Brazil LGBTQ group hides from virus in Copacabana building

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — In a courtyard a few blocks from Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach, a dozen people get settled on broken couches beneath a banner reading “Cure Your Prejudice.” They face the makeshift stage where a transgender woman appears in a short, tight dress and performs to a song about transgender visibility.

It’s a standard Saturday night in coronavirus times at the squat known as Casa Nem.

The six-floor building is home to about 50 LGBTQ people riding out the pandemic behind closed doors. They receive food donations and are barred from leaving unless facing medical emergency or other exceptional circumstances. Self-imposed lockdown is one of few ways this traditionally marginalized group has found to minimize COVID-19 risks, while others remain vulnerable on the streets.

“Based on the experience we had during the AIDS epidemic, when we were accused of being the vector of the virus and were left to die, we are now protecting the community,” said Indianara Siqueira, 49, a transgender sex worker and activist who leads Casa Nem.

In 2016, her organization took over the balconied building with small bedrooms, shared bathrooms and a big common kitchen. The residents found it dirty and abandoned, including one room with artwork, bronze busts and taxidermied animals. Casa Nem became a shelter for LGBTQ victims of violence and those who, rejected by their families, have nowhere to live.

New residents during the pandemic have to isolate on one of the building's floors for 15 days to ensure they don’t develop symptoms before fully joining the community.

While some found refuge at Casa Nem, others like transgender prostitute Alice Larubia, 25, are stuck on the streets, hustling to earn enough to get by as the economy tanks. Normally quick to smile...