Item I5 - Interview with Yolanda and Ciara

Interview with Yolanda and Ciara

by Carolyn Gammon and Ing. Rinpah

Item

CA ON0034 10-154-S4-I5

1 sound recording (wav) : 2 hr., 8 min., and 22 sec.

This sound recording is of an interview conducted by Carolyn Gammon with Yolanda and Ciara, two immigrant lesbian women living in Montreal. The interview is conducted in three languages: English, French and Spanish. Ciara was born in 1938 [in La Vibora] outside of Havana, Cuba. She gives a brief explanation of her experience of being gay in Cuba, her marriage, and her relationships with women once in Canada. Yolanda was born in 1934 in Santiago, Chile. She discusses her sexual preferences from a young age when her mother discovered her with a neighbour girl when they were around 5. They discuss the different terms used for lesbians such as tortillera (Cuba) and maricona (Chile). Throughout the conversation they discuss the idea of butch versus fem and how that manifests in individuals, in relationships, their preferences, and experiences. They further discuss the idea of "passing" as a straight woman when fem presenting. Yolanda goes on to explain her experiences as a butch lesbian in Chile and also how that affected her immigration process to Canada. Ciara mentions the club scenes in Montreal (Zanzibar), New York City (8th Wonders Bar), and Havana (Carmen's, Rancha Luna). They both mention their first real relationships: Ciara with an Cuban-American student and Yolanda with a teammate on her soccer team. Yolanda and Ciara continue to describe their current and former relationships. The second part of the interview starts with discussing why they think they are attracted to certain types of women including each other. They proceed to describe how they became a couple. Yolanda also describes a situation involving police [in Spanish]. Yolanda describes being mistaken for a man in Chile (but not in Canada). They end the interview discussing the environment in Canada towards lesbians. [Note: There is some background noise from Ciara doing something during the interview.] [There is a pause in the recording between A and B side at 00:45:07, the conversation begins again at 00:45:12. Ends mid sentence. Tape 2 beings at 01:30:58]