Miryam Amaya

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Amaya and the second or maternal family name is Jimenez.
Miryam Amaya
Born1959 (age 65–66)
Logrono, Spain
Occupation(s)Transgender rights activist and performing artist

Miryam Amaya Jimenez (born 1959), also known as Miryam Alma, is a Spanish Romani LGBTQ rights activist and performance artist.[1]

Early life

Amaya was born in a stable in Logrono because her mother was tending to mares when she went into labor.[2] Her family accepted her gender nonconformity from the beginning, so she felt very supported.[3]

She grew up in Barcelona, a city where it was easy for her to get hormones without a prescription when she began treatment as a thirteen-year-old student.[4] Although she studied Technical Drawing, she never practiced that profession.[5]

Activism and early career

From a very young age, she was aware of the need to fight for her rights as a trans woman and Roma, and had to deal with Francoist repression. She was detained several times in police stations where she was subjected to abuse and humiliation.[6] She helped organize the first gay pride demonstration in Barcelona in 1977, a first for LGBTQ rights in Spain.[7][8]

Entertainment career

She dedicated herself to the entertainment world and prostitution. She was Miss Travesti Barcelona for several consecutive editions.[9] She performed alongside Sara Montiel, met Pedro Almodovar and other figures of La Movida until a misdiagnosis caused her to lose sight in her right eye. For a time, she used narcotic substances until she quit with the help of her family. Almost all of her trans friends from that period did not survive.[10]

Contemporary activism

She exercises her activism to help women in vulnerable situations through collectives such as Somos LGTB+ Aragon, OMSida, or Centro Alba, with performances and talks about her experiences and denouncing the difficulties trans people face in obtaining decent work that provides them with a contributory pension in the future and to have the same rights as the rest of the citizenry.[11] She directs the non-profit performance group The Babylons in the El Gancho neighborhood of Zaragoza.[12]

Public speaking and events

In 2019, she was a protagonist, along with Montse Gonzalez and Marcela Rodriguez, in the event organized on November 20, on the occasion of the International Transgender Day of Remembrance by the Parliament of the Canary Islands, the State Secretariat for Equality of Treatment and Diversity, the Vice-Ministry of Equality and Diversity of the Government of the Canary Islands, and the State Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Trans and Bisexuals (FELGTB).[13][14][15]

She was invited along with Kike Poveda and Quim Roqueta to the event organized by the State Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Trans and Bisexuals (FELGTB) to commemorate December 1, World AIDS Day, in 2019, whose motto was "Elders Without Closets: History, Struggle and Memory!" The event emphasized the Federation's demand to the Autonomous Communities to guarantee access for older people with HIV to residential centers.[16][17][18][19]

She was one of the reference women who led the banner of the 2020 International Pride Day demonstration, which was virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic under the slogan "Sorority and feminism to TRANSform. Lesbian, trans and bisexual women in action!".[20][21]

Media appearances

Literature

Her life story is told by journalist Raul Solis Galvan in his 2019 book, La doble transicion (The Double Transition), about eight transsexual women who conquered freedoms and rights in Spain, with a prologue by Monica Oltra.[22][23][24]

Documentary

She is co-protagonist of the ATRESplayer PREMIUM documentary "Ellas" (Them) about the lives of five trans women along with Alex Saint, Lola Rodriguez, Carmen Garcia de Merlo, and the documentary's host Valeria Vegas, directed by Pilar Monsell and released in 2020.[25][26][27] Through conversations, the protagonists share their lives, daily routines, achievements, problems, and struggles as trans women.[28]

Awards and recognition

  • The Spanish Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals and Bisexuals (FELGTB) awarded her the 2020 Plumas Prize for her work as an activist in the defense and visibility of the LGBTI community, stemming from her efforts in Zaragoza since March 2020, ensuring that dozens of trans women sex workers had economic support, social and housing assistance, and communication with their families. The gala was held exclusively online due to the Covid pandemic.[29][30]
  • In 2020, the Cartagena City Council honored the activist during the commemoration events for Pride Day 2020.[31][32]

