened up about what he had learned from stepping out of his comfort zone, and challenging his own prejudices after being immersed in a queer space he would have never experienced otherwise.
Between the icebreakers and drag party, Tsanwa members shared deeply personal accounts about their experiences living as members of the queer and trans community in Iquitos.
Two trans women shared their heartbreaking tales of family rejection and how they had come to find a home and solace. A 19-year-old student shared a poem she had written commemorating the tragic story of two local lesbians, and encouraged us all to take action in our own lives by speaking up against discrimination.
The following day, our groups reunited for a day-long outdoor excursion in a quiet resort nestled along a river in the Amazon rainforest. The boisterous boys of Tsanwa cat-called other men from our boat that morning, much to the shock and chagrin of some of our more conservative participants. But by the end of the day, participants and Tsanwa members alike were laughing along to the silly gestures and humbling coming out stories.
As a queer woman and LGBT+ organizer myself, working with Tsanwa was an incredibly personal and invaluable experience. Their relentless pursuit of LGBT+ rights and commitment not only to community building, but broader cultural change, is a refreshing take on social justice. I noticed changes within our own group dynamics throughout our interactions with Tsanwa. Participants grew more comfortable to share and challenge their own notions of queerness while reflecting on our journey. They felt more comfortable asking questions in regards to LGBT+ terminology and sharing experiences, witnessing homophobia and transphobia in their respective hometowns.
As an organization whose tagline is “Backpacking with a Purpose,” Operation Groundswell’s approach to “voluntourism” and experiential learning is founded on four key principles: cultural literacy, power & privilege, solidarity, and environmental sustainability. The Amazon Adventure program works with a variety of community-based projects, but our cultural exchange with Tsanwa particularly exemplifies these first three principles.
Our participants come from all walks of life and yet we are all able to converge over controversial topics of diversity and inclusion through group activities facilitated by Tsanwa. I am excited to see the future growth of Operation Groundswell working in solidarity with other LGBT+ organizations in South America, such as the radical lesbian group Mujeres Creando in Bolivia.
Videos from Peru’s Organization Tsanwa
About Operation Groundswell
Operation Groundswell is a registered Canadian non-profit organization that facilitates travel, community service, and educational experiences around the world on a host of social justice issues. Geared towards socially conscious and globally active youth between the ages of 18-30 from North America, OG’s mission is to use the power of travel to create a more just, equitable, and sustainable world.
2019 programs are now open for application.
Visit the Operation Groundswell website for more information and follow Operation Groundswell on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
