First, we're honest. Ruidosa is (and probably always will be) a work in progress. And it is so because its goal is not an easy one:
We want to change how the world sees women.
We want to question how women see us.
We want to break unconscious norms, explicit biases, and all the everyday actions that sustain and reproduce gender inequality.
We are now a festival, a platform for conversation, a network of activists, and a website. We will do everything in our power to turn feminism from a bad word into the shared diagnosis that gender can be a source of diversity, but never of exclusion.
Second, we are creative. We see how gender inequality is cultivated and reproduced in media, arts and entertainment, so we set up shop at its epicenter. We want to change the rules that create the material that fills our screens, headphones, and experiences, from the creative industries, making noise so that all women are heard.
Third, we are a proudly Latina voice. Because much of the feminist debate emanates from the northern hemisphere, at Ruidosa we believe that the experiences and voices of Latina women must be heard. Because there is more than one truth, we want to make noise in the global debate with more diversity of perspectives, stories and visions. With more stories and more perspectives. We speak from the south, with our particular experiences, inequalities, and cultures, and we believe that this makes us a contribution to the global discussion.
Finally, we are open-minded. In Ruidosa we know that the most revolutionary thing a woman can do is to be herself, and to be able to choose without conditioning. We believe in feminism as a concept that welcomes in an often hostile world. Therefore, this space is diverse by nature and by requirement: We value the experiences of others as a guide and inspiration. We believe in solidarity and sisterhood, so we celebrate women of all kinds, we seek to connect them, promote them and break down institutional barriers that prevent their access to spaces of power.
Noisy are all those who want more, regardless of race, biological sex, physical abilities or socioeconomic status. Noisy are all those who want to be good allies in changing the way things work. Those who doubt feminism, and want to be open to different perspectives, are also welcome.
For all those who have ever felt inadequate, insecure, too traditional, too eccentric, too ugly, too attractive, too shy, too extroverted, Ruidosa is an invitation. Let's not be afraid to make noise, to fight for our space, to question and subvert.
We can do it together and we must do it now.