África Parrilla García, a Latina trans woman, was shot and killed in San Juan on February 2. She was 25. New of her death has recently come to light.
The Crime
An unknown gunman shot África multiple times on Aurora Street in the capital city at around 1 a.m. on February 2, according to Puerto Rico’s largest newspaper El Nuevo Día. She is the first known trans woman to die by violence in Puerto Rico in 2024
Her friend and trans activist Anacaona Reyes said the here body was found battered and with multiple gunshot wounds.
Police have not made public statements about any suspects or arrests in the case.If you have evidence or information regarding this case, please contact Agent Flores of the Homicide Division of the Criminal Investigation Corp (CIC) of San Juan at 787-793-1234.
Honoring África
Much like a trans woman murdered in 2020 Alexa Negrón Luciano, Africa was homeless, black and impoverished. She also mistakenly misgendered by police in their media reports. This delayed notification of her death.
There are not many personal details known about África. The testimonials of her friends in San Juan are really it. They loved her. She was loved. HRC reports she was also known as Emma.
Puerto Rican trans artist LeQueen, a friend of García’s, told the newspaper she believed the danger involved with that work may have been one reason she was killed.
“A lot of trans women are on the streets and are made invisible because many people believe that their lives are worthless,” LeQueen explained, in Spanish. “They don’t give them the ‘spotlight’ that they deserve, and those men take advantage of that. They think, ‘if I kill her here, no one is going to care.’”
Anacaona Reyes, who said she met García while walking the streets of San Juan’s Santurce neighborhood, told the paper she felt “hopeless” after news broke of García’s death. “It was like they killed me or a sister,” Reyes said, describing the pain of losing her friend.
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The Context
África is the 11th trans person whose death has ben reportedin 2024 in the US. She is the sixth trans woman. África is the fifth Latina trans person and the fourth person of African descent.
Since 2019, Puerto Rico has documented the murders of at least nine other transgender people: Chanell Perez Ortiz (29), Luis Ángel Díaz Castro (22), Samuel Edmund Damián Valentín (21) Alexa Negron Luciano (29) Yampi Mendez Arocho (19) Serena Angelique Velazquezz (32) Layla Pelaez (21) Penélope Díaz Ramírez (21) and Michelle Ramos Vargas (33)
As of today a trans person’s death has been recorded every 9.6 days. Please note that some of the deaths occurred in different years, but have only recently come to light. This is anything but an exact science, bar the consistent thread that the victims are devalued in our societies.
Rest in power, África. Your life had value, your friendship was important to others. This was a terrible injustice that does not reflect on you or who you were. You deserved to share your gifts and talents and dreams with the world. I am so very sad that we failed to create that path for you.
May your memory be a revolution.
This is our list
This is our list of transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming neighbors who have been victims of the campaign of terror in 2024. Please do not copy, modify, or share this list without attribution.
- Kitty Monroe – January 1, 2024. Phoenix, Arizona. Age 43.
- Nex Benedict – February 8, 2024. Owasso, Oklahoma. Age 16.
- Righteous Torrence ‘T K’ Chevy Hill – February 29, Atlanta. Georgia. Age 35.
- Reyna Hernandez – Between Feb 28 and March 28, location TBD. Age 54.
- Diamond Cherish Brigman – March 16, 2024, Houston, Texas. Age 36.
- Alex Franco – March 19, 2024. Salt Lake City, Utah. Age 21.
- Meraxes Medina – March 19, 2024, Los Angeles, California. Age 24.
- Cecilia Gentili – February 6, 2024, New YorkCity, New York. Age 52.
- Ryan Zimmerman – Sept 2015, Columbus OH Age 21 Murdered 2016, Identified 2020, reported 2024.
- Lagend Billions aka Tee Arnold – April 7, 2024, Miami, Ohio. Age 36.
- África Parrilla García – February 2, 2024, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Age 25.
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