On Saturday, May 23, a particularly passionate fundraiser for Casa Kimberly, the local support and shelter for the transgender community of the Valley. The shelter was named after Kimberly Avila, founded around three years after her disappearance, and has provided shelter, resources, and programs for gender non-conforming community members. The benefit show was a collaboration between Justicia, Banned in RGV, and Grown Collective and was sponsored by the Transgender Education Network of Texas. A trinity of hardcore show organizers cooperating for humanitarian movements on which the hardcore and punk movements were founded. They assembled donations, organizations, and bands in service of the trans shelter.
To be Queer is to be Punk
Professional organizing manager and founder of Justicia, Cathy Torres, spoke at the event. Having thrown events since 2016, she feels the foundation of hardcore and punk scenes is inherently political and anti-fascist while releasing outrage in a communal space. The goal was to amplify the work that has been done and still needs to be done to create a liberated space for trans people where bodily autonomy can be celebrated.
Justicia started as a fundraising benefit show for Frontera Fund and expanded to include trans rights by 2024, in line with the message that everyone deserves safety and dignity, citing trans liberation as an intersectional part of reproductive justice. Torres felt it was the bare minimum, as a cisgender ally, to do what she could with the capacity and skills she had at her disposal, helping out the Trans Closet and, more recently, Casa Kimberly. She started getting heavily involved after the 2023 heightening of laws imposing restrictions on transgender rights. Torres went on to state that she could not have gone as far as she could without help from people like Danny Gonzalez at Banned in RGV and Criss Pedraza at Grown Collective.
Thrash and Rock for the Community
The space and temperature took hits since the event was relocated a couple of times due to the rain. However, the mosh pit was lively, and the show itself was a blast. The mood was rowdy, and the community showed up to a selection of bands ready to lend their music to a cause.
Highlighting bands such as Corpse Pile from Houston, and Born Savage from Central Texas, with support from great local groups like Mankind, Endless Decay, Ricin, and Enure. Cathy added that she wanted to bring in bands from across Texas to show support, citing Corpse Pile and Born Savage as regular advocates for trans rights. As much was shown with their vocal musings between lyrics, showing support for the event, the cause, and Casa Kimberly. The event was also complemented by snacks, drinks, free band shirts from Hello Merch, tabling by organizations like the South Texas Equality Project, and remarks from Casa Kimberly board member Adrian Waddy. Through collective efforts, the organization raised over $5,000.
To Exist is to Rebel
For a lot of people, narratives that what we are and/or born with is illegal, disgusting, or non-existent have been pushed to a point where existing the way you are can get you harmed, detained, or otherwise abused. Any alternative fashion, music, or cultural movements worth their salt were founded on humanitarian principles that ultimately prove intersectional or simply congruent with queer and trans liberation.
Cathy at Justicia has stated that she’s open to helping anyone find resources or handle the logistics of organizing. The advice she gave to others was, in essence, to just do it. Having started as just a twenty-year-old volunteer, she knows that showing up, learning, and spreading the word are the most important first steps. If existing is rule-breaking by law, then we are all rebellious by nature.
