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Ritual, Roots, and Radical Selfhood with River Coello #63
34 Plays23 days ago
Co-hosts Melody KG and Mattie Bynum dig into the deeper currents of River Coello's work, exploring what gets erased when colonial systems take hold — and what endures anyway. As a PhD candidate in anthropology at UCF, River has traced the quiet persistence of Indigenous wisdom throughout the history of the field, arguing that Indigenous voices have always shaped knowledge, even when uncredited. Drawing from the Andean Cosmovision — conversations with sacred animals, the stars, and the moon — River weaves art, research, spirituality, and facilitation into a single practice rooted in the belief that culture is one of the most powerful sites for change. And when it comes to trans visibility, River is clear: being seen is not enough. Trans people need safety, shelter, family, and financial security — everything that pride, on its own, doesn't fully capture.
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Transcript
00:00:00
Speaker
I feel like performance has been with me forever, but I've also always been appreciative of those, I guess, just circles around the fire, right? Or around a meal where my family got a chance to just tell a story. If it feels honest, it's because it's just, it's a snippet, right? Of of what the process was like. It is certainly not only poetry, but then again, what is poetry? Maybe poetry is is this right now, this exchange, this conversation. and so it's so
Introduction of Hosts and Guest
00:00:28
Speaker
rich, I think.
00:00:35
Speaker
Hello and welcome to Power Beyond Pride, a weekly queer change-making podcast bringing you voices and ideas from across our fierce and fabulous spectrum to transform our world.
00:00:48
Speaker
I'm Melody KG, a provocateur from Minneapolis, Minnesota. And hi, I'm Maddie Bynum, your other co-host today. I am a comedian, actress, lover of all things, passionate about most things, and creative about some things.
00:01:04
Speaker
That is just me. And we are your co-hosts today on this QueerCast journey. In today's episode, we will be talking with the beautiful, outstanding River
Cultural Weaver: Origin and Identity
00:01:13
Speaker
Coyeo. And before I say anything else, or y'all have to understand...
00:01:17
Speaker
The hair is hairy, the skin is skinny, and the radiant is radiating from this beautiful being. Glowing. OK. All the way. i love it.
00:01:28
Speaker
They are a writer, translator, performer, visual artist, facilitator, speaker, and researcher. River has been called a cultural weaver. River is known for dancing between ancestral and personal memory, documenting spiritual discoveries through performance, visual media, and writing.
00:01:48
Speaker
Welcome, River, to the show. Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here. and What an introduction. yeah Yeah, the the intro is merely a freckle of all of the things that I'm sure you you put into the world. So thank you for being you and for for coming on today's podcast.
00:02:13
Speaker
Would love to hear from you. What is what do you meant by the term cultural weaver when you describe yourself as such? What does that mean?
00:02:24
Speaker
It's beautiful. Thank you That actually came to me in a dream. I've been spending a lot of time reconnecting with my Andean ancestry, and in particular, my indigenous roots.
Journey Through Injustice and Art
00:02:37
Speaker
And I've done a lot of work around I guess unpacking and repacking a lot of things about my life. And not just around identity or or lineage, right? But also purpose, I think. What does it mean to be a human person on this planet?
00:02:57
Speaker
And in that dream, i was weaving much like my ancestors were, especially my feminine and I imagine my trans feminine ancestors, or even my androgynous ancestors, as I like to imagine them.
00:03:14
Speaker
And it made a lot of sense. When I look at my work, my artistic work, but also my research, also my facilitation style, I'm always trying to make sense of things that seem disparate, seem like they don't go together. But I find the beauty in trying.
00:03:33
Speaker
to weave them together. i see that in in my gender presentation, for example. I think a lot of people don't often know what what to make sense of of me, but I like to embody both of my energies. And i see other themes that are kind of similar in that way,
Pandemic and Trans Identity Discovery
00:03:51
Speaker
right? Where I can spot, yes, how different they are, but I suppose the great opportunity there is to bring them together.
