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NEWS UPDATED 1pm (local time)

SANTA FE CITY, Santa Fe. Alejandra Ironici, a prominent transgender activist in Santa Fe, was murdered in her home – Pasaje Público 8133 – in the northwest of the city. She was 43 years old and the coordinator of the Movement for Social, Ethnic, and Religious Integration (MISER) in Santa Fe. She was a driving force behind significant human rights advancements for the transgender and travesti community. Among other achievements, Alejandra was the first transgender person in Santa Fe to receive her national identity document (DNI) with her legal gender change and to obtain a teaching position in the Santa Fe provincial government.

What we know so far

This Sunday, August 21, around 11 p.m., Alejandra's nephew—who lives in the same house—returned from work and found a fire in the bedroom. Upon entering, according to his statement to the police, he found his aunt with burns and in a pool of blood. He immediately called 911.

When the police arrived at the scene, they confirmed that the victim was already deceased. They began the operation to secure the crime scene and requested the assistance of forensic experts and an ambulance (which never arrived).

During the search of the house, the young man alerted the police that his aunt's car, a gray Fiat Palio, was missing from the garage, as was Alejandra's current partner, with whom she had been in a relationship for about five months. This morning, Alejandra's car was found at 7200 Padre Dusso Street in the city of Santa Fe. A person was also arrested at that location. 

The arrested man is 32 years old, identified by his initials DHB. He was Alejandra's current partner. The arrest took place at a residence across from the victim's car.

The case is being investigated by the Santa Fe Femicide Brigade, headed by prosecutor Alejandra Del Río Ayala. In the coming hours, she will request the Judicial Management Office to set a date and time for the suspect's arraignment hearing.

In March 2018, after two transfemicides perpetrated in the capital of Santa Fe and surrounding areas - those of Adriana Cuqui Bonetto and Sol - Alejandra Ironici explained to Presentes: "Most trans women in the city and its surroundings live alone and in peripheral areas, which deepens their vulnerable situation."

A pioneering trans woman in Santa Fe: “Proud of who I am”

Victoria Alejandra Ironici held many titles. Her life was one of struggle and, above all, of achievement. She was the first trans woman to obtain an ID card that respected her gender identity, even before the law guaranteed that right for everyone. If one were to begin listing all the actions in which she was a pioneer, the list would include all the rights achieved by the trans and travesti community of Santa Fe.

Her story of struggle began at age 18, when she was kicked out of her home for being transgender. She came from Tostado to Santa Fe, the provincial capital, in search of better opportunities. In 2007, after losing a job, she began the legal process to have her gender identity recognized by the province of Santa Fe. 

In 2010, two months before the Gender Identity Law was passed, a ceremony was held at the Government House. The then-governor, Antonio Bonfatti, presented her with her corrected birth certificate and national identity document.

“My new life begins. I’m going to walk out with my head held high, proud of who I am . Without having to hide, because I didn’t commit any crime. All I did was choose a different life. That meant being denied a lot of rights ,” she said that day when she began to be Victoria Alejandra Ironici. “I wanted Selenia as my third name, but it’s going to have to stay as my stage name,” she joked.

That day she also shared her upcoming goals: to get a job and to undergo vaginoplasty. She achieved both goals and continued to pave the way. In 2013, she became the first trans woman to have the surgical procedure covered by the province's social security system and at a hospital in Buenos Aires.

Promoter of the transvestite trans employment quota

Alejandra was a major advocate for trans and travesti quotas at various levels of government and national agencies. She was studying law at the National University of the Littoral and was one of the driving forces behind the quota at that institution.

On May 31, in an interview with Presentes for an article about quotas in Argentine universities, she said: “At a social and cultural level, it positions us differently. Society will see that we want to strive for greater acceptance and inclusion, and that the UNL (National University of the Littoral) will support this through a resolution that is the product of our project and the national law.” She had already traveled this path through her activism in the province and the provincial capital.

Teacher and activist: “The education system, with us”

Last year, Alejandra and Lucy Gimenez became the first trans teachers to work as substitute teachers in the city's secondary schools . "This is a crucial step in what we've been fighting for: the education system had to be inclusive of us. Lucy and I had been working to break down this social prejudice. Today, we get to do it from within the schools, as teachers," she said at the time.

Ale was a pioneer. She paved the way for herself and for those who came after her. Every day of her life was a struggle to break the 40-year life expectancy of her community. However, she couldn't, and today her name is in the headline of the news story she did everything to escape.