Carlos Jauregui, the unforgettable faggot

Why was the founder of the Argentine Homosexual Community an iconic figure in the fight for LGBTIQ rights? This newly released documentary tells that story through emblematic moments and essential testimonies.

November 15, 2016

Why was the founder of the Argentine Homosexual Community (CHA) an iconic figure in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights? This newly released documentary recounts that journey through emblematic moments and essential testimonies. " The Unforgettable Queer: The Life of Carlos Jáuregui" is a documentary that helps us understand how the first strategies for making visible what the LGBTQ+ community so desperately sought—equal rights—were developed in Argentina. And why did Carlos Jáuregui, founder of the CHA, become an iconic figure for the first generation of gay men who dared to come out in public, regardless of the costs? In April 1984, for example, during the first months of the return to democracy, Carlos Jáuregui and another CHA activist embraced on the cover of Siete Días magazine to illustrate the article "The Risks of Being Homosexual in Argentina." Never before in the country had a gay man appeared openly in a mainstream media outlet. This record cost Jauregui his job at the university where he taught. But that article, and those that followed, first increased visibility and then sparked debate. Twenty years after his death (he died on August 20, 1996, at the age of 38), "The Unforgettable Queer" takes the activist on a tour of national festivals. He was a man who could both engage in leftist discussions with party grassroots members and appear on Mirtha Legrand's television program. The documentary premiered this month at the Asterisco International LGBTIQ Film Festival in Buenos Aires. "My goal is to reach those who didn't know him or know little about him. And that the film evokes emotion in them, and that his story resonates," Lucas Santa Ana, the director and screenwriter, told Presentes . [READ MORE: Books: Jauregui in writing] The documentary is further enhanced by highlighting emblematic but also lesser-known moments of the collective struggle. In 1992, in the days leading up to the first Gay and Lesbian Pride March in Argentina, a heated debate erupted among the organizers: Should they call it the Pride March? The March for Dignity? Would they march with their faces covered? Would they show themselves even if it meant public condemnation? In the end, they decided on the Pride March , as it is still called today, because “given the struggle for identity, why deprive ourselves of the word 'pride'?” said César Cigliutti, current president of the CHA (Argentine Homosexual Community). “We have to march from Plaza de Mayo to Congress, so that it's understood that our demands are political.” This and other scenes are recounted through conversations with the participants, guided by Gustavo Pecoraro , a friend of Carlos and part of the activist movement. Another of the illuminating testimonies is that of Ilse Fuskova (months ago, at 86 years old, she coordinated the reprint of the Notebooks of Lesbian Existence, first published in the 1980s). On camera, Ilse recalls the main song of that pioneering march, which drew just over a hundred people: – “Alert! Alert! Alert, they’re marching! Gays and lesbians through the streets of Argentina!” Interspersed with voiceovers reading texts written by Jáuregui and archival footage, Pecoraro accompanies the narrative by physically reenacting the scenes where the activist’s life unfolded: from his birth in La Plata to the now-legendary Buenos Aires apartment on Paraná Street, the site of the first meetings where gays, lesbians, and transvestites came together to devise common strategies. “Gustavo keeps Carlos’s memory alive: he’s a key figure when it comes to Jáuregui. It was great to work with him on the script and filming. Later, other friends and comrades joined in, resulting in a diverse film, told from many perspectives,” says Santa Ana. A few years ago, when Gustavo told him he wanted to make a short film about Jáuregui, the director didn’t know much about his life. “I’d barely heard of him. I did some research and felt it was important to tell his story. Just as I knew very little about him, there were many people who were unaware, and still are, of the history of our movement,” says Santa Ana. The Unforgettable Queer: The Life of Carlos Jáuregui is a valuable documentary for understanding what it means to be visible, to emerge from the shadows, and to think of oneself as a community. Through emotion, without resorting to sentimentality, it challenges new activists to fight for our hard-won gains. Where can you watch The Unforgettable Queer: The Life of Carlos Jáuregui? https://www.facebook.com/InolvidableFilm/ Watch the trailer ]]>

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