Resumen
Jaime Cortez’s graphic narrative Sexile (2004) illustrates and illuminates the
transformation of Cuban maricón Jorge Antonio into the state-side transgender
activist Adela Vázquez through actions ranging from the donning
of flip flops with plastic daisies as part of a performance to escape military
conscription to the crossing of international waters on a shrimp boat during
the 1980 Mariel boatlift. Published as part of the community education and
outreach programs of AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) in a book that literally
flips between Spanish and English—a reader who has followed Adela’s
narrative in English can turn the book over and take up Sexilio, a Spanish
translation by Omar Baños of Adela’s experiences—Sexile delineates a line
that challenges conventional expectations regarding gender identities and
political interventions.