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Diana was born on December 31, 1975, in Tucumán, but grew up in Gregorio Laferrere, La Matanza district, Buenos Aires province.
In her early years, she suffered institutional violence, was persecuted by the police, and was imprisoned because of her gender identity.

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In her youth, she began her lifelong activism for the rights of trans and gender-diverse people. She founded the Anti-Discrimination Liberation Movement (MAL) and joined the National Front for the Gender Identity Law. In 2012, after the Gender Identity Law was passed following a long and arduous struggle, she was the first trans woman to receive her national identity document (DNI) with her gender marker listed as female.

One of her greatest achievements was promoting the passage of the Trans Employment Quota Law in the province of Buenos Aires. The legislation passed at the national level in 2021 also bears her name: the Trans Employment Quota and Inclusion Law “Diana Sacayán – Lohana Berkins,” a pioneering work in the world.

Diana was murdered on October 11, 2015. She was 39 years old. The demand for justice for her murder led to the debate and, for the first time, the inclusion of the legal concept of transphobic . On June 18, 2018, the Oral Criminal and Correctional Court No. 4 of the City of Buenos Aires sentenced Gabriel David Marino to life imprisonment for the transphobic murder of Diana, a trans activist and human rights defender . In its verdict, the court explained that it was a hate crime and that gender-based violence was a factor, according to sections 4 and 11 of article 80 of the Penal Code. In October 2020, the National Court of Cassation rejected the aggravating circumstance . In April 2025, the Supreme Court chose not to rule on this matter, dismissing a significant opportunity to provide the justice system with a gender and diversity perspective, respecting Diana's identity. Her family announced that they will litigate to uphold the classification of transphobic murder before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Diana Sacayán's legacy lives on in activism. Her brother, Say Sacayán, a trans man and coordinator of MAL, shares: “When you see a trans person who becomes politically active and builds something in their community, that's huge. That's Diana. It fills me with joy and makes me happy.”

Among the events commemorating the 10th anniversary of her passing, there is a community tribute in the neighborhood where she grew up in Laferrere (La Matanza). "Diana was not only a leading figure in the trans and travesti movement nationally and internationally. Above all, she was a neighbor, a grassroots activist, deeply committed to her people, to children, to trans women, to women, to the marginalized. Her story is interwoven with the stories of this territory. And today that tapestry lives on. Because here we are, her family, her organization, her comrades. Maintaining every day a house that is not just a house, but a space for struggle, shelter, and community," the announcement reads.

"This tribute is not just about memory. It is also about the present and future of trans people, in terms of justice, tenderness, and dignity. Because Diana's memory is a living memory that translates into collective action. We come together to embrace each other, to share, to say together that Diana lives on in every struggle, in every house that organizes, in every trans body that resists."

The meeting is from 4pm onwards at López May 2353, Laferrere, La Matanza.

Here you can see more information about the activities.