{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/dv1cj8848p/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Kleber Vera (Flame)  Oral History"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of Full Interview (2021)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eKleber Vera (Flame) talks about their experience from the beginning of the pandemic through the summer and winter 2020 and how the pandemic affected their social life, their mental health and their finances. Flame also talks about their projects such as Free Clothing Queens and giving free haircuts at the AIDS Center of Queens County to LGBT youth. They also discuss part of their childhood story.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFlame: My Story (2020)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFlame presents the story of their life, in honor of Pride Month, 2020.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Rights Statement"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source Metadata URI"]},"value":{"en":["http://digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org/search/browse/44149"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2021-01-13 (created)","2020-06-28 (created)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Type"]},"value":{"en":["Audio","Video"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Kleber Vera (Flame) (Interviewee)","Oscar Zamora Flores (Interviewer)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source"]},"value":{"en":["Interview conducted as part of the Queens Memory COVID-19 Project."]}},{"label":{"en":["Coverage"]},"value":{"en":["March - Winter 2020 (temporal)","Jackson Heights, Queens, NY (spatial)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["English"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of Full Interview (2021)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eKleber Vera (Flame) talks about their experience from the beginning of the pandemic through the summer and winter 2020 and how the pandemic affected their social life, their mental health and their finances. Flame also talks about their projects such as Free Clothing Queens and giving free haircuts at the AIDS Center of Queens County to LGBT youth. They also discuss part of their childhood story.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFlame: My Story (2020)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFlame presents the story of their life, in honor of Pride Month, 2020.\u003c/p\u003e"]},"requiredStatement":{"label":{"en":["Attribution"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA\u0026nbsp;Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},"provider":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/111/500/small/thumbnail.png?1618582121","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 2 - Vera_Kleber_radioedit.mp3"]},"duration":3228.34286,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/111/500/small/thumbnail.png?1618582121","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-queenslibrary.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/111/500/original/Vera_Kleber_radioedit.mp3?1618582046","type":"Audio","format":"audio/mpeg","duration":3228.34286,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Full Interview Transcript [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Okay. Hi, can I please have you say your full name and spell it, please?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=1.0,7.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: Yeah. You sure can. It's Kleber Vera K L E B E R. First name, last name V E R A.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=7.0,14.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Hmm. Okay. So this is Klever Vera with Oscar Zamora. We are recording on January 13th, 2021 for the Queens Memory COVID 2019 project. What are your pronouns?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=14.0,31.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: I prefer to use they/them.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=31.0,33.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Perfect. And how old are you?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=33.0,37.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: I am 39 years young.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=37.0,40.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Oh, Good. \n[Laughs] Where Queens, do you live?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=40.0,44.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: In Jackson Heights.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=44.0,46.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Jackson Height. And where do you mainly work?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=46.0,49.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: Well, right now I'm unemployed, but I worked as a hairstylist for 20 years professionally, and then I also picked up, so I work with ACQC Woodside, the AIDS center of Queens County.\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=49.0,64.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Yeah.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=64.0,66.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: And I'm just doing, maybe some monthly, monthly gigs with the public library, reading stories to children.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=66.0,77.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/13","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Hmm. Thank you. Can I, -Do you remember, when was the first time that you heard about this COVID pandemic? What was your first experience with COVID?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=77.0,93.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/14","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: Oh, the first time I heard about it was in January, February, there was a buzz about it. I was actually out of town these two months. I was in Ecuador and the beginning of January, 2020, and then I was in Mexico and in February. So I wasn't really watching the news. I first heard about it on my newsfeed, on Facebook. People were talking about it.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=93.0,117.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/15","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Yeah. And when you came back to New York city, what was different?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=117.0,123.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/16","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: Well, I came back to New York city on February 10th if I remember correctly. And I definitely noticed that there, -even at landing on the airport- I noticed it was a lot of people just look very tense on the airplanes, flying back home, people were very tense. Everyone was disinfecting everything, and on February, I think it was 13th or so everything pretty much shut down as far as my work went, and that's when I started taking things more seriously. But before that, I didn't really know what was going on cause all I heard was a lot of different people's opinions on my newsfeed. People were saying that it was a hoax or it was like the flu. No, no big deal, nothing to worry about. And a lot of other people were really panicked about it. So I, I didn't have an opinion one way or another cause I just didn't didn't know.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=123.0,178.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/17","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Yeah.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=178.0,184.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/18","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: But yeah, the main thing I noticed is when everything is shut down, like I said, I was doing some work with ACQC and I was in training to become an HIV tester because ACQC does a lot of free HIV testing events.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=184.0,198.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/19","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Yeah.