joaquín

This interview was conducted with joaquín on October 9, 2022 in Hillsdale, NY. Joaquin begins by talking about growing up in Brooklyn, NY with two parents and three older brothers. They go on to speak about their chosen family, who they identify as their close friends, specifically speaking about a friend named Sierra from childhood. They describe the process of building community around their relationship with disability and being part of a care network and the emergence of their disability and their diagnosis. Joaquín is learning what kind of friend they want to be and describes their love language as hosting gatherings. They speaks on their avoidance of the term ‘queer community.’ Joaquín talks about growing up with a father in the communist party who tried to foster their politics, such as supporting a high school brigade to Cuba. Joaquín describes an average day in their life including waking up slowly and working at an art museum, both remotely and in person. They talk about liking art because they like being around people who make art and think of artistic spaces as community spaces. Joaquín has recently been involved in political work through Parole Projects and Critical Resistance hotline and speak of finding a political home in abolition and bodily autonomy and being in the school of this kind of work. They end with describing their love of swimming in all weather and especially in the ocean and how their cat Jupiter came into their life.