- Title: Bolivia's first transgender news anchor puts LGBTQ issues front and center
- Date: 7th July 2020
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BOLIVIAN NEWSCASTER, LEONIE DORADO, SAYING: "I used to be called Bernardo. I was a pretty good looking kid, in fact. And I don't think that I have any regrets in that aspect. I'm still the same person, it's just that now I'm called something else." DORADO SPEAKING DURING INTERVIEW AT HER HOME (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BOLIVIAN NEWSCASTER, LEONIE DORADO, SAYING: "The transition took me four years. You have to study for four years to know that you're a trans person, to know how you're going to go on your life project. Because, at the end of the day, I wasn't in the wrong body, I was looking for the way to make my life project happen." DORADO EXITS HER HOME DORADO ARRIVING AT EXTERIOR OF TELEVISION STATION (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BOLIVIAN NEWSCASTER, LEONIE DORADO, SAYING: "The LGBT group is a group of millions of people who demand human rights, labor rights, the right for their lives to be respected. So, that's what's motivated me to become a part of this project. I think it's very important to highlight that point, because not everyone in the group - even if they have the best abilities to work at a company or wherever - not everyone has been able to do so."
- Embargoed: 21st July 2020 14:06
- Keywords: Boliva LGBT anchor broadcast channel first human rights media news newscaster transgender
- Location: LA PAZ, BOLIVIA
- City: LA PAZ, BOLIVIA
- Country: Bolivia
- Topics: Human-Led Feature,Human-Led Stories
- Reuters ID: LVA006CLT8DON
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS NOTE: PART ORIGINALLY SHOT IN 4:3
Leonie Dorado, 26, is blazing a trail as the first transgender news anchor in Bolivia, a traditionally conservative South American nation currently in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic.
Dorado, the new co-host of Bolivian program Aby Ayala TV, covers LGBTQ issues in her role, drawing on her own transition and life experience as a trans person.
TV broadcasting wasn't always in Dorado's plans. As a child, she showed promise as a piano player, and eventually pursued singing. She is currently working toward a degree in modern music in Bolivia's National Conservatory of Music.
She was offered the TV job in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic and did not hesitate to accept the opportunity to be a voice for trans people.
Dorado, whose family was supportive of her transition, decided it was time to open up about her experience publicly with the aim of helping others in Bolivia's LGBTQ community.
In her new role, Dorado focuses on trans rights and issues, particularly health and labor. She is also writing a book to encourage others with her personal motto: "Make peace with your body, put your health first, bet on your dreams and be happy.
(Production: Sergio Limachi, Monica Machicao) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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