By Paula Bistagnino. On Saturday night, Federico Pasquali was beaten by three security guards at the Mata Mua nightclub in Ramallo, Buenos Aires province, and ended up hospitalized with stitches in his eye, a fractured septum, and damage to his eye socket. “They took me out of the place and outside they told me they didn't want any 'faggots,' that I should leave because I was bothering them,” the young man told Presentes after filing a complaint with the National Institute Against Discrimination and Racism (INADI). Pasquali is 22 years old and lives with his sister in Buenos Aires, where he is studying medicine. This weekend he had gone to his hometown for a friend's birthday and they were celebrating in the VIP section of the town's only bar/nightclub. “We were a diverse group: there were several gay guys, a trans girl, some lesbians, and also several heterosexuals,” the young man said. Everything was going well, according to the account recorded in the complaint filed with INADI, until 4:30 a.m.: “One of the owners called my friend, who knows him because he had been a card seller at the bar, and told him: 'Leave, the good-looking people are starting to arrive now.' And my friend said: 'It doesn't bother you whether we're good-looking or not. It bothers you that there's a trans woman and that there are guys kissing.' And the owner said: 'Fine, keep four or five of you, but get rid of the rest because you're giving me a bad impression.'”

“Faggots shouldn’t be here”

A short time after that warning, a security guard approached Federico and told him he had orders to remove him, as he led him to the door. “They took me out alone. At the door, I asked them why, and they said, 'You fucking faggot, get out of here. We had orders to remove you because you were causing trouble. Faggots aren't allowed here.'” Federico then walked away and texted a friend who was inside. Later, he returned and pressed the question: “Then the bouncer told me, 'You fucking faggot, we already told you to get out of here.' When he said that, I punched him; and then he threw me to the ground, and the three of them started hitting me while I was on the ground.” According to the young man, there were other people at the door, but no one intervened. Only his friend, who had already left, but couldn't stop them. A patrol car was parked across from the bar, and the police officers went to the door. There, they handcuffed Federico and took him first to the José María Gomendio Hospital and then to the town's police station. There, "mutual accusations" were filed. "They treated me better at the police station than at the hospital, where they wouldn't let me talk to my sister, who wanted to see me. And the nurse started asking me questions as if to imply that I had drunk too much or taken drugs. And I had only had one glass of alcohol." The next day, Federico went to see a doctor and was admitted for observation to run tests and rule out internal injuries.

The (non) response from the bar

Only after Federico's mother, Graciela, reported the homophobic attack on her son did one of the owners of Mata Mua Bar contact her and ask how Federico was doing. He then asked her to remove the post because it was affecting them "financially." The woman told him she was taking care of her son's health and hung up. Two hours later, they called again to ask her to take it down. And the next day, they called again: "This time it was in a different tone, which my mother didn't like, and she told him to talk to her lawyer." They didn't call again. Presentes sent messages through social media and the phone number listed on their website but received no response. The bar posted a message on its Facebook page with general considerations about non-discrimination but said nothing about how the incident occurred or responded to the complaint. “We are deeply saddened; discrimination is an attack on the very essence of human dignity. We are hurt and harmed by the slander we have received. Behind this project are people, families, and neighbors in this community who have nothing to do with the labels they are unsuccessfully trying to pin on us,” says the statement, which concludes with a quote from Martin Luther King and this phrase: “We are against violence, we are against discrimination, but we are also against defamation.” Federico, although he lives in Buenos Aires, frequents the club. “Nothing like this has ever happened to me, but it has to other gay guys. It’s not the first time there’s been a homophobic incident there.”