Famous transgender actress Rogéria dies in Rio

Brazilian actress Rogéria died Monday in Rio de Janeiro after complications arising from a urinary infection. Born Astolfo Barroso Pinto in the municipality of Cantagalo, in Rio de Janeiro state, Rogéria was among the oldest and most famous Brazilian transvestites. At the age of 74, she was still fully active as a performer and a soap opera actress.

As Astolfo, an openly homosexual young man, Rogéria worked as a makeup artists until 1964, when she won a Carnival drag contest under the name Rogéria. After the award she debuted on the stage with the same name at Galeria Alaska, an LGBT haunt in Copacabana.

Over the course of her career, she took part in a large number of performances, plays, and TV shows. On the stage, she was awarded the Mambembe Trophy in 1979 for her performance alongside Grande Otelo. Rogéria also worked in 11 films and a series of Brazilian soap operas such as Tieta, Paraíso Tropical, and, more recently, Força do Querer.

Leandra Leal, who produced the film Divine Divas, on Brazil’s first transgender actresses, which had Rogéria as one of its protagonists, believes she taught a great deal about tolerance and respect for diversity to Brazilian society.

“She was always revolutionary. There’s a whole generation of people who owes a lot to her, as she really paved the way for them. There’s a beautiful phrase Rogéria used to say: ‘I don’t carry a flag, I am the flag.’”

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira