When Kany García came out in 2016, it was a major breakthrough in representation for LGTBQIA+ Puerto Ricans. Since then, she hasn’t stopped using her platform for positive change since. This weekend the singer-songwriter shared a video encouraging donations to True Self Foundation, a local nonprofit of which she’s a member of the board of directors.
True Self advocates for LGBTQIA+ Puerto Ricans, with an emphasis on taking care of trans and non-binary folks, whether through grants for gender affirmation processes or general financial aid.
“Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and strict island-wide lockdown,” García says in the clip. “There are a lot of people unemployed and in need.”
But “the trans community in Puerto Rico and Latin America is especially singled out and judged when looking for jobs… Today, those people are not only without work, but they don’t have anything to eat, either,” she says.
Fear, unfortunately, is also very much a part of trans’ people’s daily lives in Puerto Rico, where “the number of hate crime killings [of trans people] is very high.”
Five trans people, four of them women, have been murdered on the island in less than four months’ time. These tragedies comprise a disproportionate 50% of the 10 total LGTBQIA+ murders that have occurred in Puerto Rico the past 15 months.
García reminds fans that any donation helps, even just a dollar or two. The True Self Foundation team will use all funds raised to purchase food that will be directly delivered to trans people. The receipts will be shared, she notes.
Donations from outside Puerto Rico can be sent via PayPal.