‘We demand clear action and justice’
Jackson Heights community honors transgender woman killed in Puerto Rico
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
An illustration of Alexa
Negrón Luciano, the transgender
woman who was killed
on her birthday in Puerto
Rico, was perched at the center
of a memorial surrounded
by flowers, candles, the Puerto
Rican flag and a poster
that read “Transfobia Mata”
(“Transphobia Kills”), all
placed along the wire fence in
front of Manuel De Dios Unanue
Triangle Park on Roosevelt
Avenue and 83rd Street in
Jackson Heights.
A few dozen people gathered
to honor the 29-year-old,
also known as Neulisa Luciano
Ruiz, in a vigil on March 2.
“The trans women in New
York City send our support
and love for our trans sisters
in Puerto Rico. We grieve the
death of our sister Alexa, that
day was a day of celebration
for her as it was her birthday
and transphobic people without
empathy ended her life,”
Bianey Garcia, organizer at
Make the Road NY and Jackson
Heights resident, told
QNS in Spanish.
Several New York Citybased
human rights organizations
led the vigil, including
Make the Road NY, Decrim
NY, Queeramisú – LGBTQ
Leaders of Color for Progress,
NY Anti-Violence Project,
Lorena Borjas Foundation,
Colectivo Intercultural
TRANSgrediendo and Trans
Goofy Games.
Alexa was found with multiple
gunshot wounds in the
morning of Feb. 24 in Toa
Baja, Puerto Rico. She was
homeless and, according to a
Facebook Live video, had depression.
Before her death, Alexa
was harassed on social media
after someone accused
her of using a mirror to peep
at women inside a restroom
at a fast food restaurant. Police
found there was no proof
of that accusation — but that
didn’t stop misinformation
and transphobic posts to
spread on social media.
A few days before Monday
evening’s vigil, Jackson
Heights-based trans activist
Jennifer Orellana uploaded
a video, saying in Spanish,
“historically, the government
Puerto Rican trans activist Samantha Love was among the members of the Jackson Heights community who gathered for a vigil honoring
Alexa, the transgender woman killed in Puerto Rico, on March 2. Photo: Angélica Acevedo/QNS
has failed us in putting a stop
to the femicide in our streets
and it’s time that we take institutional
action.”
Orellana introduced Puerto
Rican trans activist Samantha
Love at Monday’s vigil, who
gave a stirring speech in Spanish
about the challenges the
transgender community in
Latin America faces everyday.
“Many of our members
have been thrown out to the
streets, but others have been
like Alexa and me and so
many others — we have escaped
a prison,” Love said.
“At an early age we left the
oppression of fundamentalism,
of fanaticism. We had to
face the world at an early age.
Thank God we could fly, open
our wings and reach the big
city, the Big Apple, which has
made us the women that you
see here today. ”
Love spoke while holding a
mirror, which symbolized the
mirror Alexa carried to look
behind her back, for safety
reasons. She then noted that
this is the third major case of
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.2 COM | MARCH 13-MARCH 19, 2020
a hate crime in Puerto Rico
within the last few years.
Love called for justice for
Kevin Fret, a 24-year-old artist
who was killed last year,
Ruben Baez Garcia, a nurse
who was found dead in a motel
almost four years ago, and
now, Alexa.
A video of the moments
that led up to Alexa’s death
was posted on Snapchat. In
the video, Alexa is seen walking
away from a group of people
who followed and threatened
her before gunshots are
heard.
Puerto Rico police said
they were investigating three
men — one of whom is a minor
— in connection with her
murder, but there have been
no arrests or updates of the
case as of March 3, according
to Noticel. Police also said one
of the people interviewed said
the gunshots heard in the video
came from a BB gun.
“We are very angry because
the video of her death
was published on social media
and the authorities have
not given or arrested her attackers,
so from NYC we are
demanding clear actions and
justice from the police of Puerto
Rico, so that Alexa’s death
does not go unpunished,” Garcia
said.
Samy Nemir-Olivares,
who’s running for District
Leader in Brooklyn’s 53rd
Assembly District, was one
of the speakers at Monday’s
vigil. Nemir-Olivares told
QNS that the fact that Alexa’s
death was filmed and shared
on social media demonstrates
that it was a hate crime.
“We demand not only the
local government but the federal
government to step in,”
Nemir-Olivares said. “We
need actions that demonstrate
that we stand with the
transgender community and
the LGBTQ community.”
Nemir-Olivares called for
policy from the Puerto Rican
government that shows that
they stand with the transgender
and LGBTQ+ community.
“Because let’s be clear, the
government killed Alexa,” Nemir
Olivares said. “Our inaction,
transgender negligence,
killed Alexa and so many LGBTQ
people in Puerto Rico,
who are still suffering.”
CBS News’ correspondent
David Begnaud said the FBI
started a hate crime investigation
on March 3, based on
the video that was spread on
social media.
In the wake of Alexa’s
death, many news outlets in
Puerto Rico not only misgendered
her but also addressed
her in headlines as “a man
wearing a skirt” or “a man
dressed as a woman.”
Garcia said she wants to
send the media a clear message
when writing about trans
people.
“We are in the 21st century
and apparently many people
live under rocks or they don’t
want to accept that trans
people exist too,” Garcia said.
“Expressing my gender does
not make me a criminal, wearing
women’s clothing does not
justify me being subjected to
violence to lose my life.”
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