S. Quechol
About Me / Sobre-mim
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‘Epistemologias da Alegria: Arquivando o mundo da criação de Travestis, Trans, e a comunidade LGBT ’  traça a produção cultural cotidiana de brasileiras de gênero diverso para revelar como alegria, prazer e cuidado se tornam métodos de vitalidade e criação. Seja preparando-se para um set de techno às 5 da manhã, costurando uma fantasia para competir no Baile das Sereias do Sexo à meia-noite em um prédio sem ar-condicionado, ou compartilhando uma cerveja na praia com entes queridos, a vida é continuamente construída através do amor — amor encontrado entre pessoas, dentro de lugares e nos compromissos que nos tornam presentes e realizados.

Vivência e criação aqui se apresentam como recusas das narrativas que enquadram a existência travesti e trans por meio da dor, da morte ou do espetáculo. Viver e criar é reivindicar a autoria sobre como nossas histórias são contadas e lembradas. Alegria surge como uma epistemologia crítica — redefinindo o que significa estar vivo. Ela insiste que nossa presença, nossa ternura e os mundos que criamos juntos não são apenas atos de resistência, mas gestos radiantes que transformam sobrevivência em celebração.

As vidas de artistas negros, indígenas, pobres, favelados, travestis, trans, não binários e de gênero expansivo — DJs, Ballroom Legends, fotógrafos, acadêmicos e escritores — são o que dá vida a este projeto. Seus gestos criativos e corporificados operam como tecnologias de valorização e visibilidade, desestabilizando as estruturas de exclusão que há muito apagaram sua presença do imaginário histórico da cultura brasileira. Por meio de atos de fazer, cuidado e presença coletiva, eles reivindicam as ruas, as instituições, o mar e a terra — inscrevendo-se de volta na memória da nação e no futuro de sua cultura.

Em sintonia com suas línguas, sons e visões, Epistemologias da Alegria preserva essas histórias por meio de imagem, som e palavra. Torna-se um arquivo vivo — um local inspirador para outros brasileiros racializados testemunharem, imaginarem e homenagearem aqueles que continuam a fazer e refazer a cultura a partir das margens. Ouvir as linguagens de prazer, alegria e coletividade faladas pelas comunidades travestis, trans, não binárias e queer é ampliar a forma como entendemos a nós mesmos, uns aos outros e as vidas alegres que buscamos viver.

Pergunto: O que acontece quando centralizamos a vida de pessoas com expansão de gênero? O que podemos aprender sobre nós mesmos e uns sobre os outros quando a experiência vivida se torna uma forma de conhecimento? Que novas possibilidades se abrem quando lembrar de nós mesmos não se trata mais de retornar, mas de criar algo novo?
‘Epistemologies of Joy: Archiving Travesti, Trans, & LGBT Brasilian Worldmaking’ traces the everyday cultural production of gender-diverse Brasilians to reveal how joy, pleasure, and care become methods of aliveness and creation. Whether preparing for a 5 a.m. techno set, sewing a costume to compete in the Sex Siren Ball at midnight in a building with no air-conditioning, or sharing a beer at the beach with loved ones, life is continually made through love—love found between people, within places, and in the commitments that make us present and fulfilled.

Aliveness and creation here stand as refusals of the narratives that frame travesti and trans existence through pain, death, or spectacle. To live and create is to reclaim authorship over how our stories are told and remembered. Joy emerges as a critical epistemology—redefining what it means to be alive. It insists that our presence, our tenderness, and the worlds we create together are not only acts of endurance, but radiant gestures that turn survival into celebration.

The lives of Black, Indigenous, poor, favelada, travesti, trans, non-binary, and gender-expansive artists—DJs, Ballroom legends, photographers, scholars, and writers—are what bring this project to life. Their creative and embodied gestures operate as technologies of appreciation and visibility, unsettling the structures of exclusion that have long erased their presence from the historical imagination of Brasilian culture. Through acts of making, care, and collective presence, they reclaim the streets, the institutions, the sea, and the land—inscribing themselves back into the memory of the nation and the future of its culture.

