Translated from Spanish by Emilia Tamayo
“It took an entire week… In those years what they used to pass people was the drainage system, underground, through the tunnels.”
Photo courtesy of El Centro Hispano
Nine years after beginning her gender transition, Cristina Morales made the decision to migrate to the United States from Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico. The year was 1997, and upon arrival she began her career as an activist and inspiration for undocumented transgender women.
Despite having a community in Mexico that supported her, Morales was suddenly uprooted after she was violently assaulted and threatened near her home. At that critical moment, Morales says, “Without pondering it further, I came to the United States. Crossing the border was very difficult and after a week of attempts, I made it.”
In the final stage of their migration, Morales and the group she accompanied had to descend into the United States via an underground passage, that is, through the drainage pipes between Nogales, Sonora and southern Tucson, AZ. Their journey was dark and filled with dangers.
Morales recalls one confrontation with the traffickers–also known as coyotes–when her group was divided into men and women. She explains that at that stage in her gender transition, she was placed in the women’s group. It was revealed that the coyotes’ intention with this group was to conduct an “inspection” of the women.
Morales explains, “Obviously, it was not an inspection. They have another agenda with malicious intentions. They started to touch one of the girls, and we really couldn’t do anything about it. Then, they told us to take off our clothes.” This type of violation is traumatic for any woman, but the risk for a transgender woman can be higher due to homophobic beliefs among the aggressors.
Morales reports that they managed to prevent that invasion of their privacy because of a distraction that occurred further down the drainage system. “We were just lucky that day,” she says.
“My adventure in the United States began with the group Entre Nosotras. My goal was that in every county girls could find a clinic to begin their transition without putting their lives at risk.”
Photo courtesy of El Centro Hispano
Informed by her experience crossing the border, Cristina Morales entered the United States with the purpose of achieving positive change for her LGBTQ community. That mission began with a photojournalism project for transgender immigrants, in collaboration with Wake Forest University in North Carolina. This project generated a forum of medical and legal resources for the women.
Morales went on to get a job at El Centro Hispano in Raleigh, North Carolina, as one of the first directors of the group for trans immigrant women called Entre Nosotras. Her participation in this group was essential to the organization of resources and advocacy.
“We brought together lawyers and therapists, because each woman brings with her a different story with different problems from her country… Now there is more understanding, and although the new presidential administration is against us, there are also many people who are allies of our LGBTQ community.”
Today Entre Nosotras continues at the Hispanic Center in Raleigh. Cristina Morales continues to work on new projects with the Center, always looking for the opportunity to grow and create new experiences.
This article is part of “Breaking the Border,” a series of articles exploring themes of documented and undocumented migration by Translations Editor Emilia Tamayo. To read previous articles in this series, click here.