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=198.0,199.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/20","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: I was in training to do that in the department of health. So I landed on February 10th and then I think I took the 11th off just to kind of recuperate and just kind of get back in work mode, and then the 12th, I had an event at the department of health doing a training session and I definitely noticed things were tense. People were -we were given hand sanitizers for everybody to sanitize their hands, their workstations, et cetera. And then I had another event with them, a training session with them on the 13th, and I got an email saying that it was canceled and the department of health was being closed indefinitely, and that's when I really started taking it serious. I was like, Oh my God, what's going on? So it was, it was pretty intense.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=199.0,249.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/21","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Yeah. How was your experience when the lockdown first started?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=249.0,255.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/22","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: Well, once the department of health close, I knew that something serious was happening and you know, not being able to go to work. I spent a lot of time at home just watching the news and trying to stay really attentive and find out what is going on here. And it was, it was really tense after that. I actually put myself into self quarantine for the first, I think three, three months of it. So it was a really scary time because nobody really knew what was going on, except that there was something serious, dangerous, and potentially deadly going around. So it was very scary.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=255.0,292.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/23","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Okay. And how was your job affected?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=292.0,296.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/24","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: Well, the salons all closed down as everybody knows. I had a few clients reach out to me that wanted to get their hair done, but, I could have made house calls to do that for these clients. But honestly I was so scared and nervous. I, I refused to take on clients just because, like I said, I put myself in self quarantine and I just didn't feel comfortable or safe seeing anybody. So it was affected greatly. And like I said, ACQC also closed down the department of health closed down. Um, the library is closed down, so I wasn't able to do any gigs with that. So it was just like a complete shutdown of my life. It was really intense. So work was affected tremendously. I lost a lot of income and I'm still struggling with that right now.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=296.0,359.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/25","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Yeah. Um, so you said that you've been affected financially by the pandemic. How hard was it on you?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=359.0,369.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/26","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: It's been really difficult. Since, like I said, I was traveling a lot January, February, so obviously I wasn't working, I wasn't making an income and I was eating through my savings doing that. And then the first three months of lockdown, I had to dip into my savings to pay the bills, mortgage maintenance, everything else, credit cards for all the money I spent during my travels. And then I spent a couple of thousand dollars panic buying. Like a lot of people were doing at the time, you know, buying a lot of food, canned foods, toilet paper, all that stuff. So I ate through my savings very, very quickly. I would say within that first three months of lockdown. And then after that, like I said, there was still no income being made. So it's been a huge, huge struggle, but actually that's partly why I started getting involved in the food pantries. And I don't want to go too far ahead because I know that's probably going to be one of the questions you're going to ask, but that's actually what introduced me to food pantries and got me interested in doing mutual aid programs to try to, you know, get some help myself, but also be able to help other people that were in a similar situation as I was.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=369.0,442.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/27","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Yeah. yeah. Can you, can you talk more about your experience when you were panic buying?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=442.0,450.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/28","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: Sure. Well, uh, I know it's a little crazy, but I have three dogs. I mean, I'm sorry, four dogs and I love very much like my babies. So one of the first things I did was I went out and got like a year supply of dog food \n[laughs] to make sure my babies were okay. And then I just went out and just started stocking up on canned foods, dry foods. Um, there was talk that, you know, grocery stores were going to be running out of certain products and necessities. So yeah, just like everybody else and not like everybody, but like a lot of other people were doing at the time I was out there just shopping, shopping away, spending all my money, just to make sure that I could get through the next, however long it was going to take. We thought it was going to be a few months. Some people thought it was going to be a year or more. So I just wanted it to be prepared. So yeah, I just went out shopping and it was a pretty frantic vibe at the stores. I remember I was at -my friend, wanted to go to target to buy some supplies himself and he has a car. So that's when I was like, Oh my God, let me go with you because I can buy a ton of dog food and then actually be able to carry it home because I can't possibly carry it all home alone by myself \n[laughs]. So I took advantage of the car and yeah, we just went to town and bought a bunch of stuff and filled up the car and yeah, it was, it was wild.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=450.0,530.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/29","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Hmm. Yeah. So how is your family handling all of the pandemic?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=530.0,539.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/30","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: It's been really stressful on my family. My mother and my stepfather are seniors. So I've been really careful about not seeing them. I used to see my family once a week. They live in Yonkers and I would visit every weekend to spend time with my mom and my siblings and you know, other immediate family. And that's completely changed. I've been up to Yonkers, maybe two or three times in the last year instead of every week. And it's been stressful, not being able to see my family. It's been really hard. My mother's work was not affected. Luckily she takes care of small children with disabilities in a group home. So that was a necessity. You know, you can't shut that down. So she's been busy working. Luckily her job wasn't affected, but it's been really emotionally stressful, just not being able to have that connection with my family, like we used to.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=539.0,598.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/31","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Yeah, of course. What about -so since you don't see them and you have a lot of free time and you're not working, what are you keeping- What are you doing to keep yourself busy? What are you working on?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=598.0,612.