00:04:01
Speaker
That's beautiful, you know, and and that's something I can relate to you with. I love being a conversational starter, too. So I think that is the beautiful thing about your essence. So real quickly, if you can, take us back to the beginning. How did a river become river? How did you become a cultural weaver? How did you did you become a conversational starter?
00:04:22
Speaker
think I feel like all my life I've been a bit of a queer-do is how I like to tell people about it, I suppose. But I was always, i guess, kind of looking inward from the margins and recognizing that some of us just unfortunately don't have the same kind of access or acceptance when From a very young age, I was very rattled by injustice. I saw it in my own family, especially along racial lines or class lines. And that really bothered me as a curious child. And so I had this kind of wild curiosity and imagination, I'm sure. and
00:05:06
Speaker
I was always drawn to especially the written word, right? I was out here in my journal documenting it all. And my God, was it angsty? Was it histrionic at times, I'm sure. yeah But I couldn't let it go. And as I learned more about the world, because I'm a total nerd, and right, as you'll come to find out the more up I got and the the more I wanted to do something about it. And I think for me,
00:05:33
Speaker
culture, right, being a cultural weaver is ah an important place for for change. And I like to contribute to it with with my research and with my art. And and When it comes to my personal journey, I think I can't disconnect who I am from my work, right? And i want to say, i guess, it was around 20, it's been about a decade now of me being outwardly trans and some more years being outwardly queer.
00:06:07
Speaker
But that journey has been really Really beautiful, really difficult as well as you can imagine. But I found a lot of freedom in just letting go of like the social scripts, letting go of what people expect of you and just finding where your joy is. I
Andean Heritage and Indigenous Spirituality
00:06:26
Speaker
joke about this a lot, but as difficult as the pandemic was for the world, right, and continues to be,
00:06:34
Speaker
The space, the introverted space that it gave me to explore everywhere I could go was like a beautiful gift. It really was. and i'm I'm very, very grateful for it.
00:06:46
Speaker
I think that's where River kind of got solidified as ah as an energy, I suppose. Yeah. and And I've always been feminine, but I've never hated my my boyhood necessarily.
00:07:02
Speaker
And so I try to live in a way that brings them together. That's incredible. but I love what you said, too, about the pandemic sort of giving you the space you needed to to cultivate or refine or however you want to describe your energies.
00:07:22
Speaker
And I can definitely relate to that. the The stillness that kind of the the lockdown and all the things that came with it really... really pressed a lot of us to do some inner work.
00:07:38
Speaker
Not all of us.
00:07:41
Speaker
Not all of us. Right. But for those of us who did, who really took that time to rebuild, reform, rediscover,
00:07:53
Speaker
um it it it was truly a almost ah almost a blessing, despite the ah horribleness that we're having outside. So, I'm really glad that you had that experience and emerged this beautiful weaver of of things.
00:08:12
Speaker
I would love to hear more about
Pre-colonial Spirituality vs. Christianity
00:08:15
Speaker
especially how your connection to your Andean heritage has allowed you to sort of like facilitate space for others to connect with who you are and and how you're how you're sort of pulling on that thread and and weaving it into your work.
00:08:35
Speaker
Yeah, of course. I guess there's various different ways that it shows up and in my work. I i was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, but my family traces its roots to Manta, which is also on the coast, and Cuenca. And I've always had this curiosity about I think especially our indigenous ancestry, I think my journey through, unfortunately, this is not the case for everybody, but ah as a queer and trans person, my journey through Christianity in the church was challenging, if not traumatic. And
00:09:15
Speaker
I've always been curious about other models, right? I figured there had to be something different, perhaps something that came before it in our region. And so I've always been curious about that history, right, that's been, i mean, quite frankly, systemically erased, but even in the spaces where it continues to exist, it's just kind of forgotten or not prioritized. And so I've always
Validation in Indigenous Third Genders
00:09:41
Speaker
had this immense curiosity about, well, how were we as queer and trans bodies existing in our in our land, right, before colonization took all of that away? and
00:09:57
Speaker
That's translated to the research that I do now. i'm a PhD student at UCF here in Orlando, which is where I'm based. But I also bring everything that I've learned, especially from spiritual guides and and teachers from from Ecuador and Peru, which is where I've primarily focused into my facilitation work. like Whenever I'm facilitating a creative workshop, for example, I'm bringing our Cosmovision into it, our sacred animals, our conversations with the elements, the stars, the the sun and the moon, and and so much more.
