Has Anything Changed in Puerto Rico Since Jorge Steven's Murder?

Today marks the second anniversary of Puerto Rican gay teenager Jorge Steven López Mercado’s brutal murder.

Juan José Martínez Matos stabbed Jorge Steven López Mercado to death on Nov. 13, 2009, before he decapitated, dismembered and partially burned his body. López’s remains were found dumped along a remote roadside near Cayey the next day.

López’s gruesome murder sent shockwaves across Puerto Rico and beyond—singers Ricky Martin, Olga Tañon and René Péréz of Calle 13 and former Miss Universe Denise Quiñones were among those who publicly spoke out against anti-LGBT violence on the island. Human Rights Foundation President Ada Conde Vidal, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, New York City Councilmembers Melissa Mark-Viverito and Rosie Mendez and Illinois state Sen. Iris Martínez are among those who repeatedly blasted Gov. Luís Fortuño for his failure to follow suit.

Has anything changed in Puerto Rico since López’s death?

Martínez received a 99-year prison sentence in May 2010 after he pleaded guilty to López’s murder, but nearly two dozen LGBT Puerto Ricans have been killed since the gay teenager’s gruesome death. The Justice Department noted the Puerto Rico Police Department's inadequate response to hate crimes as among the agencies' numerous failures in a damning report it released in September. Fortuño and other officials have yet to publicly speak out against these incidents.

The situation for LGBT Puerto Ricans remains dire two years after López’s death stunned the world. On this grim anniversary, however, it is appropriate to remember a grieving mother’s words that sought to comfort a community during one of its darkest hours: Love conquers hate.

Queens man succumbs to injuries after alleged anti-gay attack

Not again!

An 18-year-old Queens man died at Jamaica Hospital yesterday after four teenagers beat him in what police said was an anti-gay attack.

The Daily News reported four teenagers—Alex Velez, Nolis Ogando, Christopher Lozada and Luis Tabales—attacked Anthony Collao with a metal pipe outside a Woodhaven birthday party on Satuday, March 12. A judge arraigned them on Monday, March 14, on manslaughter and assault charges. And the teenagers remain held on $100,000 to $200,000 bail.

“I want to express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Anthony Collao,” said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn in a statement. “My Council colleagues and I are saddened and disturbed by this outrageous attack. We celebrate diversity in New York City, we do not tolerate bias attacks in any neighborhood in Queens or anywhere else in our great city.”

A number of anti-LGBT hate crimes have unfortunately garnered headlines over the last couple of years. These include José Sucuzhañay’s murder on a Bushwick street corner in Dec. 2008, the near-fatal beating of Jack Price outside a College Point bodega in Oct. 2009, gay Puerto Rican teenager Jorge Steven López Mercado's brutal death in Nov. 2009. Gang members also allegedly sodomized and beat two teenagers and a man in the Bronx in October because they reportedly thought one of their recruits was gay.

Collao's death once again proves New York City is not immune to anti-LGBT hate crimes.

RIP Jorge Steven

Today marks the first anniversary of the brutal murder of gay Puerto Rican teenager Jorge Steven López Mercado.

Juan José Martínez Matos stabbed López to death on Nov. 13, 2009, before he dumped the teenager’s decapitated, dismembered and partially burned body along a remote roadside near Cayey.

López’s mother, Myriam Mercado, told me in June “with a crime so atrocious, it is important people unite in their pain.” Her strength—and especially the unconditional love she continues to show for her son—remain an inspiration to everyone who has met her over the last year. It must be said, however, 12 LGBT Puerto Ricans have been murdered since López’s brutal death.

Recent events in New York City and around the country prove anti-LGBT hate crimes remain a serious problem. And on this grim anniversary, it remains imperative that everyone step up and say enough is enough.

New York City Council honors Jorge Steven López Mercado's family

I always get extremely anxious when I have to potentially interview someone in Spanish because it is not my first language, but the questions I wanted to ask Myriam Mercado and Jorge López almost instantly came to mind while I drank a coffee outside Hot and Crusty on 14th Street and First Avenue late Monday afternoon. As I wrote them into my notebook, however, I became increasingly sad. And after a few minutes, I could only glare out into the busy Manhattan intersection and allow this sadness to envelop me.