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/32","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: On the beginning of the pandemic, the first three months or so of lockdown, I got really, really depressed and I wasn't doing much cause my life went from being so, so busy to just sitting around wondering, Oh my God, what's going to happen next \n[laughs]. So in order to keep myself mentally occupied and stimulated, I started working on my craft since I couldn't do hair in the salon anymore. I started working on wigs, designing wigs and selling them online to try to make a little extra money. Uh, I started making my own masks, with a little special flare and design. I like to think I have a pretty unique style. So I had fun making masks, selling those online to try to make a little money. I started doing weekly Facebook live events where I would just go on live and just try to talk to people about self care and you know, like try to stay in touch with my friends that way, find out what people were doing.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=612.0,668.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/33","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: I also I mentioned, I like to travel a lot. So pre-pandemic, I was traveling every two months. I was taking a, a little break from life and that's been really emotionally rewarding and stimulating, and of course that wasn't able to happen anymore. So when I started feeling a little safer about going outside again, after the first three months, I started just hopping on a bus and just taking it wherever it would take me and just exploring other neighborhoods in Queens to get rid of my or to appease my wanderlust. And it was really incredible to think that, you know, I've been living in Queens for 15 years and there's so many parts of Queens that I haven't even seen just because I was usually so busy going to work, going home, going to work, going home. So that's actually a little nice just exploring my area a little bit more.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=668.0,716.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/34","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: And then I discovered the food pantry out of necessity really. Cause I needed to start getting food. I couldn't afford to pay my bills, let alone buy food for myself and feed myself. So I started going to food pantries. I heard of this LGBT food pantry called LOVEWINS food pantry. And I thought it was a wonderful idea. So I went there to get food and I fell in love with the atmosphere, with the LGBT representation. And I started volunteering with them, literally the next week I just showed up and said, put me to work. You know, I want to help, I want to do something. And I've been doing that since then. That was back in, I think it was June-ish. If I'm not mistaken around pride. And I really loved the idea of being able to help people getting rewarded with food to feed myself.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=716.0,771.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/35","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: And I started seeking out other ways that I could help the community. I really miss doing hair. So I started doing hair at Travers park in Jackson Heights either for free or by donations for other people like me who were affected financially by COVID and couldn't afford to get their hair done. I was doing that, and then through that and posting pictures and videos of myself doing that someone reached out to me from New York One and said they wanted to do a new story about that because I thought it was a really wonderful idea. And I did that, but I also wanted to check out the new source and the person that was going to be covering the story. So I went on their page and I saw that they were doing a lot of stories about mutual aid and people coming together.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=771.0,819.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/36","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: And through that, I discovered a free clothing drive in Sunnyside. So I thought that was a wonderful idea. I started volunteering there as well, and that was really fun. And unfortunately that only lasted through the end of summer because the church that was lending us the space to do these weekly events, wasn't able to allow us to use that space anymore because they started reopening and needed the space for other things they were doing. So I thought to myself, you know, maybe I can start my own clothing drive. And, I was so inspired by LOVEWINS food pantry, having that LGBT representation, and I want it to have a clothing drive that had a similar LGBT representation and me being a non-binary person, a drag queen. I thought it'd be really fun to kind of do these weekly events in drag. So I could be out there, you know, showing LGBT representation and still being able to help the community, and honestly, since then, I've just been really busy. I still haven't really been working. Haven't been making an income, but I've been keeping myself very, very busy doing that. And at the very least it's just been really emotionally rewarding. So that's where I'm at now here.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=819.0,891.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/37","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: That's good. So tell me, aside from the Queen's free clothing are there any more projects that you're working on?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=891.0,904.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/38","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: Yeah, so there's free clothing Queens. There's LOVEWINS food pantry, ACQC is opened up again, but I haven't been able to start working with them as far as like training to become an HIV tester because everything is minimalized. Now, they still do the free HIV testing, but it's done by appointment only. And they're not taking nearly as many people as they were pre COVID because of safety measures. They don't want to have that many people in the building, et cetera, but through ACQC, AIDS Center of Queens County, I started also doing these weekly -I mentioned I was doing these weekly Facebook live events where I would talk to people about self care and you know, how we can all help each other. But we also started doing zoom meetups every Monday at 6:30, and that's been really fun because it's helped keep the LGBT community that was attending ACQC prior to COVID, help us keep us all together and still have that sense of community. So yeah, I've been keeping myself pretty busy.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=904.0,964.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/39","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Yeah. So you talk about mental health, how was your mental health affected by the pandemic?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=964.0,974.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/40","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: It's been affected tremendously. I went through a lot of depression in the beginning of this, and then once I started getting really busy with these side projects, these mutual aid projects, like I said, that's been really emotionally rewarding, but then when the winter hit, we have this new strain, that's been stressing people out, with the cold weather. I haven't been quite as active as I was before and I haven't been leaving the house as much because of that. So I'm kind of back to, you know, back to the start, I guess, you know, dealing with depression, anxiety. I see there's no signs of things getting back to normal for me; financially, relationship wise, haven't really been able to see my family and friends still, and it's still taking a toll, but you know, I got through it the first time I'll get through it the second time. If there's a third and fourth time, I'll get through that as well. Just try to stay positive. But I would say definitely I've been very affected emotionally by this.