00:10:33
Speaker
And then all of that comes through in my writing as well. Hampi, which is the multimedia collection that I released early last year, has all of these elements. It really chronicles my journey to and through my my reconnection to the ending Cosmovision. And i think it's really resonated with some really wonderful folks out there. And I'm i'm so happy that it's had that effect for sure.
00:11:01
Speaker
Yes. and You know, when I was reading about you and I was looking into the, know, talking about the third gender and your research and all that, it really did. going to lie. Like I had to call our producer and I was like, yo, I'm learning so much and I'm loving it.
00:11:18
Speaker
Because I think that that is something, being a spiritual person raised in a Christianity faith like you, I think it's good that we can have multiple conversations about deity. We can have multiple conversations about transfiguration. We can have multiple conversations about those things because when we allow ourselves to stay in just one concept,
00:11:38
Speaker
And look at just from a micro lens of a religion that was created by men. Let's be honest. This was a a religion. It's not a spirituality, but a religion. And we we type ourselves that we don't even realize that we inherently make ourselves ignorant and our generations to come ignorant because we don't allow ourselves to explore and expand.
00:12:01
Speaker
And I think that is interesting because I ah wanted to ask you, what was your earliest memory between your connection of spirituality, religion, and who River is in general?
00:12:13
Speaker
in i think I always, and I mentioned this earlier a little bit, but I think I always did feel like an outsider, right? i felt like everything that my gender, i suppose, was supposed to do I just couldn't quite relate to.
00:12:31
Speaker
And that was a painful and lonely childhood. And then unfortunately, my experiences in the church just made that even harder because I wasn't really finding my place. And especially as my queerness just started developing, it was even...
00:12:52
Speaker
even harder to feel at home because I was, I mean, the best word I have is demonized, right? i was quite literally the the framing. This isn't of God.
00:13:04
Speaker
But I, and and I'm grateful for this about my my younger self. I've always been a bit rebellious as well. And there was just something that I was like, it just it's not sitting right in the spirit for me. It sums off.
00:13:21
Speaker
I hear this and I know that these are spiritual leaders, but something doesn't feel right about me being wrong when I haven't chosen a single thing. right i just I'm just alive.
00:13:36
Speaker
and so Later on in life, when I found the Kariwarmi, when I found other especially indigenous expressions of these third genders,
00:13:49
Speaker
I was like relieved. i was so affirmed that this had always been around, this had always existed, and that I could just tap into that power, connect with those ancestors, and find my way like they did. And it was not easy for them. Many we've lost, even in contemporary times, right? i
Reading from 'Hampi': Ritual and Writing
00:14:13
Speaker
mean,
00:14:14
Speaker
Trans women, especially trans women of color, are persecuted in our societies, let's be real. We are trying to be ourselves, but but the the world resists that power, I think.
00:14:29
Speaker
And I think of it as a mirror because we embody possibility. And I think sometimes that can be really scary for people, and especially systems, right? That are kind of hell-bent and controlling us.
00:14:42
Speaker
So yeah, it was pretty early that I knew i was different. I was made to feel different. But with time, I found our histories, I guess. And i i found my voice and my power by connecting with it.
00:14:58
Speaker
And we're so glad you did. That's that's incredible. We do have to take a quick break, but please stay tuned to this incredible episode of Power Beyond Pride with the inspiring River Colleen.
00:15:18
Speaker
Welcome back. This is Power Beyond Pride, a queer change-making podcast. And I'm Melody KG, here with my incredible co-host, Maddie Bynum. Bye.
00:15:31
Speaker
And we are here talking with the incredible River Coelho. River, you're multi-award winning author, poet, all of the things.
00:15:43
Speaker
I would love to, if you don't mind, hear just a little bit of your your style your your your your character through through whatever medium you would like particularly if if there's a ah passage of Humpty that you would like to share.
