El Anillo Rojo

El Anillo Rojo (English: The Red Ring) was the name of a group of gay men from the Chilean city of Antofagasta. The group became known when it was raided by the police on 18 March 1973 during a private party, and the incident generated reactions and debates in the press and in the public about homosexuality and the LGBTQ community.[1]

Incident

On the night of 17 March 1973, the members of the El Ring Rojo ("The Red Ring"), a group of homosexual men, had gathered in a house located on Avenida Argentina, popularly known as "Casa de Palo" in the Chilean city of Antofagasta. They were holding a party with a group of conscripts from different military units in the city.[2] After the Carabineros received a phone call reporting annoying noises and possible drug use, at 1:30 a.m. on 18 March, a group of police officers arrived on the scene to investigate the same. They proceeded to arrest 24 people including eight people who were dressed in women's clothing, along with 14 conscripts and two university students.[3][4][5] Among the arrested was Marcia Torres, who was the first person in Chile to undergo sex reassignment surgery in 1974.[6][7]

Aftermath

On the morning of 19 March, the detainees were produced in front of Judge Juan Sinn Bruno at the Second Crime Court of Antofagasta. After taking statements, the judge remanded the homosexuals to five days in prison while the judicial process was being adjudicated, and the conscripted men were ordered to return to the barracks. On the same day, the conscripts were transferred to the prison and were remanded to be tried by the civil courts.[4][8][9] On 21 March, lawyer Hugo Soto took up the defense of three of the detainees, after each of them paid 13,000 escudos.[4][10] Three days later, all those arrested at the party were released for lack of merit.[4]

Reactions

The event attracted extensive coverage in the local press and discussion on homosexuality and transsexuality.[1] Local publications like La Estrella del Norte and El Popular carried the news as headlines.[11][12] Several people gave comments on the issue including the local prison warden Alfonso Monjes Villagrán, General Joaquín Lagos Osorio from the First Division of the Army, psychologist María Alburquenque from the University of the North, and a nun from the Community of the Good Shepherd.[13][14]

The detainees were interviewed during their imprisonment, and they said that it was only a social gathering and not a homosexual orgy as reported by the local press.[15][16]

The local press also compared the incident to the 1969 Huanchaca street scandal, which took place in the same city in June 1969 in which 24 people were arrested.[17][18]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Carvajal Edwards, Fernanda (December 2016). "Sexopolítica en los inicios de la dictadura de Augusto Pinochet: el "cambio de sexo" de Marcia Alejandra en los discursos de la prensa" [Sex politics in the early years of Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship: Marcia Alejandra's "sex change" in press discourse] (PDF). Sexualidad, Salud y Sociedad – Revista Latinoamericana (in Spanish) (24). Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Instituto de Medicina Social, Centro Latinoamericano de Sexualidad y Derechos Humanos: 103–129. doi:10.1590/1984-6487.sess.2016.24.05.a. ISSN 1984-6487. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  2. ↑ "¡Zas pirulín! Pillaron gran encerrona de mariposones con conscriptos" [Wow! Large gathering of homosexuals with conscripts discovered]. La Estrella del Norte (in Spanish). Antofagasta, Chile. 19 March 1973. p. 3.
  3. ↑ "Descubren orgía de homosexuales" [Homosexual orgy discovered]. El Mercurio de Antofagasta (in Spanish). 19 March 1973. p. 2.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Libres de polvo y paja las mariposas del Anillo Rojo" [The Red Ring butterflies cleared of all charges]. La Estrella del Norte (in Spanish). Antofagasta, Chile. 26 March 1973. p. 16.
  5. ↑ "Detenido grupo de invertidos que corrompen a los jóvenes" [Group of homosexuals accused of corrupting youth detained]. El Popular (in Spanish). Antofagasta, Chile. 19 March 1973. p. 2.
  6. ↑ "Juran vengarse de traidoras de "La Camelia" o "La Barbarella"" [They swear revenge against the traitors "La Camelia" and "La Barbarella"]. La Estrella del Norte (in Spanish). Antofagasta, Chile. 19 March 1973. p. 16.
  7. ↑ Carvajal Edwards, Fernanda (December 2023). "Irrupciones trans*temporales (a 50 años del golpe de Estado)" [Trans*temporal irruptions (50 years after the coup d'état)]. Aisthesis (in Spanish) (74). Santiago, Chile: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile: 81–107. doi:10.7764/aisth.74.5. Archived from the original on 30 March 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  8. ↑ "Conscriptos al Cuartel y raros a la capacha" [Conscripts back to barracks and queers to jail]. El Popular (in Spanish). Antofagasta, Chile. 20 March 1973. p. 5.
  9. ↑ "Fueron la sensación a su llegada a la cárcel" [They caused a sensation upon their arrival at the jail]. La Estrella del Norte (in Spanish). Antofagasta, Chile. 20 March 1973. p. 3.
  10. ↑ "Abogado Soto tomó a su cargo defensa de tres homosexuales" [Attorney Soto took charge of the defense of three homosexuals]. El Mercurio de Antofagasta (in Spanish). 22 March 1973. p. 2.
  11. ↑ Barrientos, Claudio (22 April 2023). "A 50 años de la primera protesta homosexual en Chile: sus lecturas hoy" [50 years after the first homosexual protest in Chile: its interpretations today]. El Mostrador (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 30 March 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  12. ↑ "Detienen a un grupo de invertidos en avenida Argentina" [Group of homosexuals detained on Avenida Argentina]. El Popular (in Spanish). Antofagasta, Chile. 19 March 1973. p. 1.
  13. ↑ "La homosexualidad a calzón quitado" [Homosexuality laid bare]. La Estrella del Norte (in Spanish). Antofagasta, Chile. 21 March 1973. pp. 4–5.
  14. ↑ ""Dios pide para ellos caridad"" ["God asks for charity toward them"]. La Estrella del Norte (in Spanish). Antofagasta, Chile. 22 March 1973. p. 3.
  15. ↑ "El drama de los protagonistas del escándalo del Anillo Rojo" [The drama of the protagonists of the Red Ring scandal]. La Estrella del Norte (in Spanish). Antofagasta. 22 March 1973. p. 3.
  16. ↑ Álvarez, Diana (9 October 1975). "Confesiones de un trans-sexual" [Confessions of a transsexual]. Vea (in Spanish). pp. 2–3.
  17. ↑ "El Club "El Anillo Rojo", una fracción de Huanchaca" [The "Red Ring" Club, a splinter group from Huanchaca]. La Estrella del Norte (in Spanish). Antofagasta. 19 March 1973. p. 3.
  18. ↑ ""Anillo Rojo" traerá colas" ["Red Ring" will have repercussions]. La Estrella del Norte (in Spanish). Antofagasta. 20 March 1973. p. 3.
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