No Longer Your Chica

My husband and I moved from Brooklyn to Jackson Heights, Queens, in 2009. Our two girls were then 4 and 2-and-a-half years old. Shortly after we moved, I read an article in a magazine about sex trafficking in Jackson Heights, referring to Roosevelt Avenue as the “epicenter” of sex trafficking in New York State. I remember my shock and devastation upon reading that some of the victims are as young as twelve.

 

When I was offered a commission by RPGA Studio to do a performance/public intervention in my neighborhood, I was contemplating various ideas that had to do with diversity, immigration, and housing. Walking down Roosevelt Avenue, which resembles in many ways the old Time Square, I revisit the article in my mind. On the spot, I had this feeling that I shouldn't be lured by the colorful business of the street but should instead focus what’s “behind” it. 

 

The notion that a multi-million dollar international business of human trafficking, tied to drug dealing, gang activities, and powerful drug lords takes place on that very avenue was hard to grasp. It was also “invisible”. It’s camouflaged behind the massage parlors and dancing bars and is mediated by hasslers who stand on the street corners, giving away Chica Cards and cards that offer Rent-A-Boys, delivering fresh meat to customers. This is a reality for some people. For the rest of us, it sounds like fiction. 
 

My first No Longer Your Chica performance took place in 2015 before the #MeToo movement  began in full force. I was quite naive and bold in planning this multi-faceted project, inserting myself into the busy avenue, grotesquely dressed, giving away my own version of the Chica Cards, inviting bypasser to call the number listed on the card, explaining why I stood there, lobbying for the cause. 

 

It wasn't an easy experience. I was harassed, even by the police, and treated like I was crazy. My relative discomfort, however, didn't even scratch the surface of this tragic phenomenon and its magnitude. Through No Longer Your Chica I hope to shed light on this issue, to connect with local organizations who fight sex trafficking, and to inspire change.