00:16:07
Speaker
i would just love to hear and have the the listeners hear what it is you do and how you express yourself. Thank you for the opportunity. i appreciate that. And I like the idea of letting the work speak for itself. So I'm going to read just the the very intro of the book, which I think really tells you about Well, what what that journey was like for me and yeah, it's, it's everything into motion. So without further a ado, here's the beginning of Humpy.
00:16:41
Speaker
Mama Kia. Keep buying through on your Pung Chai Pee. Mama Kiaka. You come on. Con último eclipse total del sol, nuestra madre luna se me reveló.
00:16:59
Speaker
ku kueta mania cu waan ahwiquita saki umpikika i kunapa conalluriimalipsetto t del so nastra madre luna simmerarello Trajo con ella un regalo para mí.
00:17:16
Speaker
¿Liste para aprender nuestra medicina? Lo que cura tu alma sanará tu mundo. Trajo con ella un pedido para mí. Para que entre, debes bajar tu armadura.
00:17:29
Speaker
On the most recent total solar eclipse, our mother moon revealed herself to me. She brought with her a gift for me. Are you ready to learn my medicine?
00:17:42
Speaker
What heals your soul will heal your world. She brought with her an ask for me. You must renounce your shield to let it in.
00:17:54
Speaker
And that's it That was beautiful. I got chills. was about to say, first off, when you speak in your song, that that alone, i could have just listened to you read that way.
00:18:06
Speaker
oh my God, that was beautiful. Yeah. And the meet the deafness of that. Beautiful. Thank
Anthropology and Indigenous Wisdom
00:18:15
Speaker
When you write, what is your process? what what what How do you put such an essence of yourself into your break ra'm writing so that as we read it, we can it made me feel like I was really sitting with you, like I really felt you through the words?
00:18:32
Speaker
Thank you. i i think I've been a performance as out since I was three years old. I remember I would grab... I don't know, my mother's belt, and I would use it as my microphone. And i was like, all right, time for me to perform Shakira, whom I was obsessed with, of course. Yes, him so well.
00:18:53
Speaker
ah And so I feel like performance has been with me forever, but I've also always been appreciative of those, I guess, just circles around the fire, right? Or i around a meal where my family got a chance to just tell a story.
00:19:09
Speaker
And I have, I think, the privilege of having grown up with magical realism as well. That's just so Latin American. It's just, I think it's unshakable. can't really remove it from from our essence, you know, it's the work that we read. And so I've always felt really drawn to where our reality and magic intersect. And so when it comes to my process, I start there. I start in a place that isn't fully
00:19:41
Speaker
here nor there. And as much as it is about putting pen to paper, it's also about, well, how does it feel in the body? I can't separate it from performance and ritual, I think, in particular. And this book, as it was quite literally about reconnecting with indigenous spirituality, was was all about writing through ritual, through prayer, through conversations with with sacred animals, sacred beings, with the stars.
00:20:06
Speaker
And so If it feels honest, it's because it's just, it's a snippet, right? Of of what the process was like. it's It's real and it's longing, I guess, right? Like when you are searching for connection, you can't help but to be yourself. Or at least I hope so, right?
00:20:26
Speaker
And that's where where this book met me. And I guess it is where it's meeting you now. yeah, that's a bit about my process. I It is certainly not only poetry, it is, but then again, what is poetry? Maybe poetry is is this right now, this exchange, this conversation. And so it's so rich, I think, in a lot of different ways.
00:20:50
Speaker
Wow, that's incredible. And such a good reminder for for all of us to, as you said in in the passage, sort of relinquish your shield, right? like Sort of be neither here nor there and tap into whatever that is for for yourself.
00:21:13
Speaker
Because that's where the artistry can really come alive within you and then also transform our world. It's just such a such a powerful message. So poignant ah and so salient, especially in these times, right?
00:21:30
Speaker
Just beautiful. i i would love to hear from you as someone getting PhD in anthropology, ah how you how you sort of both contend with the the institution of higher education, being someone who's so rooted and in ancestral and spirituality, and what it is you're doing with that work and and sort of what you what you're learning through the process.