I could feel tears begin to well up in my eyes as I thought about the unimaginable pain the López family has had to endure since Juan José Martínez Matos brutally murdered Jorge Steven last November. How do you possibly prepare yourself to ask a mother to describe the moment she learned her son’s decapitated, dismembered and partially burned body had been found along the side of the road? Is it even possible?

In the end, the best thing a journalist can do is to provide a source (or sources) an opportunity to share their story. Myriam and Jorge continue to mourn their beloved Steven, but the dignified strength and resolve they showed at the City Council’s annual LGBT Pride celebration last night proved nothing short of inspirational to this reporter and others in the chamber. And their example will undoubtedly continue to prove love does conquer hate.

¡Viva Steven!

More than winning a verdict

As I look forward to another weekend on Fire Island, I would be completely remiss to not acknowledge a Puerto Rican family continues to grieve the loss of their beloved son.

Juan José Martínez Matos confessed on Wednesday he stabbed Jorge Steven López Mercado to death before he decapitated, dismembered and partially burned the gay teenager's body on Nov. 13, 2009. Judge Miriam Camila Jusino immediately sentenced him to 99 years in prison, but López's mother, Myriam Mercado, told reporters outside the Caguas courtroom Martínez's confession was bittersweet for her and her family.

"We are able to find a bit of peace in this aspect, but it's not going to return Steven to us," said an emotional Mercado as her husband, Jorge López, activist Pedro Julio Serrano and prosecutor Yaritza Carrasquillo stood by her side. "But at least there is justice in Puerto Rico."

Back here in Brooklyn, José Sucuzhañay's family continues to seek justice after one jury acquitted Hakim Scott of hate crimes charges and a judge declared a mistrial after a second panel could not render a verdict against Keith Phoenix. Prosecutors are scheduled to retry Phoenix on June 15, but both the Sucuzhañay and López cases clearly demonstrate the tragic and entirely unnecessary toll hate crimes can have on families and the communities in which they live and of which they are a part.

"This case dominates a lot of people in these communities and highlights the need to do so much more than to win a verdict," Ana María Archila, co-executive director of Make the Road New York, told me earlier this week.

Indeed.

Gay Puerto Rican teenager's alleged killer returns to court on Wednesday

As the man who allegedly murdered Jorge Steven López Mercado prepares to return to court on Wednesday, April 14, one question I hope to investigate is whether the public outcry over the gay teenager's brutal death has translated into any tangible changes on the ground in Puerto Rico.

Thousands of people paid tribute to López in vigils held across the United States in the days after authorities found his decapitated, dismembered and partially burned body along a remote roadside near Cayey on Nov. 13, 2009. More than 1,000 Puerto Ricans marched through San Juan to demand an end to hate crimes. And New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and other elected officials have repeatedly blasted Gov. Luis Fortuño's failure to publicly respond to López's murder.

López's alleged killer's trial is scheduled to start next month. And while the gay teenager's brutal murder sparked widespread outrage among LGBT activists, it remains to be seen whether anything tangible has changed since Nov. 13, 2009.

Judge sets trial date for gay Puerto Rican teenager’s alleged killer

Just posted this story to EDGE...


A Puerto Rican judge has found probable cause to prosecute a man who prosecutors contend brutally murdered a gay teenager last November.

Judge Roberto Anglero announced earlier today Juan José Martínez Matos’ trial will begin in Caguas on March 30. He denied a defense motion to lessen one of the charges against Martínez to second degree murder.

Prosecutors contend Martínez, who faces a first degree murder and three weapons charges, stabbed Jorge Steven López Mercado to death on Nov. 12, 2009. They further allege the suspect decapitated, dismembered and partially burned López’s body before he dumped it along a remote roadside near Cayey.

Several of López’s friends and acquaintances have identified Martínez as the man with whom they last saw the teenager as EDGE reported on Feb. 6. Details of López’s reported drug use and prostitution emerged during the preliminary hearing, but Pedro Julio Serrano of Puerto Rico Para Tod@s applauded prosecutor Yaritza Carrasquillo’s handling of this case.

