(lots of people came up to me to tell me what a good job I did playing harp after the show. I felt like a rockstar)
The first time I played with this group I was a shy scared closeted gay/ace he/they and now I'm a confident nonbinary person who wears skirts, shoots up Estrogen, and doesn't take shit from nobody
Playing with them and getting to live my true self is an amazing feeling. When I first joined, I told Natalia Melendez (the first out trans woman in the history of professional mariachi) that one day I'd like to work up the courage to wear skirts and seeing her be a badass violinist/singer, a successful out trans person, and be just an overall good person eventually lead to me becoming more willing to seek out her/gender related healthcare. It's so cool, then, that returning to the group has been a huge deal in terms of my forays into being publicly trans. It's cool that after a 3 year break I could go back to a group where only 2 members are the same and it still feels as loving and supportive as before.
I was taking with a group member today (Vic, our director's husband who helps the group function on large gig days like this) about how cruel it is that queer people get told that living the dream is impossible and scary and bad, but in reality, living my life as me is the most empowering thing I've ever done. To chosters still in the closet: it does get better. I promise 💜