I have been thinking I should talk a little about the history of the name "Colectivo 41." Perhaps I have touched on it before but I thought I could go into a little more depth. The Colectivo 41 program at CASA derived it's name from a police raid that occurred at a private home in Mexico City, one evening on the 18th of November 1901. According to reports, "El Baile de los cuarenta y uno" or "The dance of the forty one" was attended by a group of men, mostly from the upper class, of whom about 19 were dressed as women. It was rumored that there were actually forty two people that were arrested, but that Ignacio de la Torre, the son-in-law of the infamous dictator Porfirio Diaz, was actually allowed to escape. Even though the raid was illegal, as the attendees had committed no "crime", the forty one participants were all convicted and sent to do hard labor in the Yucatan peninsula. In an article that was released after the raid, the 41 were referred to as "maricones," which is a derogatory term for someone that is gay. This raid had an incredible impact on society that has lasted to this day. According to a writer named Francisco L. Urquizo, whom wrote an essay in 1965 about the "41" taboo: In Mexico, the number 41 has no validity and is offensive... The influence of this tradition is so strong that even officialdom ignores the number 41. No division, regiment, or battalion of the army is given the number 41. From 40 they progress directly to 42. No payroll has a number 41. Municipal records show no houses with the number 41; if this cannot be avoided, 40 bis is used. No hotel or hospital has a room 41. Nobody celebrates their 41st birthday, going straight from 40 to 42. No vehicle is assigned a number plate with 41, and no police officer will accept a badge with that number. Much to my dismay, the determination to eliminate the number 41 from all things personal and official in Mexico is still upheld. I was told by one of the coordinators at CASA that many people in Mexico don't actually know the history of "El baile de los cuarenta y uno" - they just know that the number 41 is associated with being gay and/or a transvestite. Colectivo 41 wanted to pay homage to the ongoing battle for human rights and the freedom to love whom you love, by taking the name associated with the first police raid on a community of LGBT individuals in Mexico. My fortune to be a part of the group in any way still continues to surprise me.