Queens of New York

1

Model, artist and

Miss Simone is a transgender woman recognized in the community for her street numbers in front of the iconic Stonewall bar in Greenwich Village, the birthplace of the gay pride movement in 1969.

Sisterhood for her is reflected in the support she received as a child from her older sister and her friends: “You need other women to show you that you can be something more than a housewife or a sexual object.

Being a woman today implies surviving the physical appearance paradigms and giving more importance to your personal values. I want to be remembered for what I have done for this society without having to take off my clothes ”.

In the picture, Miss Simone is wearing Albright Fashion Library earrings, Loewe top and pants, and Sarah Aphrodite belt worn as a bib.

photography by Camila Fálquez / styling by Herin Choi

2

Chef and businesswoman

The chef says that in Thailand “sisterhood is limited”: “Women cannot make decisions for themselves and it is very difficult for them to go out and meet to be in solidarity with each other.

In New York, on the other hand, I have a group of friends from the Buddhist temple and together we practice Thai dance every week, thus maintaining control over our bodies.

Being in New York has allowed me to innovate as a chef, grow as a woman and take my knowledge to spaces I never imagined, inside and outside the country ”.

Today she owns several restaurants and a culinary school.

In the picture, May Kaidee is wearing a jacket, pants and bags, all from Loewe;

own headdress and sash, and Prada shoes

photography by Camila Fálquez / styling by Herin Choi

3

Entrepreneur

is a descendant of the indigenous tribe of the Cañaris (from southern Ecuador), a matriarchal people where women are the leaders of society.

In 1983 she arrived in New York and since then she has not stopped working for the Latin American immigrant community. She says that her three children are her support network. “My teacher in life has been my daughter Jennifer.

He helped me up when I was suffering from separation from his father.

Now I always feel strong and powerful. ”Today she owns a restaurant in Queens and from her solidarity kitchen she gives lunches to construction workers, blacksmiths and marbles.

Pictured is Lucila Dotan, wearing Marco's white circular headdress, Emily Ridings 'hat, John Hadeed's shirt for Space Lace, model's embroidered skirt, Screaming Mimis Vintage crinoline skirt, Emily Ridings' wicker skirt, and green fabric of the photographer.

photography by Camila Fálquez / styling by Herin Choi

4

Entrepreneur and activist

This indigenous immigrant from Oaxaca (Mexico), who in her restaurant offers recipes originating from the Mexican Baja Mixteca, leads together with his family the fight for the right of undocumented immigrants to be recognized as residents of the United States.

For her, sorority is practiced in Oaxaca under the name of back in hand, a barter system that consists of the entire community helping the same neighbor in a specific task: “When a woman in the group gives birth, all Wives go to the house and one washes the clothes, the other cooks, the other helps to take care of the baby, and so on forever ”.

In the image, Natalia Méndez is wearing a Simone Rocha dress, a Prada jacket and Pleiades shoes

photography by Camila Fálquez / styling by Herin Choi

5

Owner of the Caribbean social club Toñita’s

grew up in Puerto Rico with five sisters and when she arrived in New York her friend Carmen Feliciano became her support during those first years as an immigrant. She ensures that without her advice and words of encouragement she would not have been able to get to be "the queen of losesures of Brooklyn."

She is the matron of the Williamsburg boricua resistance. Her social club, Toñita's, is a space in which the Latino community has come together for decades to eat free and dance while in an old jukebox great salsa.

Behind a counter, Maria Antonia has a beer opener that sells for three dollars while showing off her golden Latin matron rings.

photography by Camila Fálquez / styling by Herin Choi

6Maria Antonia Cay, Toñita, wears a Halpern dress, the photographer's green cloth, and her own jewelry.

photography by Camila Fálquez / styling by Herin Choi

7

Actor and specialist in cultural identity, drag and community

Behind Lady Quesadilla is Alejandro Rodríguez, a cisgender homosexual man born in El Paso, in the border between Texas and Ciudad Juárez (Mexico).

It shows on the scenarios the social reality of its LGTBI community.

"It is important to talk about the contributions that trans black women have made to the women of the world."

She believes that sisterhood keeps trans girls afloat on the border, and praises the work of Erica Andrews, Marsha P. Johnson, and Sylvia Rivera, creators of a support network in Texas for trans youth.

Pictured, Lady Quesadilla is wearing a long pearl necklace from Albright Fashion Library, pearl neckline from Lidow Archive, boa with bow from John Hadeed for SpaceLace, gloves from Wing + Weft Gloves, and skirts and dress as a skirt, all by Ashley Williams.

photography by Camila Fálquez / styling by Herin Choi

8

Doula and founder of the Bronx Rebirth collective and Radio Caña Negra

If there is one word to define Evelyn, it is sisterhood.

As a doula, she assists women before, during and after pregnancy while working with her network of friends so that Afro-Latin women in New York have access to resources that do not reach their communities, many times due to discrimination .

From her experience as a Latina and a Black woman, she knows that racism is the biggest challenge these women face: "I feel powerful when I make my example inspire others to live as they want."

In the image, Evelyn Álvarez wears a hat by Ernesto Naranjo, clip-on earrings from Albright Fashion Library, coin earring from Lidow Archive, green and yellow dresses from Greta Constantine, dress placed like a bow from Screaming Mimis Vintage;

blue flower dress and pink flower dress, both by Florentina Leitner, and striped cape by John Hadeed for Space Lace.

photography by Camila Fálquez / styling by Herin Choi

9Evelyn Álvarez wears a hat by Ernesto Naranjo, clip-on earrings from Albright Fashion Library, coin earring from Lidow Archive, green and yellow dresses from Greta Constantine, dress placed like a bow from Screaming Mimis Vintage;

blue flower dress and pink flower dress, both by Florentina Leitner, and striped cape by John Hadeed for Space Lace.

photography by Camila Fálquez / styling by Herin Choi

10

Mother and owner of a laundry

For Kim, sisterhood is in motherhood.

In the unconditional support that she always received from her mother and that now, when she is from Brandon and Ted, 9 and 14 years old, she values ​​immensely.

With her children as interpreters to translate it into English, she speaks for the first time in front of them about the gender inequality that exists in her country of origin, South Korea: “Where I come from, it is assumed that men are more intelligent because they receive more education, but women are gaining power thanks to the wisdom that the years give ”.

She maintains that she feels increasingly empowered.

photography by Camila Fálquez / styling by Herin Choi

11Kyungmin Kim wears headdress and collar by Patou, belt by Sarah Aphrodite, crinoline skirt by Screaming Mimis Vintage, jacket and skirts by Noir Kei Ninomiya, shoes by Lidow Vintage and yellow fabric from the photographer.

Camila Falquez