Documenting Queer Resistance: Santiago Méndez's Visual Archive of Pride in Caracas

• Photographer Santiago Méndez Arvelaez has created a three-year visual archive of Pride celebrations in Caracas, Venezuela, documenting the complexities of queer life in a country lacking legal protections.
• The project serves as an anthropological record, countering mainstream narratives that often reduce Venezuela to political crisis or collapse.
• LGBTIQ+ Venezuelans face significant systemic risks, including a lack of marriage equality, blocked trans legal recognition, and frequent police harassment, including targeted venue raids.

Evolution of Caracas Pride (2023–2026)

• 2023: Marked by high energy, crowded streets, and overt joy, despite underlying political tensions.
• 2024: A 'hinge year' occurring shortly before the presidential election, characterized by a protest slogan against the criminalization of public existence following previous police crackdowns.
• 2025: A smaller, more cautious atmosphere following a surge in state repression, arrests, and forced exile after the election.
• 2026: Continued harassment, exemplified by a police operation in Barquisimeto where individuals were baselessly accused of 'crimes' related to homosexuality.

Ethics and Representation

• Méndez approaches his work with 'doubt' and ethical caution, acknowledging that public exposure via photography can endanger subjects with families, employers, or authorities.
• He emphasizes that photography is not a substitute for material change and that honest representation must avoid the 'heroism' of the photographer, preferring to document the community's true contradictions and realities.

The Role of Queer Archives

• Historically, queer history in Venezuela has been documented primarily through lenses of shame, scandal, and police or medical records.
• The Venezuelan Observatory of LGBTIQ+ Violence recorded 461 cases of discrimination and five deaths in 2023, as well as the murders of 93 trans women between 2008 and 2023.
• Photography serves as evidence of existence, ensuring that future generations recognize that queer Venezuelans loved and created culture in public spaces even when official recognition was denied.