00:22:04
Speaker
Yeah. spent a lot of time this summer in particular looking at the history of the field of anthropology and particular American anthropology. and As you may imagine, it's it's very complicated, very problematic.
00:22:20
Speaker
But in that research, I too found indigenous voices. right and The overriding feeling that I got was that we've always been in it. right Our voices were shaping a lot of thought and always have been. We've just had to be crafty and resourceful and covert even in how we code our wisdom and our knowledge for for the world to enjoy and and make use of. And so
00:22:56
Speaker
Yes, for every story where there was dispossession and disenfranchisement and just oppression, there's also stories of indigenous wisdom just somehow breaking through. i think even in the context of American anthropology, right, which is, again, so problematic, it stands out in the sense that it was still kind of curious, I guess, about well, are we inherently different because of our race, for example? Maybe we're not.
00:23:29
Speaker
And that, to me, and and from what I've read and researched, that's just Indigenous wisdom. When white scholars throughout the history of the field have put that forward, that's really just them channeling the wisdom of the Indigenous folks that they interviewed, because they knew that so wholeheartedly, right? We've always...
00:23:49
Speaker
And I don't want to make a monolith of us, right, because we're we're so different. But I do think there is a sense of reciprocity and mutual respect, regardless of of affiliation or place that's been present in our histories, pre-colonization in particular and throughout it, that kind of, like i guess, seeps through. and I guess i draw from that power and those principles, and I see myself as just a continuation of that work and more explicitly outwardly.
00:24:28
Speaker
that I am a Brown scholar. i am proud of my indigeneity. I am proud of my queerness and transness. And you will feel that in my work. And when I connect with folks that are like me or unlike me, I will bring my full self to it.
00:24:47
Speaker
And in no part of my work will I be spousing anything around disconnection, but the complete opposite, connection and empowerment.
00:24:59
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's how I kind of negotiate my presence in the field. I feel like we've always been in it. We can't really help but to be part of systems, unfortunately, right? of course, we could create solutions outside of them.
00:25:14
Speaker
And I really believe in them and in mutual aid and in creating work that exists outside of institutions that were not created for you. All of that is very important. And also, we can't help but to be where we are.
00:25:27
Speaker
And so how do we make the most out of it? And think that's just as authentically as possible, but it does take time. a lot of work and a lot of guts, I think, and how I protect myself is just to remember my why and
LGBTQ Resistance in Florida
00:25:43
Speaker
connect with my why, because really my why as people, my people, right, our people, and then also with with spirit and and with myself, for sure.
00:25:55
Speaker
you Most definitely. And since we're somewhat on that topic, I do want to get just a little political for two seconds. I'm always that person that wants to bring in politics. But with right now in 2025, we're dealing with so many things being overturned and our in our country. Yeah.
00:26:12
Speaker
civil rights legislation rights especially for the LGBT community and Florida being a state that has very loudly spoken out against LGBT plus communities and different rights for women in general what is the current climate in Florida especially in Orlando Orlando is known to have its little hot moments so how is how is it down there politically right now I'm very protective of Florida. Let me start there.
00:26:38
Speaker
i love this place for so many different reasons. We wouldn't even have enough time to get into them. But I will say it is home, right? And i get protective because yes, some Floridians are Florida man, I suppose.
00:26:54
Speaker
And they are how they are. Can't help themselves. And unfortunately, they've amassed so much power. But I think the resistance is just a strong and and beautiful. I think a lot of people don't know that Florida has one of the largest trans populations in the country.
00:27:10
Speaker
I think a lot of people don't know, right, that for every ah bill that wants to pass, there's just a strong opposition. And i do think a lot of these More liberal cities are the places where that resistance right takes root.
00:27:29
Speaker
But we're everywhere. We're all throughout the state, right? And so i am in awe of the work that happens here. The networks that get created in response to this really alienating climate.