"She sent a very powerful message not to judge Jorge Steven; the person who should be judged is Juan Martínez Matos," he said.

Serrano also spoke with López’s family immediately after Anglero set the trial date.

"They’re satisfied, but as they just told me, nothing will bring Jorge Steven back," he said. "It’s a very emotional day for them because they are starting to see the beginning of justice, but the pain of losing a son-and losing a son in these circumstances is unbearable."

Preliminary hearing for gay Puerto Rican teenager's alleged killer continues

As the preliminary hearing of the man who allegedly decapitated and dismembered Jorge Steven López Mercado continues in a Puerto Rico court room, details about the murdered teenager's life continue to emerge.

David José Medina Quiñones told the court on Tuesday he and López went to a Caguas street to prostitute themselves in the hours before Juan José Martínez Matos allegedly murdered the gay teenager. Martínez reportedly said he killed López after he discovered he was a man. And his lawyers tried to insinuate in court yesterday the teenager had agreed to have sex in exchange for drugs. There is obviously nothing that can ever justify this horrendous murder, and Pedro Julio Serrano of Puerto Rico Para Tod@s made this point explicitly clear in a blog he posted earlier this morning.

“We cannot allow anyone to indict a victim who is no longer alive and can no longer defend himself,” he wrote. “We cannot forget there was a criminal who committed this hate crime: Juan Martínez Matos.”

Irregardless of whether López prostituted himself or took drugs, the fact remains a brutal crime took place. His family and friends have suffered a tremendous and entirely unnecessary loss. And they deserve nothing less than full justice under the law.

Delegation of activists and politicians meet with murdered gay Puerto Rican teenager's family

A delegation of activists and legislators from Chicago and New York City met with murdered gay teenager Jorge Steven López Mercado's family earlier today in San Juan.

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Illinois state Sen. Iris Martinez, who chairs the Democratic National Committee's Hispanic Caucus, Cary Alan Johnson of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and Pedro Julio Serrano were among those who traveled to Puerto Rico. They also met with fellow activists, legislators and religious leaders earlier in the day.

Quinn, who announced the trip at a fundraiser for López's family on the Lower East Side last Tuesday night, posted pictures of today's meetings on her Twitter page. And at a press conference earlier today, she, fellow Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito and others once again blasted Gov. Luis Fortuño's continued failure to publicly respond to the teenager's brutal murder.

“We in the delegation certainly hope that Governor Fortuño will hear our message loud and clear, that his response to Jorge Steven’s murder has been absolutely unacceptable," Mark-Viverito said in an e-mail. "I am profoundly disappointed in the Governor’s lack of leadership on this matter. We must expect greater accountability and responsibility on the part of our elected officials.”



New York City elected officials pose with Jorge Steven López Mercado's family at a San Juan restaurant. [Photo courtesy of Latino Commission on AIDS]



From left; Karlo Colon, Miriam Mercado, Guillermo Chacon and Jorge López.




New York City Councilmembers meet with Puerto Rican lawmakers and others in San Juan.

New York City Councilmembers to meet with slain gay Puerto Rican teenager's family

On the eve of a hearing to determine whether Jorge Steven López Mercado's accused killer is competent to stand trial, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced she and other lawmakers from the five boroughs and Chicago will meet with the slain gay teenager's family and activists in Puerto Rico on Tuesday.

Quinn, who announced the trip at a fundraiser for López's family earlier tonight at the Nuyorican Poets Café on the Lower East Side, once again blasted Gov. Luis Fortuño for his continued failure to publicly condemn López's brutal death.

"There are a lot of people who are extremely angry about how the governor has responded to this situation," she said to applause. "There are people in New York, in other cities and in Puerto Rico who are not going to tolerate it. And I assume, though I don't know, that the governor expects that the LGBT community in Puerto Rico might be afraid or nervous or might be... trepidacious about getting involved, but we can do is back that community up and support them."

New York City Councilmembers Melissa Mark-Viverito [D-East Harlem,] Rosie Mendez [D-Lower East Side,] Danny Dromm [D-Jackson Heights] and Jimmy Van Bramer [D-Sunnyside] are among those who will travel to Puerto Rico.