References

  1. ^ "12 mujeres trans que podrian protagonizar 'Veneno 2'" (in Spanish). FormulaTV. December 8, 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  2. ^ "MIRIAM AMAYA: "Una transexual debe respetarse a si misma"". El Periodico de Aragon (in Spanish). 2010-02-18. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  3. ^ Pardo, Carmen (October 30, 2020). "Miryam Amaya: "Yo creo que el 90% de la fuerza para que una mujer trans pueda continuar adelante es la familia"" [Miryam Amaya: "I believe that 90% of the strength that allows a trans woman to move forward is her family"]. Atresplayer (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  4. ^ Olmeda, Alegria (February 26, 2020). "'Empece a hormonarme con 13 anos con el dinero que ganaba prostituyendome': asi era ser mujer trans en la Espana de Franco" ['I started taking hormones when I was 13 with the money I earned from prostitution': this was what it was like to be a trans woman in Franco's Spain]. Vice (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  5. ^ Alonso, Olivia (March 4, 2020). "Cuando la discriminacion se amplifica por ser mujer Lesbiana, Trans o Bi". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  6. ^ Vazquez, Solange (April 13, 2020). "Los apuros de las prostitutas" [The plight of prostitutes]. El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  7. ^ Mederos, Alicia (June 24, 2022). "Orgullo con Memoria Historica" [Pride with Historical Memory]. RTVC (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  8. ^ Franca, Joao (June 25, 2017). "1977: El dia en que la homosexualidad salio de la clandestinidad para tomar la calle". ElDiario (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  9. ^ "MIRIAM AMAYA: "Una transexual debe respetarse a si misma"". El Periocido de Aragon (in Spanish). February 10, 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  10. ^ Navarro, David (June 30, 2019). "Orgullo necesario: aragoneses cuentan sus anos de lucha por los derechos LGTB+". Heraldo (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  11. ^ Figueras, Judit (March 9, 2020). "Mujeres que han escrito su historia". El Periodico (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  12. ^ "Entrevista a Miryam Amaya. Charlas bajo zero". Zero Grados (in Spanish). February 1, 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  13. ^ "Jornada sobre transexualidad y franquismo". Parlamento de Canarias (in Spanish). November 20, 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  14. ^ "Myriam Amaya, una mujer trans represaliada por el franquismo". RTVE (in Spanish). November 24, 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  15. ^ "Personas trans represaliadas por el franquismo hablaran en el Parlamento". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). November 18, 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  16. ^ "Dia Mundial contra el Sida "Hacias un amigo y a la semana estaba muerto": vivir con VIH desde 1990" (in Spanish). November 29, 2019. pp. RTVE. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  17. ^ "Acabar con el fantasma de la discriminacion a las personas con VIH, una asignatura pendiente de la sociedad". La Sexta (in Spanish). December 1, 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  18. ^ Diaz, Teresa (November 29, 2019). "La soledad del diagnostico del VIH en los 90" (in Spanish). pp. La Vanguardia. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  19. ^ Noriega, David (November 29, 2019). ""Me dieron seis meses de vida": mas de tres decadas con VIH, entre los avances medicos y el sindrome del superviviente" (in Spanish). pp. El Diario. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  20. ^ "Mujeres lesbianas, trans y bisexuales encabezan el Orgullo 2020, que recorrera Madrid de forma virtual" [Lesbian, trans and bisexual women lead Pride 2020, which will tour Madrid virtually]. El Pais (in Spanish). July 2, 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  21. ^ "El Orgullo 2020 recorre virtualmente Madrid a traves de una marcha online con acento en las mujeres LTB". 20 Minutos (in Spanish). July 4, 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  22. ^ Santacruz, Alberto (April 7, 2019). "La doble transicion: del mariquita al transexual, del franquismo al Orgullo". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  23. ^ Serrato, Fran (May 1, 2019). "Una transicion en el armario". El Pais (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  24. ^ Barroso, Maricruz (February 18, 2019). "Las mujeres transexuales: represaliadas durante el franquismo y nunca reparadas". Cadena Ser (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  25. ^ "Ya disponible 'Ellas' en ATRESplayer PREMIUM, un documental original sobre la vida de cinco mujeres trans". ATRESplayer (in Spanish). October 20, 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  26. ^ "Asi es 'Ellas', la docuserie sobre mujeres trans que toma el relevo a 'Veneno' en Atresplayer Premium". El Diario (in Spanish). November 1, 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  27. ^ Carro, David (October 29, 2020). "'Ellas', el documental para no olvidarnos de las mujeres trans cuando pase la fiebre 'Veneno'". FormulaTV (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  28. ^ "Las razones para ver 'Ellas': una historia sobre cinco mujeres trans". ATRESplayer (in Spanish). October 27, 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  29. ^ "Miryam Amaya galardonada con el Premio Plumas 2020" [Miryam Amaya awarded with the Plumas Prize 2020]. ATRESPlayer (in Spanish). November 12, 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  30. ^ "Anabel Alonso, Lucas Platero, Marina Saenz, Jenifer Rebollo y Myriam Amaya, premios Plumas 2020" [Anabel Alonso, Lucas Platero, Marina Saenz, Jenifer Rebollo and Myriam Amaya, Plumas 2020 awards]. FELGTBI (in Spanish). November 11, 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  31. ^ "El dia del Orgullo LGTBI se realizara en Cartagena de manera virtual entre el 1 y 5 de julio" [LGBT Pride Day will be held virtually in Cartagena between July 1 and 5]. CadenaSER (in Spanish). June 24, 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  32. ^ "El Ayuntamiento de Cartagena se suma a las actividades online para conmemorar el dia del Orgullo LGTBI" [Cartagena City Council joins online activities to commemorate LGBT Pride Day]. La Opinion de Murcia (in Spanish). June 23, 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
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