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=974.0,1040.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/41","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Yeah. Also, how helpful do you think technology has been during the pandemic?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=1040.0,1048.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/42","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: Personally, speaking for me, it's been really helpful because I've been able to stay in touch with friends and family that way. And like I said, I've been doing the weekly zoom meetups and weekly Facebook live meetups. It's been very helpful. Absolutely. It has helped me keep in touch with people. It's helped me be able to promote the wigs and the masks that I've been making to try to make some money on the side, if it wasn't for that, Oh my God I think I'd be going crazy \n[laughs]. So for me, it's helped a lot, but at the same time, you know what, there's also another side to the coin because there has been a lot of misinformation spread, which has, I think really divided people, divided the country, divided the world, even as far as where people stand on COVID, politics, et cetera. So I guess it's been it's been a bittersweet, I guess in some ways it's helped in some ways, maybe not so much.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=1048.0,1106.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/43","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Yeah. So let's talk more about that. How do you think society as a whole, like how do you think society and politics were affected by the pandemic?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=1106.0,1122.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/44","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: How do I think? Well, society just came to for a lot of us came to a complete shutdown. So that's been really tough. Um, as far as political, I mean, as you know, we are in such a huge divide right now. I think a lot of that has been accredited to the misinformation that's been spread on social media. So I think it's definitely affected people tremendously. And that's actually one of my bigger stresses right now, aside from dealing with loss of income aside with dealing with depression, just from, you know, my seasonal depression that I go through in the winter, having to be locked down, not be able to travel anymore, not being able to see my family, you know, all the political turmoil that's been going on now just kind of adds fuel to the fire. So it's been one of the most stressful periods of my life, I would say, and I've gone through a lot of them, but this has been a tough one, but again, you know, I'm trying to stay positive and trying to persevere and just trying to do everything I can and just kind of live one day at a time.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=1122.0,1190.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/45","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Yeah. Um, so we were talking about COVID, I'm wondering if anybody that, you know, anybody that you're close to has contracted the virus and what was your reaction when you heard that somebody, you know-?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=1190.0,1207.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/46","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: Yeah. I mean, I think at this point, a lot of people know, at least one or two people that have contracted it, I I've known several and I actually had a few family members pass away: two family members passed away from it in Ecuador, elderly family members. And that's, that was obviously stressful. I've seen my friends on my Facebook feed posts. Some of them knew several people, 9, 10, 11, 12 people that got COVID or that passed away. So yeah, I feel my friends definitely have had it. I might have had it as well. I tested positive for the antibodies. Luckily, I wasn't too -my health wasn't too affected by that, but yeah. I mean, it's, it's really hard for me to hear people that still deny it and think that it's not real. I've seen it. I've felt it, I've lived it, you know, I live in Jackson Heights, just a few blocks from Elmhurst hospital in the first three months of lockdown. All I could hear out my window, literally 24/7 was the sirens of the ambulances coming off the BQE going into the hospital. So it's been really, really intense for me. I've definitely felt it and seen the change that has occurred so very stressful times.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=1207.0,1285.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/47","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Yeah. So tell me a little bit more, do you remember like what it was like, what did you feel when you had COVID?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=1285.0,1293.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/48","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: So in the beginning of my quarantine, the first three months, so March, April, May, I did start experiencing sore throat and cough, but I didn't want to panic about it and say, Oh my God, you know, I have COVID, I'm going to die. I was thinking maybe that has something to do with the fact that, you know, I'm stressed out and literally just hanging out from my window chain smoking all day, I picked up smoking again and I started smoking a lot more than I used to as I guess like a stress coping mechanism, not the best option, but that was it. So I thought maybe it was from that, and around that same time period, I also started experiencing fatigue, body aches and pains, which again, now we know is typical to COVID symptoms. And again, I didn't want to stress about it and, you know, psych myself out thinking it was COVID.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=1293.0,1349.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/49","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: So I thought maybe that had something to do with the fact that I've just been sitting around the house doing nothing, and I attributed to lack of exercise, depression, et cetera. So I really didn't think much of it, and yeah, it was like a two week or so two and a half week period that I experienced these symptoms, and then fast forward a few months later when I finally did get tested, I tested negative for COVID thankfully, but they said I had the antibodies, which is likely that I already had it, but till this day, I don't really know because I'm hearing information that even when you test for the antibodies, it's not 100% positive. So again, I could have had it or I could have just been, like I said, chain smoking and, you know, fatigue just from sitting around the house, doing nothing for days on end which my body is not accustomed to, I'm normally a very, very active person. So yeah, it remains a mystery, but it's probably likely that I did have it.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=1349.0,1406.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/50","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Okay. Yeah, you were talking about outside hearing like sirens and helicopters as well. So can you talk a little bit more of how like the streets change, like your home, the streets, your neighborhood, because of COVID.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=1406.0,1427.