Interview an Expert: Sergio/Evora (One Human's Journey to Identity)
If you’ve never experienced Sergio and/or Evora Baden, you’ve missed out on a source of energy in its purest form, constantly in motion with a focus on empowering others and connecting humans with their dreams. But it wasn’t always this way…
Sergio making Shalon magic at our Seder for Racial Justice
In high school, Sergio was bullied. A lot. As he explains it, “everyone knew I was gay before I did” and they made him feel badly, like he was “wrong.” Sergio struggled with his desire to fit in and to be loved. Despite spending significant time in a dark place where he often felt ostracized and depressed, Sergio continued to push forward. He found people who supported him. As a result of encouragement from his family and outreach from an organization called “Teen Truth” that was producing content to stand up for young LGBT people, he uncovered the strength to stand up and to be present for himself and for those who hadn’t found their voices yet.
"Identity is an individual phenomenon, it can’t be boxed or labeled.
His journey of self-discovery also became his journey to help people out of the boxes society placed them in. He went to college with a mission: to spread knowledge about the genesis of identity and to help individuals – as well as the people that surround them – understand and embrace the unique universe of intelligence, emotion, spirituality and experience that makes up each human being.
Evora Baden out on the town. San Francisco Pride 2017
Sergio never planned to do drag; in fact, he didn’t understand it and didn’t appreciate it. He began to immerse himself in the gay community by hosting events at clubs and bars and, as time went on, discovered a need to express another part of himself. He recognized power in an inner voice – a feminine voice - that started to speak up inside him. He also established a lifelong love of the power of stilettos (despite the fact that he already stands over 6 feet tall!)
"The most important thing is to join conversations because the conversations with the people around you lead to the shifts that change the world. We cannot live in fear of ourselves or others."
Evora Baden was born from a desire to grow and to grow quickly – in other words, to go viral. Spending time with San Francisco icon Sister Roma and following in her footsteps of philanthropy and advocacy highlighted that recognition/fame allowed for broader reach and more impact. Drag became a loud, boisterous and unapologetic platform not only for self-expression but for supporting others who needed to change the way they and the world viewed them.
As a result, in 2016, Sergio/Evora founded Label Me Human. LMH is a social impact campaign that was designed to create context and understanding around what it means to be human being. The goal is for LMH to empower the individual while uniting the collective by showing our similarities and differences within the same frame. By challenging how we see ourselves and others Sergio/Evora forces us to recognize the power of community while celebrating the uniqe traits that allow each of us to add value to our family neighbors and community at large.
