Monika: You created Magenta, una sirena más allá del mar specifically for children. What did you want a transgender child sitting in the audience to understand by the time the curtain came down?
Sofía: That you can get out of that sea that traps us, that it won't be easy, but you can become the girl or boy you dream of being.
Monika: In your work, you have spoken about "Ivancito," the child you were before transition. When did you stop seeing that child as someone you had left behind and start seeing him as part of Sofía?
Sofía: For a long time, I used to be angry at the child I was, or the person I was, because I thought that having been him was what kept me from being Sofía sooner. But one afternoon, while reading the script for a scene we had to shoot for Pequeña Victoria, I started crying, I found a photo of myself as that child, and I apologized to him, and I promised him that from then on we would always walk hand in hand together, and that no furious dragon and no sea witch would ever separate us again.
Monika: Was creating Magenta partly a way of giving your younger self something that she or he didn't have while growing up?
Sofía: Of course, it was my gift to that child: to finally put on the mermaid tail he had longed for for so long.
Monika: You eventually moved from acting into songwriting and performing as La Sirena. Was becoming a singer always somewhere in your imagination, or did that side of you emerge unexpectedly?
Sofía: As I told you earlier, I always wanted to sing, and in fact it's what I enjoy most.
Monika: You design some of your own costumes and have a strong connection to performance, fashion and femininity. How would you describe your personal style? Do you follow any specific fashion trends, or do you have go-to outfits that make you feel confident?
Sofía: No, I don't follow anything. I wear whatever I think suits me; I have a lot of my mom's clothes, nineties skirts like the ones from The Nanny, which I love. I just play around with it; I think it's beautiful, a real art form, getting dressed and looking beautiful.
Monika: By the way, do you like being complimented on your looks? Do you find it easy to accept compliments, or do you struggle with believing them?
Sofía: Luckily, I'm someone who's always received kind words, and I'm learning to accept them and be grateful for them.
|
| "You can get out of that sea that traps us." Photo: @pacogamezb |
Monika: Did you ever feel pressure to meet a certain ideal of femininity, like I did by trying to look like the women around me?
Sofía: Not from the women around me, but yes from the world of social media, the pressure every woman feels in our world, the demand for thinness, for eternal youth.
Monika: I remember the time right after my transition, it was pure euphoria. My closet is still full of dresses and shoes that I literally bought by the dozens back then, and I must have tried on hundreds. I felt like I had to make up for all those years that were taken from me. Did you feel the same way?
Sofía: Yes, I felt that same euphoria, I went through a brief adolescence where I dressed head to toe in pink, hahaha.
Monika: Many of us feel the pressure to look like a "typical" woman, and even after surgeries, society keeps judging us. How do you personally deal with the outside world's expectations?
Sofía: Whatever you do, there's always someone who has something to say, whether you're too pretty or too ugly. Today, I feel at peace with who I am.
Monika: For a lot of trans girls, loneliness can become a part of life. Did you ever feel that, or were you lucky enough to avoid it?
Sofía: For me it isn't a problem, I choose it often; it gives me a lot of peace.
Monika: You have worked with Mocha Celis and with trans young people. Having experienced both bullying as a child and acceptance within your family, what do you think adults most often get wrong when a child tells them they are trans?
Sofía: What's missing are tools and education on the subject. Gabriela Mansilla, who is the mother of the first trans girl here to receive her national ID, and who is known for the book Yo, nena, yo, princesa, which I recommend, always says: when in doubt, hug. Hug the child, let them feel that you're there; you'll figure out afterward how else to help them.
Monika: What are your thoughts on the current situation for transgender women in your country?
Sofía: In my country, the situation is generally complicated right now, and unfortunately the trans population continues to be at the very bottom of the list of social priorities, even more so with these right-wing movements that have resurfaced.
Monika: Teoría de la Sirena brings together autobiography, music, theatre and your own memories. If someone who knows nothing about you watched that piece, what would you most want them to understand about Sofía?
Sofía: That it's the story of a child who dreamed of being a mermaid: he cried, he suffered, he fell, he learned, he smiled, he grew up, and he became a beautiful mermaid.
|
| "I went through a brief adolescence when I dressed head to toe in pink." |
Monika: Many trans women are writing their memoirs these days. Have you ever thought about writing your own book, and if so, what would its central message be?
Sofía: I have thought about turning Teoría de la Sirena into a book, expanding it much further. The message of my life in a book would be to understand that I am my own greatest achievement, because if that child I once was could see me today, he would think: "Wow! I want to be like her."
Monika: Finally, after acting, musical theatre, cinema, songwriting, children's theatre and La Sirena, what is the one artistic territory you haven't conquered yet but would really like to explore?
Sofía: I would love to be in one of those classic musicals that everyone loves.
Monika: And finally, what's next for you? What dreams and goals are you working toward now?
Sofía: For now, I've just finished filming a part in the film Las malas, based on the book by Camila Sosa Villada and directed by Oscar winner (for Birdman) Mr. Armando Bo. And on the 17th of this month, September, the film Unicornio premieres in Colombia, and I'm hoping to travel to other countries with it soon. And after that... a big unknown, because that's how the artistic world is: you never know what magical place it's going to take you.
Monika: Sofía, thank you so much for sharing your story with me and with my readers.
Sofía: Thank you for the invitation.
All photos: courtesy of Sofía Diéguez.
© 2026 - Monika Kowalska
No comments:
Post a Comment