Calaveras y Ofrendas 2012 Calaveras y Ofrendas 2012 - Esperanza

We remember our dear friend
and fierce voice who moved
amongst us for too short a
time. She touched all who
knew her; my own life is
better for having known her
smile and her generous heart.
This poem is dedicated to her
memory. –Norma Cantú
Tatiana de la Tierra
Fierce fighter, amiga,
Your marvelous presence like the mountains
Of your home in the heart of Colombia
Came to me in spurts amidst the conference
Chaos of el Mundo Zurdo, MALCS. NACCS. And I
Seek only to be at peace with who you were,
who you are,
To know the whole of life at the core of your
Woman-loving heart;
You labored in the fields of books
Of words, of stories, of an indefatigable
Search for peace,
And tranquility,
An equipoise like no other.
In your presence and in your deep gaze
A sea navigable only in your raft of love,
Those who loved you live embraced
In your absence
By the totality of life
The totality of death.
Jim Isaman
Stella Marroquin
In 1986, I was a freshman in colle ge when I met Jim Isaman. He was the first
gay person I had ever met and the first person I came out to. I was an insecure 17
year old, struggling with multiple identities. When I finally got the guts to come
out, I came to him with excitement as well as trepidation. I worried that he didn’t
believe me; that he was going to tell me that it was a phase. When I told him that I
was gay, he let out an excited yell and he gave
me the biggest hug telling me, “welcome to
the family!”
Keith Haring
A kind and sweet man, he was very
active in the burgeoning LGBT community in San Antonio. I was immediately attracted to his Jim Isaman
sense of community, his vision of a united “queerdom” (his word) and his belief that love and
humor can make a difference. He influenced me to get active in the LGBT community and
accompanied me as I started becoming an activist. He joined me in organizing the first gay
group on campus. He was there as I became more active in city and state-wide groups. He was
a mentor, a roommate, and my brother. Jim went to school to be an architect but left before his
last semester when he found out he had AIDS. That was in 1989, during in the height of AIDS
fear, discrimination and hysteria. He was afraid to tell me he had AIDS, although I knew he was
sick. With fear in his eyes, he told me he had AIDS. I hugged him and said, “You are family,
remember!” We cried and laughed that evening. It was one of the best moments of my life.
He tackled his new life with AIDS with hope, creativity and love. He called himself a
“professional guinea pig” since he was one of the first people to be put on AZT. It took an
hour every morning, noon and evening for him to take his medications, supplements and
concoctions. In 1990, the odds of Jim dying from AIDS within a year of diagnosis was almost
a given. But his full-time job was to beat AIDS. Although he was very sick and in the hospital
many times, he outlived his parents, and most friends with AIDS. He outlived Reagan, which
was a source of pride. He died in 2009 but he beat AIDS –with an infectious laughter, with
passion for truth and justice, with strength and he beat AIDS with love.
– Dulce Benavides (originally published in the theatlantic.tumblr.com)
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • November 2012 Vol. 25 Issue 9•
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