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/51","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: Sure. Yeah. I don't recall hearing helicopters, but sirens definitely 24/7 for about three months, and then I noticed little by little, it started dying down. I would still hear them, but not as frequently then I didn't really hear them much anymore, but that created a lot of stress for me. As far as the streets, I remember I would only go outside to go food shopping, and you definitely noticed a vibe of just tension in the air. You know, people were very scared. People don't want to be near each other at the supermarkets. People were trying to avoid each other, but at the same time, like sometimes fighting over certain products that \n[laughs] they wanted to buy. I saw an incident and I think it was a Foodtown in Jackson Heights where this lady didn't want to wear a mask and the manager was called and she's coughing on people, and she was asked to leave and it was just crazy, like a lot of craziness has been going on, but definitely tension in the air. You know, I've seen it slowly precipitate, like get back to normal. I've seen people are now everybody's wearing a mask. I remember at the beginning of this, I was one of the few people wearing a mask when I would go outside, and now I feel like a lot of people are doing it, which makes me really happy, cause I mean, it's such an easy thing to do to protect your friends and neighbors. So why not? But it's been a lot of tension in the air. That's for sure. That's the only way I can describe it. It's been very tense moments.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=1427.0,1523.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/52","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Yeah, and what about the changes that you saw like in public places such as like parks?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=1523.0,1533.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/53","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: Well, I -actually- I can't really vouch for before COVID because when -before COVID I was always busy working or traveling- but after COVID, the public park kind of became this place to just go and meet up with people. I used to have people over all the time. I would host dinner parties, movie nights. I love cooking for my friends, all that went to a standstill because I didn't want to have people over my house for awhile. And yeah, the public park is kind of became a space to meet people. So I started seeing -for the first time- community, which was actually kinda nice, you know, I would see people going out, of course, people were wearing masks and being careful not to be too crowded and be all up in each other's spaces, but it was just nice to see people out there trying to have some sense of normalcy trying to live their lives. So that was nice. As far as other public spaces like bars and nightlife. I was really into the Jackson Heights bar nightlife scene, especially the LGBT bar nightlife scene. I would go out pretty frequently and that's been really strange. I went out once \n[coughs] excuse me. I went out once to go to a bar during the pandemic and it was just really strange, you know, having it be all outdoors now, it kind of felt like, like Mardi Gras, like New Orleans, you know, it was very interesting. Yeah, it's changed so much.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=1533.0,1627.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/54","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Yeah. So talk a little bit more about that like the bar scene. How much the like dining scene, the bar scene has changed compared to before? Like, do you like it more? Do you like it less? What are your opinions on that?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=1627.0,1646.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/55","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: Everything has its pros and cons. I like that the bar scenes has moved outdoors because, excuse me, obviously it's just safer, but I obviously miss being indoors, I miss being in the music and the dark lit, you know, ambiance of the bars. I didn't really enjoy it so much as an outdoor scene, especially now in the winter, no way, which is why I only went once. The restaurant scene, I like that it's outdoors. I've always liked open air, you know, al fresco dining, but it's been a little difficult, especially on Roosevelt. You know, you have the train or the subway overhead. It's very loud and Roosevelt still is a very, very busy street even after COVID, you know, it's, I think it's always remained a pretty busy area. So it's been, it's been interesting bittersweet. I, -because- I've been out of work, I haven't really been able to afford to do a lot of outdoor dining, but every now and then I do go out and treat myself just to get some sense of normalcy, and it's nice to have that option. I've missed the indoor option, but obviously I don't feel safe or comfortable dining indoors right now, anyway, so yeah, I mean, it is what it is \n[laughs]. It is what it is, but I'm sure everyone has different opinions on that. I know some people might not like the idea of outdoor dining. Some people really love it. I'm kind of indifferent. I'm just glad that there's an option out there. If you do want to go out and have something different than, you know, pantry food, like all I ever eat at home \n[laughs]. So it's, it's just nice to have that option and I'll take the outdoor dining for sure.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=1646.0,1748.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/56","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Nice. Also, now can we talk about like towards the middle of the pandemic, do you remember the lockdown when it started easing down?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=1748.0,1759.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/57","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: Yeah, so I'm not sure when the lockdowns started easing for everybody else, but I know for myself, I started easing my own personal restrictions. Honestly, it all happened when the protest started for George Floyd, it was like a lot of people. I was very upset and outraged about that and I felt compelled to be out there marching on the streets for justice. And I remember the first time, the very first protest I went to here in Jackson Heights. It was the first time in months that I was around so many people in one space, even though everyone was masked, then everyone was socially distant, -as much as possible- but it was just still very surreal to going from not seeing anybody except for, you know, the grocery stores to being in a crowded area. So that was very weird, but at the same time, despite that it was horrible situations and horrible circumstances that got me out there, it also made me realize that it is possible to be outdoors as long as you wear masks and remain distant to still be safe.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=1759.0,1834.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/58","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: So that kind of opened up a world of possibilities for me. So aside from marching to all the protest, I started going out on my own a little more, like I said, going to parks, I started riding the buses, like I mentioned earlier, I started exploring the neighborhood and yeah, I'm not sure if that would've happened as soon as it did, if it wasn't for the protest, but I might've still been in lockdown, you know, in self quarantine, but yeah, that opened up a door of possibilities. I started feeling more safe and comfortable outdoor, and then, you know, that led me to doing the volunteer work that I do, which obviously is all outdoors as well. So yeah, again, very bittersweet situation, just like everything post COVID everything has had has its pros and cons and very weird, very weird times.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=1834.0,1883.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/59","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Yeah. Um, so you say that you volunteer at a lot of organizations food drives and pantries and clothing drives. Can you talk more, a little bit more about what you're working on right now, personally?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=1883.0,1900.