00:27:43
Speaker
And i am honored to, in my own little way, be part of it. Just just by being visible, I think, it's ah It's a very big thing to do when when folks want to, I guess, tuck you away. And one more thing I wanted to say and in this regard, I suppose, is that when the heat right is as high as it is, it's never more important to cultivate hope.
00:28:13
Speaker
And i see that all around me. i really do. Every day here that I'm at ah at a queer, trans, women-led, POC-led event um or initiative, I feel it. I really do. And it feels that much more momentous. It's like, we are not going anywhere. You can try all you want, but I mean, we've survived centuries.
00:28:39
Speaker
Like, you can try, you can try all you want. But I mean, at worst, you can't kill all of us. And at best, you better believe we're going to take care of each other.
00:28:53
Speaker
Incredible. Absolutely. i I love to hear folks from Florida really own the fact that Florida is home for for you, for other folks, because I think being not from Florida, we hear a lot of this Florida man and and like Florida's terrible for trans people. And it's like well, but we're here. like we we're We're living here. we're thriving here. And it's always been bad for us kind of wherever.
00:29:25
Speaker
it's really beautiful. so Thank you for for bringing us back to that. but Let's take another short break here.
Upcoming Projects and Exhibitions
00:29:30
Speaker
And please stay with us because we will be back in just a minute to share fun facts plus a speed round of questions to get to know River better.
00:29:44
Speaker
And welcome back. We are here at Power Beyond Pride talking with the illustrious River Colleo. And I am with one of your hosts, Maddie Bynum, sitting here with my beautiful co-host, Ms. Melody KG.
00:29:59
Speaker
River, I do want to ask a quick question because you have traveled all over abroad, domestically. So what is one place or where is one place that you have done speaking or performances that has really stuck out to you, whether it be fun, memorable, not so fun, memorable, or just very enlightening?
00:30:19
Speaker
a I will say Chicago was a big part of my life your many years. And i got the opportunity to share my work in various different places there. And i always left feeling very replenished and inspired.
00:30:38
Speaker
Chicago is fucking cool. And trans people there are amazing too. So yeah, I owe a lot of my growth to that wonderful city. And I find myself back there quite a bit.
00:30:50
Speaker
Okay. And you know, they do have the best pizza. I do love me some Giordano's. So I'm right there with you on that. Hard disagree. I love Chicago and New York pizza. It's the Okay. Okay. I will stay out of this. I am in this debate.
00:31:11
Speaker
I mean, well yeah New York. Okay, so let's say it like this. New York in he itself is an equivalent of pie all day, all day, every day. It is the best pizza. However, if you do like deep dish, I will say Gerardano's is another good option.
00:31:27
Speaker
We just leave Detroit all the way out between the water and the pizza and the drama. We just don't like anyway. So, you know, we're just going to sit with Chicago and New love it. What's next on the horizon for River? what are what are some things we can look out for and look forward to coming out from you? And this beautiful brain and hair, mane hair and spirit. Can we just take a moment for the hair? can we Can we just take a moment of silence for the hair? Let's do it. It's beautiful. Yes. If y'all don't know, please go to River's Instagram. We will put all the social media at the end of the show, but you have got to go. There is one iconic picture of the flip over that River has.
00:32:08
Speaker
Yes. Okay. Go ahead. Sorry. What's next? Besides a really good hair routine, going to I am working on HMPI, the Multimedia Experience. It's going to be a gallery exhibition and it will be opening in Seattle at Jack Straw Cultural Center in April.
00:32:28
Speaker
My hope is to bring it back home to Central Florida and maybe in the future also bring it to other places. So if cities are interested in this work, please reach out.
00:32:42
Speaker
I think that's the the immediate next stage of this project, right? it it is It always has been a multimedia project. And so to bring it to space just feels super fitting.
00:32:52
Speaker
And there will be performance components as well. And I'm excited to be going to Europe next summer to develop Hanfi as a solo show.
00:33:03
Speaker
I worked on recording the audiobook for it with Jack Straw as well this past summer. And I'm sure that will will be part of of the solo show. And I'm excited to develop it over there.
