Cordoba: Capilla del Monte mobilizes after homophobic attack
A group of thugs stoned a gay couple in Capilla del Monte. A protest against the violence is being organized for January 26th. This is the second incident of homophobic violence in this province in less than a month.
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By Alexis Oliva, from Córdoba
On Saturday, January 19, at 2:30 a.m., Brian David De los Santos (24) and Leonardo Vargas (21) were victims of a homophobic attack after leaving a bar in downtown Capilla del Monte (Córdoba province) where they had dinner with a friend. Both live, work, and study in the city of Córdoba and were spending their vacation in their hometown, one of the tourist attractions of the Punilla Valley in the Sierras Chicas mountain range of Córdoba.
That night, they were walking hand in hand toward Brian's mother's house when they were attacked by a group of thugs who first insulted them, then chased and stoned them. The attack began in San Martín Square, a few meters from the famous covered street, where on a Saturday night during peak season there are at least a dozen shops open and a lot of tourists. In that same place, this Saturday, January 26, at 5 p.m., there will be artistic performances and an open radio broadcast to condemn homophobic violence.
Persecution, insults and stone throwing
“Fucking faggots!” they heard as soon as they crossed the plaza. “When we heard the insults, we kept holding hands, walked a block, and then they started throwing rocks at us ,”Brian told Presentes.“'Hey, stop, we didn't do anything to you,' I said to one of them, and he stopped. 'You're not going to let what these faggots say get you down,' another one said. They laughed and kept throwing. That time, a rock hit me. We were already at the corner of my mom's house, and I didn't tell my boyfriend I'd been hit. I turned around to tell them to stop, and I saw there were six of them, they were closer, and they kept throwing rocks. Everything went blurry, and I thought, 'They're going to kill us here.'”
Brian and Leonardo managed to get inside the house safely, and the gang dispersed. They say they couldn't identify any of the attackers because, at the start of the chase, the assailants covered their faces with the hoods of their sweatshirts. "When I put the key in the lock and managed to open the door, I burst into tears and panicked that they would follow us home," Brian recalled.
“The police themselves discriminate against you and encourage aggression.”
Brian De los Santos is a dancer and dance teacher. Leonardo Vargas is a social communicator, graphic designer, and works at a political consulting firm. On Sunday morning, while silently drinking mate with his mother, Brian thought: “I’m never going to love again, and I’m going to separate from my partner and lock myself away in my house.”
Five days later, he says: “What hurts the most is that this reminded me of what I’ve heard since I can remember, in elementary and high school: 'Fucking faggot.' That degrading thing that still echoes today. The violence and the hatred.”
[READ ALSO: Homophobic attack in Chaco: he was beaten almost unconscious]]
That motivated him to recount the episode on his Facebook page, more as a catharsis than a formal complaint. Brian doesn't want to go to the local police or judicial authorities. “I didn't file a report because I can't identify anyone and because I don't trust them. The police themselves encourage this kind of aggression; they discriminate against you, give you dirty looks, and demand your ID to let you into the club. The case of Jorgito Reyna (a 17-year-old who died in the Capilla del Monte police station in 2013) happened here, and nothing came of it. And the same officers responsible are still working there. So, it doesn't feel very safe to go and ask them for help,” he says.
Against heteronormative patriarchy
However, two friends who are activists for the rights of dissident sexual identities convinced them that theirs was not just another case and that they couldn't remain inactive. To raise awareness of the attack and fight against discrimination, Erika Ochoa and Stell Masitelli organized a public demonstration, with the support of local LGBTQ+ organizations and human rights activists who fight against gender-based and homophobic violence.
“In repudiation of the acts of violence against a same-sex couple, understanding that this is NOT an isolated incident but rather a consequence of the heteronormative, patriarchal system in its corrective and 'normalizing' function regarding dissident sexualities and identities, neighbors are calling for an event on January 26th at 5:00 PM in San Martín Square,” reads the text inviting people to the activity. There will be artistic performances, an open mic, and poster painting.
Several community media outlets also support the mobilization, including the radio station Una radio, muchas voces 98.1 FM , which conducted an extensive interview with Brian on its program Entre mate y mate following the attack.
Cordoba: two attacks in less than a month
This homophobic attack is not an isolated incident in Córdoba this summer. So far this season, it is the second episode of violence against LGBTQ+ people in tourist areas of the province. The first was the attack on Pablo Dell'Oso (24), who was knocked unconscious while being called a "fucking faggot" at the Nabisco nightclub in Villa Rumipal, in the Calamuchita Valley.
[READ ALSO: Homophobia in Córdoba: He was beaten and left unconscious]
Capilla del Monte: violence against women, children and dissidents
Capilla del Monte is known for its Uritorco mountain, the highest peak in the Sierras Chicas mountain range, once a sacred site for the Comechingón people, and now a mecca for UFO enthusiasts. It is also a multicultural society, where immigrant artists, intellectuals, and New Age coexist with the native inhabitants. A more peaceful tourist destination than Villa Carlos Paz and Cosquín. An idyllic place where—from an outsider's perspective—an incident of homophobic violence would seem exceptional.
Paula Rodríguez is a social worker and participates in the Intersectoral Roundtable against Gender Violence and Child Sexual Abuse and in the Plurinational Women's Movement of Capilla del Monte, organizations that support Saturday's demonstration. For Paula, despite its tourist and cultural attractions, Capilla del Monte "is an ultraconservative society. I've lived here for a few years now, and there are many people who want to address these issues, but there's also significant cultural resistance. In our outreach activities, we also demand that the government do what it isn't: implement preventative campaigns, because what's needed to prevent these situations of violence and homophobia is education."
“ There are three or four trans women here, and the rejection they face is insane,” she explains. She adds, “There’s a mix of everything: a social and cultural movement trying to break free from this, but there are also those who jump to the defense of abusers. The problem in Capilla del Monte is violence: against women, gender-diverse people, and children. That’s why we’ll be here on Saturday, because these things happen every day.”
Brian and Leonardo will also be there: “We’re going to show up there, not to apologize or ask for tolerance, but to demand respect, because we are people who coexist in the town and in society. We know many boys and girls who have suffered this.”
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