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/60","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: Yeah, absolutely. I'll talk about all of them individually. So the first organization that I started volunteering with was LOVEWINS food pantry. This was when they first started around back in May or June. I remember seeing something on Facebook posted about an LGBT food pantry, and I thought it was a great idea. I went, I got some food and I noticed the ambiance. I noticed trans women of color being represented and other members of the LGBT community represented. And I thought it was so wonderful, not just that they were giving free food away because that was my main reason for going, but I just really, something really resonated in me seeing that representation and I wanted to get involved. So I got involved with them and I started going once a week, almost every week since then. And it's been really wonderful, just getting to meet my neighbors, be able to help them see people, you know, appreciate us as LGBT people. Thank us, you know, saying things like \"God bless you\", people wishing us well. Jackson Heights has always been a pretty LGBTQ friendly neighborhood, but obviously there's still some homophobia transphobia that lies, and I think that doing this food pantry, being there in a position where I can go out in drag dressed, you know, like, you know, dressed like in my, in my costumes, and being able to help the community really kind of opened up the community's eyes to, you know, maybe these aren't bad people after all, you know, it's nice to see them enjoying our help. And,I think people see us in a different light now than they did before. Whereas before they might've just have seen us as a nightlife people, you know, people that walk the streets at night, going from one bar to the other, to one club to the other, now they see us in daylight helping out the community.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=1900.0,2018.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/61","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: And that's been really wonderful to be able to be a part of that. Also with Free Clothing Queens, like I said, I started Free Clothing Queens because the other organization where I was volunteering doing a free clothing drive closed down, and I love the idea of LOVEWINS food pantry with the LGBT representation. I wanted to combine the two. So with the help of a few other volunteers from LOVEWINS food pantry, I created this event and that's also been wonderful going out once a week during the day on weekends, in full drag, giving out free clothing to the community, organizing these events, helping people out. It's been very, very rewarding doing that, and it's been really nice to see it grow. You know, it went from being, you know, just like three or four volunteers. Now, I think we have like 10 regular volunteers and a few other people that come once in a while to help. So it's really been nice to see that grow, and to see people really appreciate the fact that we're out there giving clothes, because there's obviously still very much a necessity for that. So I really look forward to seeing what else Free Clothing Queens has in store for the community. We launched a fundraiser. So we have these fundraising efforts to try to raise money so that we can rent storage space because there's a lot of people that want to donate clothes and we just don't have the capacity to store them. We also want to have money for transportation to get from one event to another because we're all locals and we do the events, you know, everything is on foot. So we carry stuff. I have little shopping cart where I carry clothes and tables and racks from one event to another. And it'd be nice to have access to vehicles to be able to do that. So that's currently in the works with Free Clothing Queens just so we can expand and serve other communities. Most of our events have taken, like I said, locally here in Jackson Heights. We've done events in Woodside, we've done events in Corona, and unfortunately, because lack of transportation, we haven't been able to hit other neighborhoods, but I would like to go to Jamaica, the Rockaways, you know, other places that were also really hit by COVID so that we can help out these communities that are in need communities that like me also lost income and still need to provide their family, their children with clothing, you know, especially in the wintertime coats are really expensive. So it's really nice for me to be able to go to up to a family while in drag and saying \"here here's some free clothing for you and your kids\" and having them receive that and appreciate that.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=2018.0,2175.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/62","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: And again, see that LGBT people are out there also wanting to help just like anybody else. So, that's what I have going on with Free Clothing Queens. Also with ACQC, like I said, I have not been able to continue my training with them to become an HIV tester. That's kind of in limbo right now. I don't know if that's still going to continue, what's going to happen with that, but I have been coordinating with them to still try to help out. They also have a food pantry that they do, and again, this is ACQC -AIDS center of Queens County Woodside- in 6207 Woodside Avenue. Every Tuesday and Thursday, they have a food pantry as well. Now they had this before COVID, but it was only once a week and then after COVID they started doing it twice a week to try to help the community more. And that is at 9:30 AM every Tuesday, Thursday. So I've been volunteering with them, helping with them, do that as well. Again, just to keep myself busy and occupied and helping the community. I have started doing weekly zoom meetups with them to keep the community -the LGBT community- together because before COVID, we used to have weekly meetups in person at the office, ACQC would provide dinner. They would provide drinks non-alcoholic of course, and we would have movie nights, sport game nights. Sometimes they would pay for us to all go say bowling, billiards, et cetera. The idea was always just based on building community. And of course since COVID happened, we haven't been able to do that. We haven't been able to open the spaces so much and have so many people under one roof. So again, this is where the zoom meetings come. So I cohost a Zoom meet up every Monday, 6:30 PM alongside JC who's the main coordinator of the events.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=2175.0,2283.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/63","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: And it's been really good to get all the guys that were involved before COVID to get us all doing stuff together again, but it's also been nice to open it up to other people that could not have attended the event in person before I have invited my LGBT friends from all over the world, Europe, Africa, from all over. And it's been really nice to welcome them into this Zoom space to be part of it where obviously they could not have\n[laughs], they could not have come in person before. So it's been very nice. I've been keeping myself very busy and just trying to keep building community. And feel free to stop me at any time, cause I could talk, I could just keep going and going and going.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=2283.0,2323.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/64","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: No, no, no, no, no. I think it's very important to, to know about everything that you're doing for the community because yeah. A lot of people don't realize that, you know, there's a lot of people like doing a lot for the community.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=2323.0,2338.