From the moment the calendar pages flipped from May to June, the world was once again engulfed in the rainbow-printed festivities of LGBTQIA+ Pride Month, which celebrates queer and transgender people in the ever-expanding spectrums of gender and sexuality. While joyful, Pride is also a time of remembrance, honoring significant milestones and our fallen siblings while reminding younger generations and naysayers of the history of violent oppression the community has overcome along the way.

Heavy seasonal marketing, victories in marriage equality, and the pioneering distribution of HIV prevention drug PrEP (a.k.a Truvada) have contributed to a pronounced decline in mass activism, with many critics inside and out of the LGBTQIA+ community calling out growing complacency, largely from gay men. The truth is, while the battle for basic human rights is never over, the cultural conversation has also pivoted towards the protection and amplification of trans and gender non-conforming people, who remain the most vulnerable members of the community at large.

In the US alone, the Trump administration’s recent ban on transgender military service members has disenfranchised thousands, thinly veiling prejudice behind outlandish claims that physical and mental health expenses are far too great for the state to cover. Direct physical violence also remains a pressing threat, with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) reporting 26 transgender people suffered violent deaths in 2018, and eight more in 2019 thus far. The majority of these victims have been black trans women – a demographic disproportionately affected by hate-motivated violence – though the recent death of trans Honduran migrant Roxsana Hernández while in ICE custody also underscored the brutality and negligence prevalent within our government bodies.

In the past, Remezcla has highlighted a diverse array of queer and trans Latinx artists making inroads in diverse musical scenes around the globe, but this year we are specifically spotlighting transgender and non-binary performers pushing the boundaries of sound and visibility even further. Much has been made about acts like Arca, Manitas Nerviosas and Linn da Quebrada, so today we’re featuring vibrant new talent from the worlds of experimental music, folk, dembow and even banda.

Our annual reminder also applies: LGBTQIA+ musicians do not exist in a vacuum and need your support year round, long after the colorful and convenient embrace of Pride season.