Attuned to their languages, sounds, and visions, Epistemologies of Joy preserves these stories through image, sound, and word. It becomes a living archive—an inspiring site for other racialized Brasilians to witness, imagine, and honor those who continue to make and re-make culture from the margins. To listen to the languages of pleasure, joy, and collectivity spoken by travesti, trans, non-binary, and queer communities is to broaden how we understand ourselves, one another, and the joyful lives we strive to live.

Ultimately, I ask: What unfolds when we center the lives of gender-expansive people? What might we learn about ourselves and one another when lived experience becomes a form of knowledge? What new possibilities open when remembering ourselves is no longer about return, but about creating anew?




About  Me:

S. Quechol (b. 2001) is a trans Latina cultural critic, scholar, writer, and curator from and based in Los Angeles, California. Her research engages trans and travesti communities in Latin America and the U.S., foregrounding intergenerational knowledge, collective care, and the politics of joy. Quechol explores how trans and travesti people resist through art, storytelling, and self-imaging, shaping practices of aliveness and world-making toward safe, abundant, and comfortable futures.

Please feel free to contact me via email, linked above. 

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Authors Note

Epistemologies of Joy grows from my undergraduate inquiries into trans Latinx studies, where I began to rewrite and revision trans Salvadoran histories. My work then centered on contemporary trans cultural production—seeking to move the grammars of trans life away from narratives of violence toward expressions of joy, collectivity, and becoming. Yet, I began to wonder: What relevance does my research hold if I am not living the joyous experiences I write about?

This question led me beyond the limits of academia, toward the tangible and life-affirming networks of care that trans people continually create for one another. What does it mean to move away from Western respectability politics and lean instead into embodied, collective, and everyday forms of care? What do these networks look like in unfamiliar contexts—when language, geography, and belonging are unstable, always in transition? What new ways of relating become possible when we must build care from scratch? What do we carry along in this transition? And where do we go from here?

Brasil emerged as a site of possibility and curiosity. I was first drawn to the work of Black trans musician Liniker, who, upon winning a Latin Grammy for her debut solo album, became the first Black trans Latina to receive such recognition. Around the same time, Erika Hilton assumed her role in Congress as the first Black travesti to hold a governmental position. Artists such as Linn da Quebrada, Urias, and Irmãs de Pau, among others, continue to reshape popular culture—each contributing to a vibrant ecosystem of trans and travesti worldmaking that merges artistry, politics, and joy. Their work expands how we understand gender, race, class, culture, and survival in Latin America.

The year 2024 demanded that I jeopardize everything I knew about myself and my surroundings, to question what it means to live for myself—beyond systems of exclusion. While I do not overlook the privileges that allow me to enter this opportunity, particularly the support of a Fulbright grant, my experience was still marked by uncertainty and risk. As the only trans person in my program, and the only one pursuing trans research grounded in trans scholarship, I often navigated moments of isolation and vulnerability. Yet these experiences did not limit my understanding of Brazil; rather, they revealed the urgency of this work and the necessity of making it accessible to others.

As I continue to create work that holds our mind-heart-body with truth and kindness, I remain committed to strategies of refusal and to naming the systems that limit our time in this world. Working through joy has also given me more space to sit with anger, sadness, indecision, and uncertainty—especially upon returning to the U.S. I am excited to see where else this work will take me, and what new commitments and forms of care I will cultivate along the way.

Acknowledgment

This project is funded by the Fulbright Brazil Commission and supported by the Transgender History of Art Museum (MUTHA) and the Federal University of Bahia. My work remains indebted to the artists who brought so much life and generosity to its creation. Opening themselves up, sharing their experiences, and trusting me with their stories, they have given me more than I could ever have asked for. I hold these encounters with profound love and admiration—certain that they will continue to guide how I build stronger, more expansive connections with trans and gender-diverse communities across the Americas.