ORGANIZATION
In the 1980s, I returned to Costa Rica to do my doctoral thesis. There was a political awakening happening in this country, and many foreigners had decided to immigrate and make changes in the country. One group of these foreigners, the retired Americans, contributed to greater tolerance. Another sector, ecotou-rism, was beginning to emerge and transform the hotel industry; the influx of visitors helped liberalize society.
In the gay community, changes were not far behind.
One of them was the growth in the number of bars.
Thanks to economic development, a new middle class emerged and demanded more entertainment venues.
We had now large and luxurious discos like La Bota, located near Morazán Park, or Timarkhos, next to the Hotel Europa, right in the center of the capital.
Another factor of great importance was the construction of apartment buildings for the working class.
One of the chains, Blanco Umaña, became the first gay ghettos.
As gays became more visible, so did the extortio-nists. The bars suffered constant harassment, and the police would enter at any moment and take away the clientele. The excuse for the raids was the accusation of “moral offenses,” a vague offense that could be interpreted however they pleased. Although 153
homosexuality was not a crime in the Penal Code, it was seen as immoral.
This contradiction between the rise of the new professional middle class and state repression created a situation of anxiety. Aware that something had to be done, I came up with the idea of organizing a first therapy group.
I invited twelve professional friends: lawyers, judges, doctors, accountants, professors, architects, and engineers, to meet once a week. What did I want? To be honest, I hoped for a gay movement. I wanted to repeat the history of the United States and was convinced that without organization, the system would destroy us.
But the country was not yet ready for a revolt.
My relationship with my mother had improved significantly. Elena had finally accepted that my homosexuality was not a temporary matter. On a theoretical level, the feminist struggle convinced her that the gay movement had a reason to exist.
“Mom,” I said. “Don’t you think you should give up the idea that happiness comes from a man and dedicate yourself to what interests you, which would be studying?”
“But I’m over forty years old, I didn’t even finish primary school, I never learned grammar well, and alge-bra is very difficult for me,” she replied.
At first, she didn’t listen to me, but fate would play a trick on her. Elena attended classes at the 154
University of Costa Rica as a guest and had to ask for permission from the professors, who usually granted it because they admired her desire to learn. However, one day, in the class of an anti-Semitic professor, she hit a wall: “No, ma’am,” the woman told her, “This is not a charity association, if you are not enrolled, you cannot stay.”
Elena, very dignified, took her notebook and pencil and left the classroom, humiliated. She arrived with tears in her eyes and told me what had happened. “I swear this will never happen to me again. Next time I enter the University of Costa Rica, I will do it through the main gate.”