00:33:16
Speaker
So yeah, Humpy continues. But in the background, I'm also working on a new collection. And of course, i will be working on my dissertation for school soon enough. And so i am seeing where those things, and you guessed it, intersect, as I am a weaver after all.
00:33:33
Speaker
And I'm excited for what's to come. I'm i'm i'm feeling some some really good momentum and i'm I'm very grateful for all my collaborators because we just don't do anything alone.
00:33:44
Speaker
So yeah, these next stages are very much something to look forward to. And if you want to stay in the loop, you absolutely can follow me on social media. It's just my first and last.
00:33:56
Speaker
Yeah. My
Rapid-fire Personal Questions
00:33:58
Speaker
dad used always say, if you stay ready, you ain't got to get ready. So staying busy, it's always the way to be. So River, at this time, we are getting into our speed question round of the show. Like I told you during the break, this is the part where we get it just a little more intrusive, a little bit more invasive, and maybe just a little bit scandalous, okay? So are you ready to take the plunge? Do you choose?
00:34:25
Speaker
All right, well, Melody, kick us off. What's your favorite midnight snack? My favorite midnight snack? Arepas. Oh, my goodness. yeah Oh, my goodness.
00:34:37
Speaker
Some pan de yuca as well. I'm here for anything that is cheese, honestly. Heck, yeah. Most definitely. Matter of fact, I think I was eating macaroni salad at one o'clock this morning. So I'm right there with you with some good old cheese mixed in. Yes. A little hot sauce. you may know we hit That's another tangent with the game. We ain't got time for that. But yes, we always have to doctor everything up. Nothing is never spicy enough for us. I love it.
00:35:09
Speaker
Name one person past or present that motivates you to be who you are today. Hmm. I'm just going to say my ancestors, my trans ancestors in particular, for sure. Yeah. I don't know that I can name just one person. I'm so inspired by the past in so many different ways. So yeah, just the trans ancestors for sure. They keep me powerful.
00:35:31
Speaker
Amazing. Are you a cat person or a dog person? I am a pet person. i love them all. I love them both. i have a dog, Teddy, but if I could, my partner's allergic to cats, I would have a cat.
00:35:46
Speaker
Yeah, I just, oh my goodness. I just love ah for a fur baby. Okay. Very diplomatic. You plead the fifth on pizza and now you are right down the middle when it comes to pets. I like it. I like it. It's safe or cute. It's truthful. yeah So, River, what would be the ideal first date for you?
00:36:14
Speaker
i Oh my goodness. That's a good one. I am i mean ah i love to talk. so i'm i'm thinking and i'm an artist. i'm like Maybe like a little gallery exhibition followed by like a a little local coffee shop conversation with some good, good coffee.
00:36:35
Speaker
well sounds really good. A little dessert moment. Just something that intimate. and I can, yeah, just just be myself around you. That'd be great.
00:36:46
Speaker
Love that. That sounds delicious. think someone has watched a movie to photograph. I have not, but may have Yes, it's a really good movie, and it starts out with that. They meet at art gallery and go have coffee. I think that's so cute.
00:37:04
Speaker
Perfect. River, do you still get nervous to get up and speak in front of people or perform? All the time. Absolutely. I think if you get nervous, it's the because you care.
00:37:15
Speaker
Absolutely. All the time. it's It's a very vulnerable practice, very vulnerable thing to do. And you can never predict it. Things happen been all the time.
00:37:27
Speaker
No, that's true. No, you cannot. No, you can't. What is your favorite spice to cook with? Mmm, I don't cook. I will admit. Yeah, all my ancestors have fully frowning down on me. But, m oh this is ah this is a hard one. Hmm, I don't cook, but I love, obviously, spices, period.
00:37:55
Speaker
I don't think I can pick up i don't think you can pick a favorite. It's, yeah,
00:38:02
Speaker
like um Again, with the diplomacy. yeah yeah Yeah. I'm telling you. yeah yes and that's my That's fine. fine. do you prefer a good kiss or a good hug?
00:38:15
Speaker
Oh, I see I'm gonna say both. I keep doing this, but probably a good hug. I mean, yeah of course, there's some magic and a really good kiss, but a good hug feels more accessible with so many more people too. And can be really replenishing for sure. Yeah.