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/65","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: Sure. Yeah. Well, and that's just three of the things. Another thing, like I said, at the beginning of the pandemic, I started doing hair at the park for either free or donation-based or people in need. So I started advertising that through my Facebook or through word of mouth, just letting people know, and that's been really nice. Another thing that I've been able to do to help the community and still keep myself busy and working and practicing my craft, even though I can't be in the salon right now, you know, just to be able to do that. So that's been really, really rewarding and yeah, just, just keeping myself busy. So yeah, I've been doing a lot I haven't been able to go to the libraries to read stories to children in drag, like I used to do, but again, that's something I love to do. I, I've gone to Travers park and gathered a group of friends together that have small kids and have done live readings to children in the park in drag. Cause I think that's very important to continue doing that as well just to teach kids empathy and understanding and love and talk about, you know, anti-bullying and issues like that. So literally everything that I did pre COVID, I started doing again on my own smaller scale, just not really been able to get paid for it, but it's still, you know, things that I think are important for, for the community. And I just want to keep doing it and I just can't wait to get to the point where I can start doing it again for a living because the bill is still keeping coming \n[laughs].\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=2338.0,2430.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/66","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Yeah, of course. Um, I think it's very interesting and very important for you to talk about why do you think it's important for us? Like of course there's clothing drives, right? But you are very focused on the LGBTQ aspect of the clothing drive and also the LOVEWINS food pantry is also like LGBTQ focused.: Why do you think is important to bring into light or, you know, make sure that the LGBTQ is represented?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=2430.0,2474.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/67","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: I'm going to get a bit personal and a bit candid with you. You can use this material or not, but as a child growing up a self-aware queer person, I always knew I've known since I was- as far as I can remember, to be honest. My first boy crush, I was five years old in kindergarten, et cetera. And I had a lot of backlash from family, friends, et cetera. I came out when I was in fifth grade to a handful of friends, and then from the summer between sixth and seventh grade, I came out to more friends and then I entered junior high school where I was immediately from the first day of school outed to everybody else. So starting a new school as a freshman with bigger tougher kids. You know, I had a really tough time. I was bullied terribly for being openly queer and honest. And I really struggled. I couldn't really seek help from my parents or immediate family because I knew that at the time they were very homophobic and completely not supportive. I tried to seek help from guidance counselors in the school and they would tell me things like, \"well, you know, you're bringing this onto yourself. Why do you have to be so different? Why do you have to be so weird? You shouldn't be coloring your hair. You shouldn't be wearing hearings. You shouldn't dress like that\". So I couldn't, -I didn't have help from friends, family from guidance counselors. I remember I had to stop riding the school bus to school because people would bully me on the school bus. They would throw things at me. They would yell names like freaking faggot at me and the bus driver actually pulled over and kicked me off the bus because I was a distraction to him driving because people were bullying me.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=2474.0,2581.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/68","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: It wasn't the bully's fault. It was my fault because I was the weird kid and I had to start walking to school. And then when I would walk to school, people on the street would throw rocks at me with throw bottles at me. So yeah, I was bullied tremendously and I, I did have a suicide attempt on my 13th birthday because I just felt like the whole world was against me just for simply living my truth and being who I am, and that was a struggle. Luckily I survived the suicide attempt and I got placed in a group home for emotionally disturbed kids. And yeah, I really, really needed a lot of help after that. I got discharged and I still remain in counseling. My counselor suggested an LGBT -what is it like an LGBT youth group? I started attending that, that helped me tremendously just meeting other kids like myself, realizing that I wasn't alone, that I wasn't a freak that I wasn't a weirdo. You know, that there are other people like me. I eventually dropped out of junior high school because the bullying got so bad. Not only was I fearful for my life, but I just could not concentrate on my schoolwork because I was literally in constant fear, -and it wasn't paranoia- it was a very real fear of being physically harmed between classes, you know, just walking through the hallways or even just getting to school for me was an issue, cause like I said, people would throw rocks and bottles at me. So I dropped out and my counselor introduced me to an LGBT high school called the Harvey Milk school in Manhattan, and with a little reluctance, my parents allowed me to go there because it was either that or nothing, cause I just did not -I refuse to go back to school because I was tormented on a daily basis. And just having that LGBT community, just meeting other people like me being around other people like me, being validated, being known, people telling me, you know, \"your life matters. You're important. You're a contributing member of society\" that helped me tremendously, which is why as an adult, I've become so passionate about, you know, just giving back to the community, what I received as a child, because I know how hard it can be for a lot of LGBTQ+ people out there. So honestly that is my main focus, like even before the pandemic, I've always been very active in LGBT community and just trying to affirm people, letting people know that they're valid and creating spaces where LGBT people can feel comfortable and be allowed to just be themselves, because my experience when all this was going on, this was, you know, 30 years ago and things definitely have gotten better, but nowhere near where they should be, there's still so much discrimination. There's still, you know, LGBTQ+ plus people, especially trans women that are getting killed on a regular basis. We live in a really cruel world, unfortunately. So it's nice to just be able to build community and meet other people like you and just find a place where you feel that you belong and are welcome. So yeah, that's my whole drive behind doing this community work cause I do want to help my community, but why I feel it's so important to have that LGBT representation. So that's, that's that.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=2581.0,2777.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/69","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Yeah. Thank you very much for sharing that. Yeah. I think it's very important to like, know that a lot of LGBTQ people, like we struggle so much and yet we're really kindhearted and we want to give back.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=2777.0,2793.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/70","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: Of course. Yeah.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=2793.0,2797.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/71","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Um, thank you very, very, very much for sharing that. Is there anything else that you would like to share about your projects or COVID?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=2797.0,2811.