Here is the rewritten HTML:
Preserving Urban Memory: A Journey Through LGBTQIAPN+ History and Cultural Heritage in São Paulo
by Angel Natan and Bruno Santana
A journey through the history of LGBTQIAPN+ in the city is a complex and diverse one. The spaces, events, and individuals who fought for visibility and rights in the past are inextricably linked to the movements for LGBTQIAPN+ rights. This interaction between space and history is fundamental to understanding the importance of these manifestations in São Paulo and other large urban centers.
Memorizing significant places for the LGBTQIAPN+ community, whether due to their historical significance or contemporary events, is crucial for giving voice to sexual diversity. These historical markers are not just reference points, but also symbols of resistance, celebration, and recognition, forming part of the cultural heritage. They are essential for public education and promoting a more inclusive society.
São Paulo, one of the world’s largest cities, is rich in history and diversity. However, this cultural richness often does not reflect adequately in public spaces. The lack of representation of LGBTQIAPN+ in monuments, streets, and squares contributes to the perpetuation of prejudices and the invisibility of this community. By recognizing and celebrating historic LGBTQIAPN+ locations, the city can begin to rectify this historical injustice.
What are the architectural remnants of LGBTQIAPN+ memory that still stand the test of time in São Paulo? Perhaps, while walking down Martinho Prado Street, number 119, near Praça Roosevelt, and passing by an imposing building with large pillars and a glass façade, many may not realize that this was once the site of the “Ferro’s Bar”. This was an important “sapatão” (a term used to describe a gay bar) and the site of the so-called Brazilian Stonewall.
On August 19, 1983, the lesbian frequenters of Ferro’s Bar, after being prohibited from selling their zine (an independent publication of artistic, political, and informative content), led a revolt demanding the right to sell their publication on the premises. Years later, this date would be dubbed the Day of Lesbian Pride.
Source: Coturno de Vênus – Association of lesbian, anti-racist, anti-LGBTIfobic, anti-capacitist women from the Federal District.
Current façade of Ferro’s Bar. Street view.
Or, when we go to Marquês de Itu Street in search of moldings and observe number 182 with the plaque “ABC Bailão”, perhaps we will not remember that this same address was once home to the “HS” bar, also known as “Homo Sapiens”. Inaugurated in 1978, it was an important space for LGBTQIAPN+ socialization, a hub for great artists, transvestites, and shows of male nudity. So popular that it was the choice of entertainment for Freddie Mercury, the lead vocalist of the band Queen, during their tour of Brazil in 1981.
Illustration: Old HS bar. Angel Natan, 2023.
Unfortunately, HS ceased its activities in 1992 due to various factors, including the peak of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The virus decimated almost an entire generation of artists, dancers, transvestites, and young people in their creative prime, leaving us orphaned of a historical memory. In 1997, two friends idealized the “Amigos Bailam Comigo” (ABC Bailão) project, a nightclub aimed at the LGBTQIAPN+ community, mostly over 50 years old, located at the same address where the former HS bar once stood. The club remains active to this day, with an interesting factor: the public that chooses it as a leisure option is the same that frequented the HS bar during their youth.
Current façade of ABC Bailão. Street view.
LGBTQIAPN+ memory represents a collective heritage that deserves to be preserved and valued. Through concrete initiatives, such as the creation of memorials, archives, and the renaming of public spaces, we can ensure that future generations know and celebrate the diversity that enriches our cities. Urban spaces have the opportunity to be the center of how memory and history can promote justice and equality.
Authors:
Angel Natan is an artist and trans woman. She holds a degree in Fine Arts from the Paulista Faculty of Arts (FPA) and is a researcher at the Memorial of Resistance in São Paulo. She has worked as an educator at the city’s main cultural institutions, won the “Arte na Rua” contest at the Nômade music festival in 2022, and had one of her works selected for the “Sol Fulgurante” exhibition – 60 years of the civil-military dictatorship, at the Pinacoteca de São Paulo. Since 2020, she has been an artist, educator, and researcher at the Acervo Bajubá project, a community project about the LGBTQIAPN+ community.
Bruno Santana is an architect and urbanist, specializing in urban mobility and contemporary city planning (Escola da Cidade). He is part of the National Secretariat of BrCidades and coordinates the São Paulo office.
