The images of the Argentine activist and actress Cecilia Gentili, 52, were placed at the foot of the altar of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where little by little hundreds of people placed flowers in her honor. Alex Francisco was a friend of the activist for the rights of transgender people.
“I’m super sad today because Cecilia was a good friend, she supported us all. Anyone in the LGBTQ community, like people who were immigrants, fought until her last breath to make sure that, in any way, we can live a better life.” life of honor, of dignity,” says Alex Francisco, friend of Cecilia Gentili.
Gentili also fought for sex workers, for the LGBTQ community, and for immigrants, since she was also one of them, she arrived in New York at the age of 26, and for the last three decades she worked in the prevention of HIV, AIDS, in 2021.
He founded the Callen-Lorde health center, which provides medical care to LGBTQ+ communities, and was also the star of a television series, for which he won an EMMY award.
Tomas Matos could barely contain his tears.
“She was a pillar for our community, we are better people for having known her and her legacy will be remembered forever, we are all in good hands spiritually,” explains Matos, one of her many admirers.
And although sadness overwhelmed all attendees, the applause did not stop when the coffin was entered. During the mass her partner spoke, as well as several of Cecilia Gentili’s friends.
At the end of the ceremony, everyone accompanied the coffin and said goodbye to her amidst tears, flowers and words of admiration.
Liaam Winslet, friend of Cecilia Gentili and leader of the transgender community in Queens, indicates:
“Cecilia changed the lives of many of us and did a lot of work for the trans community in New York, making many changes in legislation, changing anti-trans policies that have constantly tried to erase or make invisible the rights of our Latin trans community.”
Máxima Rodas was one of her best friends:
“She considered that, just as she called herself, I am a trans woman, because that is the transcendence. That is the important thing that she is achieving at this moment. She is. She is managing to transgress everything. That a church, than a cathedral,” he said.
Mass was celebrated for other figures such as Celia Cruz, Babe Ruth, Andy Warhol and state governors at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Now Cecilia Gentili is also part of history.
2024-02-20 17:45:00
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