Creating Not to Disappear: Street Art as Politics in the Lives of Trans and Travestis

First-person theoretical-poetic study on culture, periphery, and resistance

Abstract

This work, written in the first person, arises from the observation and lived experience of someone who understands art as a tool for survival and transformation. Inspired by the author’s trajectory as a trans, peripheral man, poet, and MC, this theoretical and poetic study traverses the streets, alleys, and improvised stages of cities to understand how urban cultural expressions — slam poetry, rap, funk, samba, vogue, circus, dance, capoeira, and community gatherings — become living manifestos of resistance. Drawing from direct experiences in spaces such as Slam das Minas, TransCineClube, Palco da Vida, and Casa 1, the narrative weaves theory and practice to reflect on how art builds networks of affection and belonging among trans people, travestis, Black, and peripheral communities. It concludes that culture not only narrates lives but sustains them. Beyond aesthetics, it is political — a form of self-governance over one’s own existence, precisely what the State persistently denies.