The Fuego esthetics completed one year providing services and labor inclusion to transvestite-trans people
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aesthetics Firea transvestite-trans work cooperative located in the Buenos Aires town of Villa Ballester, held this Monday one year after the opening of the centeror, where hair and nail services are not only offered to more than 200 clients, but also labor inclusion to its workers and students who are trained.
This Monday, the beauty center turned one year old, after its inauguration in the middle of the pandemic, with a celebration in which neighbors of all ages, leaders of social organizations, officials, volunteer firefighters from the area and members of the transvestite network were present. trans from “The Weave“, which brings together hundreds of transvestite-trans people from General San Martín’s party.
“Our project crystallized in the midst of the pandemic, when there were no opportunities for anyone, we saw the opportunity and the moment, and we were accompanied by a good political moment that helped us, thanks to that today we can be a project work and self-management“, told Télam Arny, one of the workers dedicated to the diffusion of the center.
In turn, he maintained that the first birthday of the aesthetic center represents “a great opportunity for this population, often so marginal and without opportunities“.
On the street Boulevard Ballester at 4857located in the commercial heart of Villa Ballester, chairs and music were arranged to welcome the people who quickly came to Fuego to celebrate its first year, which was marked by “a lot of work”, but also by “a lot of affection of the neighbors.”
“They received us very well, they gave us gifts, invoices, ice cream, a little plant, biscuits. The affection of the neighbors was very nice,” said Laura, 35, who works in aesthetics doing both manicures and hairdressing.
The clients “feel at home, we make jokes and we talk about everything”he added.
“I already worked 11 years ago in hairdressing, and in nails five years ago,” said the worker, who came to the project because: “I didn’t have a job and I realized that the street was not my thing. So I dedicated myself to the hairdresser and they told me about this project”.
“The ‘Fire’ project is very important to us, it is the first transvestite-trans cooperative fully managed and carried out by the compañeras, it is a unique experience.”leonardo grosso
While the music plays, there is a party atmosphere in front of Fuego, which included live theater and music shows, raffles with dozens of prizes contributed by the merchants of Villa Ballester and the accompaniment of officials, such as the Minister of Women, Gender and Diversity, Elizabeth Gomez Alcortaand the national deputy of the Front of All, leonardo grossoalso a resident of San Martín.
Likewise, a member of Fuego reminded those present that those who bought a pastatrola, a tea or a crumb sandwich at a “friendly price”, would be collaborating with the “Happy Children” picnic area, which operates in the La Cárcova slum, and in which more than 70 colleagues from the El Teje network participate.
This network, which initially emerged as a form of food assistance to the compañeras of the municipality’s transvestite-trans collective, “began to become more complex with assistance in health, documentation and work, to think of alternatives to the route, the street, prostitution“, Deputy Grosso told Télam.
The Fuego Aesthetics Center is an example of trans collective construction that we have been accompanying since @MinGenerosAR to promote the economic independence of its members.
We celebrate its first year at its premises in Villa Ballester, Buenos Aires. pic.twitter.com/e65BZ3Y0oU
— Eli Gomez Alcorta (@EliGAlcorta) July 18, 2022
“The ‘Fire’ project is very important to us, it is the first transvestite-trans cooperative fully managed and carried out by the compañeras, it is a unique experience,” she added.
Currently, six aesthetic workers open their doors from Tuesday to Saturday, while a “small staff” is undergoing training at a professionalization center in the municipality, to leave their nails and hair “on fire.”
“I did my nails and the attention is incredible and they are very professional,” said Graciela, a neighbor who has been attending the beauty salon since it opened.
Meanwhile, the center is in front of a police station, a fact that is “very symbolic” for Arny, since “even with the police station we were working very actively. And it is an institution that many times represents or represented something that limited us, today it is a neighbor and I believe the rapprochement is totally possible, “she said.
On the other hand, the birthday brings hope and motivation to its workers, who agreed that they not only plan to add more things such as “massages, permanent hair removal and eyelashes”, but also hope to “open another branch so that more colleagues can join the project” , and that in this way “there are more Fires”.
“Many girls believe that the only option they have is the street, but the project encourages trans young women to think that they can’t just be on a corner,” said Laura, stressing the importance of the project in being able to “change their thinking or better to encourage someone from the group”, who is going through a situation of vulnerability.
