The Cosquín festival goes non-binary

Following a complaint from Ferni de Gyldenfeldt and the intervention of INADI, the Cosquín Festival eliminates the categories of female and male vocal genres.

September 29, 2021

Agustina Ramos

Presentes Agency Archive

The traditional Cosquín Folklore Festival announced today, through a resolution, that it will eliminate the gender categories of "female vocalist" and "male vocalist." This decision was made following a complaint filed by non-binary trans singer Ferni de Gyldenfeldt with the National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Racism (INADI) after being rejected in the "Female Vocal Soloist" category.

“I’m incredibly excited, happy, and moved. It’s a historic and unexpected victory that was achieved just hours after the complaint was filed. In three hours, history changed, and they broke the binary category of the festival,” Ferni told Presentes.

Following the complaint and the intervention of the agency, the Municipal Folklore Commission established through a resolution that, from now on, the festival will have a single category without distinction of gender: “Vocal Soloist”.

Ferni competed in the Pre-Cosquín competition held in Buenos Aires and obtained the highest score. “She had the highest score over the two days—Saturday, September 25, and Sunday, September 26—a perfect ten,” said Marian Farias Gómez, a member of the festival's jury in the city, along with Mónica Abraham and Franco Luciani.

However, the singer was informed that she was rejected for the "Female Vocal Soloist" category because her ID card lists her sex as male. Ferni identifies as non-binary and uses female pronouns, even though she has not legally changed her gender marker, and has therefore filed a complaint with INADI (National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism).

“She had the desire and the will to come and file the complaint. What we try to do in these types of cases is to provide a quick resolution. INADI is obviously here to impose sanctions when there is a violation of the Anti-Discrimination Law and to protect rights,” Victoria Donda, president of INADI, told Presentes.

“We quickly contacted the mayor of Cosquín,” he continued, “who very kindly listened to what the problem was and was able, in a meeting with the people who organize the Cosquín Festival, to modify the category guidelines.”

Ferni de Gyldenfeldt is a singer and a member of the musical groups Allpa Munay, Murga La Notalpié, and the dissident lyrical performance Ópera Queer. She is also a solo folk singer, accompanied by guitarist Nahuel Quipildor, with whom she performs the show Folklore en transición and with whom she also appeared at the Cosquín Pre-Festival.

“We are living our identity freely, and therefore we are also living freely in the way we want to express ourselves. Women and gender non-conforming people are offering a new and different way of experiencing music. This is what Cosquín wanted to lose,” said the singer.

With this ruling, Ferni will be able to participate in the festival. She will compete in the Pre-Festival final in Buenos Aires on October 7th. “The important thing about this change is that it empowers us, makes us feel that this door that was closed to us has now been knocked down, and that it 's not just me entering, it's all of us . These are scenarios that reflect a society that is no longer the one it was 60 years ago,” she concluded.

USEFUL INFORMATION

The helpline for victims of discrimination, racism, and xenophobia is 168. It can be called every day (including Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Deaf people can send a video in sign language via WhatsApp to +54 11 6492 1079. Additionally, the public email address is 0800@inadi.gob.ar

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