Belén, María Belén

Belén, María Belén tells the life of trans activist María Belén Correa through archival photographs, documents and autobiographical texts. A co-edition with Archivo de la Memoria Trans Argentina, it won the 2025 Andy Rocchelli Grant.

Belén, María Belén is a photobook that, through archival photographs, documents and autobiographical texts, narrates the life of María Belén Correa, a leading activist for transgender rights in Argentina and Latin America. Her personal story reflects the history of the LGBTQIA+ community in Latin America and the struggles it faced in the 1980s and 1990s.

Her journey is one of collective struggle for the recognition of trans identities and expressions. Throughout her life, she founded organizations and community groups, achieving laws, improving the quality of life, and creating support networks against the transphobic contexts that persist to this day.

In 2012, María Belén founded the Trans Memory Archive to collect and preserve the life stories of the Argentine trans community, becoming a key reference and collective memory of trans identities.

Belén, María Belén is the winner of the 2025 Andy Rocchelli Grant, an international award promoted by CESURA in memory of its cofounder Andy Rocchelli, killed in a mortar attack in Andreevka, Ukraine, in 2014.

This book is a co-edition between Cesura and the Archivo de la Memoria Trans Argentina, recognizing its political and historical value, so that Belén’s story can also be accessible in Argentina. All copies are hand-bound; therefore, inserts may vary.

Curated by Flor Aletta, in collaboration with Verónica Borsani
Translation by Lauta Cizmar, copy editing by Matilde Manicardi
Design by Flor Aletta, cover by Verónica Borsani, image mastery by Bob Lightowler
Current photo of María Belén by Victoria Gesualdi/TELAM