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/72","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: Yeah, sure. Okay. Well, \n[coughs] excuse me. So like I said, back to what I was doing with LOVEWINS food pantry, if anybody needs any free food, it is LGBT run for LGBT people, but no one is turned away. So anybody can come receive free food. That is every Friday at 11:30 AM at Friend's Tavern, which is a local gay bar here in Jackson Heights. It's on the corner of Roosevelt Avenue and 78th street. So please go get free food. If you want to support the community, they take monetary donations. You can check out the website, lovewinsfoodpantry.com. Sometimes people want to come and drop off canned foods, et cetera. So if you want to donate food, you can do that as well. Free Clothing Queens. We also have a fundraiser. If you want to donate to us, everything is on our Facebook, Instagram, and we now have a Twitter account. You can donate to Venmo Kleber-Vera-1 or PayPal, FlameVeraNYC@yahoo.com, just write donation in the box. If you want to donate clothes, we have a new process to donate clothes. It's all done by appointment, and there is a form to fill out online or any of our social medias, you can find it week to week. Every week we update it. We're doing by appointment only, only to avoid receiving too many donations and then not having a place to store it, which is why we have the fundraiser to be able to get a storage space. If you need free clothes again, this is LGBT run for LGBT people, but we do not discriminate so anybody can come straight, cis, everybody is welcome. So please come get free clothes. We don't limit the amount of clothes that you can get, and we don't judge. A lot of times we have families that are in need, but they also want to take some clothes to bring home or to send to their families, and you know, their countries of origin, that's fine as well. So please do that. ACQC like I said, they have their food pantry on Tuesdays, Thursdays. They don't need donations. They're not taking donations, but they're always happy to help provide the community with free food. There is also the zoom meetups that I mentioned on Mondays, anybody LGBT that wants to join friends and allies also welcome just to build community. There's also free services like free HIV testing, free prep, free pep, they offer free job placement and housing for people living with HIV, they provide mental health care, free HIV medication, and so many other services. I can't even think of them all because there's so much, I know ACQC has also partnered with covenant house, which is a home for, I believe it's homeless, LGBT kids.\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=2811.0,2988.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/73","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: We, we do things with them. Like for instance, I was providing them once a week with free haircuts at ACQC for the homeless LGBT teenagers. That's been really also rewarding for me to do. I have friends that run other food pantries. My friend Sylvia Garces runs a once a month food pantry at St. Mark's church, which is on 82nd street and 34th Avenue. That's the first Saturday of every month from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM. So if you want to go get free food there, you can do that, if you want to donate, they take food donations all week, I'm sorry, all month, dry food, canned food, et cetera, so that they can distribute. And yeah, there are so many, so many organizations out there providing free help for the community. So the people that need it. So, you know, don't be shy about taking, if you need, please come take clothes, food, mental health, whatever you need, the services are out there. So please take advantage of that. Don't feel shy. You know, at first I was one of the people that I didn't want to go to a food drive because I thought to myself, well, you know, \"maybe there's other people that are struggling more than I am people that need it more than I do\" and my friends woke me up to that and they're like, well, you can't, you know, \"you need it to, you're out of work. You need to survive. You need food and you can't eat through your entire life savings either\", \n[laughs] which I ended up almost doing because there's still bills to pay, and there's still, you know, so many things that you need money for. So that's one thing that'll kind of lighten your load a little bit and relieve a little bit of stress, you know, financially, et cetera, take advantage of these programs, just go and, and do them, and yeah.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=2988.0,3092.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/74","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: If there's any, if there's any other resources that you need, follow these pages on Facebook, on Instagram, on Twitter, because not only do we promote what we're doing, but we promote other programs that other people are doing because we're not just trying to keep all the attention to ourselves. You know, we want to help people have unlimited resources from everyone else. So it's really is mutual aid. We all promote for each other. We all help each other out. This is not a competition. You know, it's not about, who's better at distributing and providing for the community. No, we're all in this together. We all want to help each other. We do -one of my friends from lLOVEWINS food pantry, for instance- they run the community fridges, which is also a wonderful program, and it surprises me how many people don't know about it. So the community fridge, there's a few locations. I know there's one in Corona. There's one in Jackson Heights that is on -Rose I'm sorry. No- Northern Boulevard and 81st street. There's one on Woodside Avenue on 77th street, and these are, like I said, community fridges, they're on the sidewalk. You can just go up and take food if you like. If you have excess food, like sometimes from working at the food pantry is I do take food home. Sometimes I have more food than I need. So I take them to the community fridges, just so anybody else who needs them can take them. These resources are there. So yeah. Follow them all on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter if you have the finances and you are able to support financially, please do that. If you're someone in need, please take advantage of them. Come get free food, free clothes, anything you need. And yeah, that's about it. So I hope everybody gets through this well and happy and sane. \n[Laughs]. I know that's what I'm trying to do. Just kind of get through this and, Oscar I really appreciate you doing this project because I think it's really going to help people find out about the resources that are out there they might have not have known about before. So yeah, just keep up the good work and thank you so much for, including me in your interview. I'm happy to help. I hope I have been able to help and that's it. So thank you.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=3092.0,3219.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/75","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nOscar Zamora Flores: Perfect. Thank you very much for agreeing to this interview.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=3219.0,3222.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/transcript/24806/annotation/76","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nKleber Vera: You're very welcome Oscar. I look forward to seeing the end result and sharing it everywhere.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=3222.0,3228.34286"}]},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/annotation_set/458","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Notes from the interviewee [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500/annotation_set/458/annotation/77","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eInterviewee Note: It was March, not February.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111500#t=199.0,249.0"}]}]},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111504","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 2 of 2 - my_story_.mov"]},"duration":459.71833,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/111/504/small/my_story_.mov_1618600843.jpg?1618586444","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111504/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111504/content/2/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-queenslibrary.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/111/504/original/my_story_.mov?1618586442","type":"Video","format":"video/mp4","duration":459.71833,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/39882/file/111504","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[]}]}