"Never doubt that the support from New York and from the community in New York enhances the struggle in Puerto Rico; we saw this with Vieques and we will do it for justice for Jorge Steven López Mercado."

Quinn further stressed there will be more trips to the island if necessary.

"We hope when we’re there we’ll make it very clear we’ll keep coming back every time we need to," she said.

Olga Tañón discusses homophobia, Jorge Steven López Mercado's murder

Puerto Rican singer Olga Tañón discussed homophobia and Jorge Steven López Mercado's gruesome murder last night on her weekly talk show.

Pedro Julio Serrano was among those who appeared on Hablemos D. The audio is a bit muffled at times, but the entire segment in Spanish is posted below.



The show comes days after Tañón publicly spoke out against homophobia and the gay teenager's gruesome murder last month near Cayey.

"Look, to be gay is nothing bad," she said to Primera Hora as translated from Spanish. "Sexual orientation is nothing bad, and it shouldn’t be used as a reason to castigate or discriminate."

Suspect in gay Puerto Rican teenager’s murder ordered to undergo psychological evaluation

A Puerto Rican judge has ordered the man who has reportedly confessed to the gruesome murder of a gay teenager last month to undergo a psychological evaluation.

Judge Camila Jusino accepted state psychologist Rafael Cabrera's recommendation Juan J. Martínez Matos remain under evaluation at a psychiatric hospital in Rio Piedras to determine whether the accused killer is competent to stand trial.

Matos is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 13.

Puerto Rican activist maintains murdered teenager identified as gay

As Jorge Steven López Mercado's family continues to mourn the teenager's death, activist Pedro Julio Serrano continues to insist the 19-year-old identified himself as a gay man.

"He was very comfortable in his own skin, he loved to cross gender boundaries and he was accepted as such by his friends, his partner and his own parents," Serrano, who remains in Puerto Rico and continues to counsel López's family, wrote on a blog he posted on Nov. 27. "His mom, Myriam Mercado, knowing that his son used hair extensions as part of his look, even told the press in Puerto Rico, "Behind that wig and those boots, there was a human being, a very much loved son, a brother and a friend."

Serrano further alluded to activists, bloggers and others who suggested Juan A. Martínez Matos murdered López and subsequently decapitated, dismembered and partially burned his body near Cayey earlier this month in an act of anti-transgender violence.

"I understand the politics behind identifying a hate crime victim as trans when part of his or her expression does not conform to his or her sex, but sometimes we must bend the rules to accommodate the cultural and societal differences," he wrote. "I would like to ask for respect of our cultural and societal differences from our friends in the U.S. In our Puerto Rican culture, people who are gender nonconforming, gender variant or gender queer are not considered trans. We only consider as transgender or transsexual, people who identify as such. And we respect that."

Puerto Rican law enforcement officials announced last week they would investigate López's murder as a hate crime, but Serrano once again stressed acceptance and unity among LGBTs during an impromptu late night speech at Krash in Santurce over the weekend in which he criticizes the crowd for anti-trans comments some made in the wake of López's gruesome death.



"Let's respect everyone, let's open spaces for everyone and let's achieve a Puerto Rico for all," he said.

Thousands march against hate crimes in Puerto Rico

More than a thousand people marched through the streets of San Juan last night to pay tribute to Jorge Steven López Mercado and to demand an end to hate crimes.

"Today a new Puerto Rico that is not goint to tolerate any anti-gay hate crimes is born," Pedro Julio Serrano of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force said as Nuevo Dia reported. "The voices of intolerance are realizing their hateful discourse does not resonate with the public."

López's family, friends and religious leaders were among those who took part.

Photos courtesy of Pedro Julio Serrano.

Puerto Rican authorities agree to investigate Jorge Steven López Mercado's murder as a hate crime

Puerto Rican authorities have agreed to investigate Jorge Steven López Mercado's murder as a hate crime after they met with local representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Nuevo Dia reported William Ramírez, executive director of the ACLU and of the University of Puerto Rico's Legal Clinic, pointed out to Puerto Rico Department of Justice Secretary Antonio Sagardía the Commonwealth has a history of "not investigating hate crimes cases" like the one he said to which Juan A. Martínez Matos reportedly has confessed.

