Alexya Lucas Evangelista Salvador (born 1980) is a Brazilian

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

and

reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

. She was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in 2019, becoming the first

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

reverend in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. She was additionally the first

trans woman A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...

adopt Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

a child in Brazil.

Personal life

Alexya Lucas Evangelista Salvador was born on November 18, 1980, in Mairiporã, Brazil. Her parents were

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

but non-practicing, and at the age of seven she begged them to take her to church. She was

bullied Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...

at school. When Salvador was young, and before she realized that she was transgender, she wanted to be a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

. She joined a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

, and enjoyed attending

Canção Nova The Canção Nova (English: ''New Song'') is a Brazilian Catholic community founded by Monsignor Jonas Abib in 1978, following the lines of Catholic Charismatic Renewal. Headquartered in the city of Cachoeira Paulista (SP), it occupies an area ...

events, but was made uncomfortable by

anti-LGBT rhetoric Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric comprises themes, catchphrases, and slogans that have been used in order to demean lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric is widely considered a form of hate speech, which is ille ...

. As a result, she decided that she would not become a priest, leaving the seminary but continuing to attend church. She eventually left the Catholic Church. A year and a half after leaving the Catholic Church, Salvador and her now-husband Roberto were looking for a way to get married. Salvador came across the

Metropolitan Community Church The Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), also known as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), is an international LGBT-affirming Christian denominations, LGBT-affirming mainline Protestant Christian denomination. The ...

(MCC), which had a branch in São Paulo; she and Roberto were married as

gay men Gay men are male homosexuals. Some bisexual men, bisexual and homoromantic men may dually identify as ''gay'' and a number of gay men also identify as ''queer''. Historic terminology for gay men has included ''Sexual inversion (sexology), in ...

in a June 2010 group wedding at the MCC. They subsequently started to attend

church service A church service (or a worship service) is a formalized period of Christian communal Christian worship, worship, often held in a Church (building), church building. Most Christian denominations hold church services on the Lord's Day (offering Su ...

s there as well. At age 28, Salvador transitioned. She was initially worried that

coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

to Roberto as a trans woman would end their relationship, but he supported her through her transition and they remained together. Salvador began researching adoption in 2014, but couldn't find any stories of

trans women A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...

travestis The term travesti is used in Latin America to designate people who were assigned male at birth and develop a feminine gender identity. Other terms have been invented and are used in South America in an attempt to further distinguish it from cross ...

who had adopted children. An adoption lawyer told her that she would be the first trans person to adopt a child in Brazil. In October 2015, Salvador and her husband adopted a boy with special needs after a 6-month legal process, and Salvador became the first trans woman and the first travesti to adopt a child in Brazil. The couple later adopted a transgender girl in 2016, and another in 2019. Salvador is the oldest of three siblings, and wanted to have three children. , Salvador was living in Mairiporã with her husband, one son, and two daughters. She was seeking a location to open a branch of the MCC nearby.

Career

Salvador began working as a public school teacher in 2004. , she was the

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

of the Brazilian Association of Homotransaffective Families. In 2015, Salvador was appointed as an

assistant pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicis ...

at the

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. In May 2017, Salvador held a

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

along with Cindy Bourgeois (a Canadian trans pastor) and Allyson Robinson. ''

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'' reported that it was the first

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

led by a trans pastor in Cuban history. At the service, Salvador said that "God's love is radically inclusive." In 2018, Salvador campaigned to be a state representative for São Paulo with the

Socialism and Liberty Party The Socialism and Liberty Party (, ; PSOL ) is a left-wing political party in Brazil. The party describes itself as socialist and democratic. The party leader is Paula Coradi and the federal deputies Ivan Valente, Talíria Petrone, Sâmi ...

on a

platform Platform may refer to: Arts * Platform, an arts centre at The Bridge, Easterhouse, Glasgow * ''Platform'' (1993 film), a 1993 Bollywood action film * ''Platform'' (2000 film), a 2000 film by Jia Zhangke * '' The Platform'' (2019 film) * Pla ...

of support for

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

, and adoption. In 2019, Salvador was officially

, becoming the first transgender

Recognition

In June 2021, a

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

titled ("God is a Woman") was scheduled to appear at a

Docs in Progress Docs in Progress is a film organization based in the Washington, D.C., area which showcases and incubates works in progress by up-and-coming and established documentary filmmakers. History Docs in Progress is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organiza ...

event during the 2021

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

. The film, written and directed by Bárbara Cunha, explores the life and trajectory of Alexya Salvador.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salvador, Alexya Living people 21st-century Brazilian educators Metropolitan Community Church clergy 21st-century Brazilian clergy 1980 births Brazilian transgender women Travestis 21st-century Brazilian LGBTQ people Transfeminists LGBTQ Protestant clergy Transgender Christian clergy Brazilian Christian clergy