PR Queer Filmfest launches ‘Boriqueer Memory’ phase one

“The Memoria Boriqueer conversations serve as a gathering place where words transform into archives and resistance; we come together to dialogue, heal, and acknowledge that our stories matter,” said Heriberto Ramírez Ayala, coordinator of the Boriqueer Memory Educational Journey. (Facebook via Fine Arts Cinema Cafe)

By The Star Staff

The Puerto Rico Queer Filmfest on Tuesday announced Memoria Boriqueer, a new cultural and community project that extends its efforts beyond the traditional film festival.

With support from the En Foco cultural visibility project of the Flamboyán Fund for the Arts, Memoria Boriqueer is launching a first phase focused on rescuing, documenting, and highlighting the memories of pioneering LGBTQIA+ artists and cultural leaders in Puerto Rico through an online community archive.

The second phase includes an educational event that gathers academic, artistic, and community voices to share knowledge, experiences, and strategies for cultural resistance. Each event aims to help students, professionals, and the general public reflect collectively on how to build a more just society where queer memory is recognized as an integral part of Puerto Rican history. Additionally, the activities will generate discussions around the community archive, accessible at https://www.puertoricoqueerfilmfest.com/memoria-boriqueer.

“Memoria Boriqueer was born from the urgency to rescue and make visible the stories of our LGBTQIA+ community in Puerto Rico,” said Víctor González Pérez of the Puerto Rico Queer Filmfest. “It is a living archive that not only preserves the past and the narratives of pioneering artists in our culture but also affirms our right to exist and to be remembered with dignity. This is why we initiated this series of discussions to foster meaningful engagement with vital members of our Puerto Rican community.”

The first Memoria Boriqueer meeting will take place today in the Multipurpose Room of the Student Center at the University of Puerto Rico Río Piedras Campus, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The session will present the Memoria Boriqueer – LGBTQIA+ Community Archive project. Under the theme “From Design to the Realization of a Cultural Archive Project,” the discussion will explore how degree projects can transcend academic settings and become tools for reclaiming knowledge.

The event is specifically geared toward students from the master’s in cultural management and administration (MaGAC) and social work programs. It will be moderated by Heriberto Ramírez Ayala and feature a distinguished panel consisting of Pedro Reina Pérez, María de Mater O’Neill, Celiany Rivera Velázquez, and González Pérez, the project’s creator and manager.

The second Memoria Boriqueer event will occur in the Tarzán Room of the UPR Student Center in Mayagüez on Tuesday, Sept. 16, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. This event, entitled “Weaving Queer Memories: Women’s Activism and the Cultural Management of Living Archives,” will spotlight a crucial sector for community memory and resistance. Moderated by Beatriz Llenín Figueroa, the panel will include key voices such as Lissette Rolón Collazo, Sandra Pagán Gallardo and Zaida Medina Rosado, who will share their insights on life, activism and the challenges faced by older women in creating a more inclusive LGBTQIA+ memory.

The third Boriqueer Memory event will take place at El Refugio in Río Piedras on Friday, Sept. 26, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. The gathering will involve a conversation about transformation under the theme “Between Sequins and Gray Hair: Memories of Transformation in Puerto Rico,” with the aim of celebrating memories and shedding light on the realities of a population often marginalized within the community. The dialogue will be facilitated by Carmen Oquendo-Villar and feature Melvin Alfredo Peña, Joe Alameda and transformist Gilo Rosa, who will provide a special presentation. Representatives from Waves Ahead, an organization dedicated to supporting older trans individuals, will also be present.

“The Memoria Boriqueer conversations serve as a gathering place where words transform into archives and resistance; we come together to dialogue, heal, and acknowledge that our stories matter,” said Heriberto Ramírez Ayala, coordinator of the Boriqueer Memory Educational Journey. “Each voice that joins these discussions enriches our collective memory and reaffirms the power of the LGBTQIA+ community to transform the present. Listening to one another and speaking out is also a form of justice.”

As part of the Boriqueer Memory initiatives, a special podcast titled “In Memoriam” will be launched, paying tribute to four iconic figures of the LGBTQIA+ community in Puerto Rico: Antonio Pantojas, Alex Soto, Remi Williams and Mami Ruddys. The commemorative episode, produced in collaboration with the Mami Ruddys Foundation and the Puerto Rico Queer Filmfest, seeks to rescue the artistic, cultural and community legacies of four individuals who inspired generations with their talent, courage and dedication.