"The ACLU has tried to get the government to accept its responsibility to investigate cases... that are hate crimes, particularly that of young Jorge Steven López Mercado," Ramírez said in a statement. "We should not be satisfied with the possibility the federal government will do what our government is not interested in doing; which is to protect every citizen."

Activists on Puerto Rico and around the country have repeatedly called upon local authorities to charge Matos under Puerto Rico's hate crimes law, which includes sexual orientation. They have also blasted investigator Ángel Rodríguez Colón's assertion López somehow contributed to his own death. The Federal Bureau of Investigation in San Juan has not ruled out the possibility of additional federal charges in the case.

Jorge Steven López Mercado's family and friends lay him to rest

Jorge Steven López Mercado's friends and family laid him to rest earlier today in Toa Alta, Puerto Rico.

"The support we have received from the public and Steven's friends has given us the strength to bear this moment of such horrible pain," Lopez's aunt Rubi Mercado told el Nuevo Dia between tears (as translated from Spanish into English.) "I asked Steven with his wings from heaven to help us carry on without having him by our side."

El Nuevo Dia further reported López's aunt and his ex-boyfriend, Luis Rivera, opened the urn that contained the murdered teen's ashes and placed a necklace and a white rose inside it at the end of the funeral Mass. The newspaper further reported López's parents hugged their son's friends and cried.

"We definitely hope people and society wake up and demand justice," López's friend José Alicea told el Nuevo Dia (as translated from Spanish into English.)

López's friends carried balloons and white roses as they walked to the cemetery. Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" played during the procession.

Despedida de duelo de Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado
Uploaded by pjserrano. - Discover LGBT videos.

New Yorkers to hold vigil for Jorge Steven López Mercado

The details of Jorge Steven López Mercado's brutal murder continue to send shockwaves across Puerto Rico and beyond, but a group of New Yorkers plan to hold a vigil in his memory this Sunday, Nov. 22, on the Christopher Street Piers. I've cut and pasted details of the gathering from Facebook.

LOCATION: DOWNTOWN MANHATTAN, TBA (TENTATIVELY CHRISTOPHER STREET PIERS) - 7 PM WITH OPTIONAL MOMENT OF SILENCE AND MASS AFTERWARD

BRING: CANDLES FOR YOU AND OTHERS

***IF YOU DO NOT LIVE IN NYC AND WANT TO DO YOUR PART, SEE END OF MESSAGE***

DIRECT NON-FACEBOOK USERS TO MERCADO-VIGIL.TUMBLR.COM
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"19 year old aspiring fashion artist Jorge Steven López Mercado was found on Friday night decapitated, dismembered and partially burned. According to authorities, the investigation has shown that it is indeed a hate crime." (source: Current)

"The police investigator suggested that he deserved what he got because of the 'type of lifestyle' he was leading." (source: Towleroad)
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Please, please invite all of your friends to a vigil honoring Mercado, specifically, and all others who have been murdered, beaten, and otherwise terrorized for their sexuality or semblance thereof.

***THIS EVENT WILL BE FILMED AND EDITED IN CONJUNCTION WITH VIGILS IN OTHER CITIES. THE EDITED FILM WILL BE PLACED ONLINE TO SHOW SUPPORT TO PR'S QUEER COMMUNITY, AND TO LOBBY FOR THE HATE CRIMES PROVISION BE APPLIED TO THIS CASE. FULL PROSECUTION FOR SUCH A DISGUSTING CRIME.***

The queer community in Puerto Rico needs to know we support them.

WE MUST FUNNEL OUR SADNESS INTO AN OUTPOURING OF RIGHTEOUS OUTRAGE.

We must show the government, the media, and the oppressors that to systemically target one group for its appearance or mannerisms--and then subject them to violence explicitly for those criteria--is INTOLERABLE.
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For more info on the murder, check out http://bit.ly/1LZRiW and http://bit.ly/1rHTmw