Bixa Travesty

Like the music made by its star, this film by directing duo Claudia Priscilla and Kiko Goifman is radical, energetic, and captivating. Linn da Quebrada, a black trans woman from a Sao Paolo favela, is a pop singer who is the voice of other dark-skinned, poor trans women. Performing with her childhood friend, black singer Jup do Bairro, Linn’s shows are one big party. She uses her songs to confront Brazilian society’s machismo and heteronormative nature. A more gentle side to her personality is revealed through conversations with her friends and her mother. Yet, for Linn, personal is always political, and intimate discussions of love can easily turn into vehement discourses on racism and poverty.
The film also discusses Linn’s struggle against cancer and the treatments she had undergone. Preferring to be a woman with a penis, Linn’s gender identity is not tied to her sexual organs, but is rather in a constant state of transformation.