Good day, beloved community. At the encouragement of my friends and community members, I am vulnerably reaching out to ask for your help in raising the funds so I can attend and perform at the LA Queer Weekender in March. Being able to perform alongside other members of Morir Soñando would mean everything to me. This past year has been extraordinarily difficult for me but through it all dance has remained a bright enduring spot in my life. Being able to perform alongside my cherished friends and mentors at In Lak’ech would mean the world to me.

A bit more about me for those that may not know my full story:

I am Initial Sloth, known by many of you as Sloth. I’m a Nicaraguan, trans non-binary & genderfluid queer individual. My preferred pronouns are they/them, but I’m okay with he or she if my expression speaks to it. I am currently staff at In Lak’ech Dance Academy, where I do volunteer work and train in afro-latin dance. I am also a soprano in the La Peña Community Chorus of the La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley.

In 2020, like so many beloved queer and trans folks navigated a pandemic with a thoughtless government, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition that became so severe I needed to leave university where I had been studying pure mathematics. As my symptoms increased (neurological pain, arthritis, inflammation and daily pain), I was confronted with a deep yearning to find my people and find some way to reclaim my body.

And found my people I did in 2024 when I had the privilege of performing at QALDF that year and meeting my now beloved mentors Angélica Medina & Jahaira Fajardo, who have been incredible forces in my life. When I met them, I was unable to afford their classes but to them, it was no matter. They offered me a scholarship to attend with them and have been by my side ever since. Dancing with In Lak’ech has given me so much life affirming joy.

In this last year, I’ve been ensuring a very severe set back in my mental health which required intensive treatment and a period of hospitalization. During this, I have been blessed with reminders that I am loved and cared for by the In Lak’ech community and beyond. Sometimes I don’t understand why the Universe pours so much love into my life. My past self would believe I don’t deserve it but today I can recognize that just as I believe others deserve to live regardless of their “contribution to society” so do I!

So here I am, seeking your support to keep my journey going. I’m part of Morir Soñando, a dance project by Jahaira Fajardo which celebrates and explores masculinity. This team showed me that I have discipline and that I am capable & dedicated. While you read this, these may just be words to you, but as a chronically self-condeming neuro-divergent individual, they weren’t words that I would use to describe myself. So, you see, my participation in Morir Soñando is a love letter to myself, my community, my mentors, my colleagues, my peers, and to all those who will one day be my students. In dance I have found strength and as a bonus, pain relief!

I am seeking financial assistance to aid me in attending the LA Queer Weekender. If I can raise $1,952 I can attend and perform with my beloved community and if I raise $2,281 I can have a spacious experience while I am there and also have a little extra cushion for my travel. Anything I raise over $2,500 I plan to donate to my home studio so that it can be used in service of other team members experiencing financial hardship. You’ll see in my Projected Travel Cost that in my budget I included a lodging stay for one extra day before the festival, and this is to allow my body to rest and recover, as it takes a lot out of me to travel. Note: I already raised $200 through donations sent via Venmo.

Are you able to donate? Any dollar helps! And of course, if you can’t I truly understand–every share helps! Thank you so much for listening to my story.