Alex Anwandter accidentally became a
gay rights activist following the murder of gay youth Daniel Zamudio.
Zamudio died March 27 from injuries he
received during an attack in a park in Santiago, Chile on March 3.
Police have arrested 4 suspects who have been charged with beating
Zamudio for an hour, burning him with cigarettes and carving Nazi
symbols into his body. Officials believe the 24-year-old Zamudio was
targeted because he was gay.
After his brutal murder, Zamudio's
family revealed Anwandter was the youth's favorite artist and played
his music during the funeral.
Anwandter embraced the family's call to
speak out against homophobia in Chile.
His video for the song Como Puedes
Vivir Contigo Mismo? (How Can You Live With Yourself?)
pays tribute to Jennie Livingston's 1990 documentary on New York
City's queer subculture, Paris is Burning.
“My idea was that we in Chile don't
have an equivalent of Paris is Burning,” Anwandter told The
World. “We are that far behind. Like people do not accept
any type of diversity, nor do they get to actually see diversity. So
my intention was to show, if you wish, sexual minorities or diversity
in a very beautiful light.” (The video is embedded on this page.
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He added that he was getting
comfortable being called an activist.
“A closeted activist,” he said.