Homophobia in Buenos Aires: pizzeria employees beat up a gay couple
On Sunday, October 21st, at 11:00 PM, Tomás and Joaco, a couple, were having dinner at the 'Academia della Pizza' pizzeria in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires. They recounted that they were sitting together on the same side of the table when the manager told them, "This is a family place, so please behave yourselves." They replied, "We're family too," and left the restaurant. On the sidewalk, they were attacked by two other employees. Organizations are calling for a protest in front of the restaurant on Saturday, October 29th.
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By Lucas Gutiérrez, from Buenos Aires
On Sunday, October 21st at 11:00 PM, Tomás and Joaco, a couple, were having dinner at the 'Academia della Pizza' pizzeria in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires. They say they were sitting together on the same side of the table when the manager told them, "This is a family place, so please behave yourselves." They replied, "We're family too," and left the restaurant.
On Scalabrini Ortiz Avenue, near Güemes Street, a block and a half from the pizzeria, the manager, a dishwasher, and the waiter who had served them attacked the young people. “They chased us, and when they caught up with us, they separated us. The waiter who served us and the cook hit me in the face and back, and I hit my leg on the ground. They had us by the arm; they were much bigger than us,” Tomás explains.
The attackers said they had come to collect the bill, but the pizzeria wouldn't accept a card payment, so they "escorted" them to the ATM. "We were walking ahead and they were yelling at us from behind, 'fucking faggots,' 'suck my dick if you want, but behave yourselves in my pizzeria,'" one of the young victims recounted.
Tomás Rodríguez, 22, is a political science student and a public employee. He recounts: “What stuck with us most from the whole ordeal was the hatred in their faces, what they were saying to us, how they were saying it, how they kept threatening to hit us again.” After paying them, the assailants continued yelling “don’t come back,” while Tomás and Joaco Guevara, 21, a sociology student, headed to police station number 23 in the Palermo neighborhood to file a report.
“We went to file the complaint accompanied by my other girlfriend, Joaquín Sesma. The three of us were tense because this is happening to us because of the hatred of our queer identity ,” explains Tomás, who is an activist with Conurbanxs por la Diversidad, while Joaco is active in Quimeras de Democracia Socialista.
[READ ALSO: #CABA He reported a neighbor for a homophobic attack and the neighbor attacked him again]
Darío Arias, activist and leader of Conurbanxs por la Diversidad (Suburbanites for Diversity), told this publication: “In the last two and a half years, acts of violence against LGBTQ+ people have increased throughout the country, especially in the metropolitan area, the province of Buenos Aires, and neighborhoods in Greater Buenos Aires. What we observe is a fear of making these situations visible and reporting them; therefore, the support provided by organizations is done with great caution and respect for those decisions.”.
Laid-off employees
Sergio Rivadillo, the manager of the establishment, told Presentes that the manager on duty was dismissed from the company and a waiter and a dishwasher were suspended. “His version of events was that he told the couple they were bothering other people, that it was a family establishment and they couldn't kiss. He said the couple ran out into the street and he chased them along with a waiter and a dishwasher and dragged them out to demand payment. It was all crazy,” he recounted.
[READ ALSO: Brutal homophobic attack on member of the Ciervos Pampas rugby team]
This isn't the first time Tomás and Joaco have been harassed. Two months ago, at a Burger King across from Plaza Italia, security personnel confronted them for kissing. Although Tomás says that Burger King headquarters contacted them, they believe the only action taken was to fire the employee, but their complaint aimed to bring about other measures.
[READ ALSO: He was attacked by a gang: “I haven’t been beaten up for being gay since the '90s”]
[READ ALSO: Another homophobic attack in Buenos Aires: two in 48 hours]
“This is the distinctive feature of this new context we are experiencing; it is the feeling of impunity that some actors or some institutions or entities have to carry out these acts of violence and discrimination because these are precisely practices and discourses endorsed from different places of political power,” says Darío Arias.
[READ ALSO: #HateCrimes2017 Drastic increase in street attacks in Argentina]
They are calling for a protest in front of the premises
Joaco and Tomás, along with a group of organizations, are calling for a protest this Saturday, October 27th at 6:00 PM in front of the Academia della Pizza store located at the corner of Santa Fe and Scalabrini Ortiz avenues.
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