00:38:36
Speaker
This one, though, you were in um you were in a good place because a kiss and a hug kind of goes together. So it's okay it issues that you said both because, I mean, who hugs and doesn't kiss or who kisses and doesn't hug at the same time? So, yeah, that's another conversation for another talk show. Not this one. But anyways, moving on Okay, so I would say my last question for me would be if you could go to one place in time,
00:39:02
Speaker
and be able to live that experience, what century or what genre would you, or what place would you go to? I would probably go back home pre-colonization for sure. i am in many ways trying to access that through the the historical records that I'm like browsing through.
00:39:26
Speaker
and sometimes they come to me, these visions and and dreams of what it could have been like. And i definitely, i think I would really love being back there and just seeing us thrive in a different way.
00:39:40
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. That's beautiful. And River, what does Power Beyond Pride mean to you? Power Beyond Pride is, to me, i guess the opportunity to...
00:39:57
Speaker
m I guess I see pride centering certain voices. And so when I think beyond pride, i think of decentering those voices and really highlighting others too.
00:40:09
Speaker
But I guess it's also beyond this idea of just being proud, right, of our identity and really just safe and able to live our lives fully, right?
00:40:24
Speaker
I've spoken about this before and in in my work. Visibility can only do so much. And in fact, many times, visibility just puts us in danger, especially as trans people.
00:40:37
Speaker
And so while these expressions of pride are like, incredible and necessary, right, because they do offer hope, we can't end there, right? if we're going to make trans people visible, we also got to make sure they're safe.
00:40:50
Speaker
We also got to make sure that they're fed, that they have shelter, that they have family, and I mean that in every sense of the word, that they have security, financial and otherwise.
00:41:03
Speaker
That's, to me, what pride doesn't fully capture. And so beyond pride means looking at everything that makes the things that I mentioned possible.
00:41:16
Speaker
Amazing.
Closing and Social Media Sharing
00:41:18
Speaker
Absolutely amazing. And where can people follow you in your work, Rayard? You can always go to my website, which is rivercoelo.com, or you can follow me on social media. I am mostly active on Instagram, so that's, again, at rivercoelo, first and last.
00:41:38
Speaker
Or you can shoot me an email, honestly. it would be treated like snail mail because i move at my own pace, but you will get a response. Amazing.
00:41:50
Speaker
Well, thank you so much for being here. We're we're out of time for this podcast, but we would love to have you on again if you're willing and able and have time in between all your things, but we'd love to to catch up with you sometime soon. That would be wonderful. Thank you both for having me. It's been a joy Most definitely. And yeah, I just want to repeat the same thing. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And for those who are listening, as you can see, she is very personable. So she said you can email her directly. It might be slow, but it's coming.
00:42:24
Speaker
Email and social media. All right. I do. I am Maddie Bynum, your co-host for the afternoon, enjoying this queer journey with the beautiful river. You can contact me at Maddie Simone 737 on Instagram or Maddie Bynum on Facebook. I will admit I do not respond to everybody and it's no disrespect. I just, I don't respond. I'm a Leo.
00:42:49
Speaker
s me And I'm your co-host, Melody KG. You can find me at substack on at melodykg.substack.com or on Instagram at melodykg, M-E-L-O-D-I-E, K-G.
00:43:05
Speaker
Not on Facebook. Don't email me. Thank you. I love it. I love it. Power Beyond Pride is a project from A Great Idea, a queer-owned design and content agency. Learn more about them at agreatidea.com.
00:43:23
Speaker
This episode is produced by Shane Lucas. Maddie Bynum is the project developer. our editor is Jarrett Redding with support from Ian Wilson. And both me and Melody are part of the podcast host team here. It's a great group of people. And if you ever get a chance to listen to us, just hear everybody's personality and their own views. And if you also have questions, please send them to PowerBeyondFride.com so that we can answer them.
00:43:51
Speaker
Check out our new episodes each week. And we look forward to your change making with you next time. Thank you from all of us at Power Beyond Pride.