Florencia De La V

Florencia Trinidad
Trinidad in her play ¡Que gauchita mi mucama!, January 2012
Born	Roberto Carlos Trinidad 1975 Monte Grande, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Spouse(s)	Pablo Goycochea (m. 2011)
Children	2

Florencia Trinidad better known by her stage name Flor de la V, is an Argentine actress, television personality, comedian and vedette. As producer Gerardo Sofovich's protégée, who discovered her in a 1998 revue in Buenos Aires, Trinidad gained media exposure and got small television roles. Her role in the widely successful Los Roldán gave her international notoriety. Over the years, Trinidad has become a household name in Argentine show business.

In 2014, GLAAD stated that "through her advocacy and proud visibility, [she] has contributed immensely to advancing the equality movement around the world and particularly in Argentina."^[1] She became the first transgender person in Argentina to get her name and the gender on her government-issued ID legally changed without pathologizing her gender identity,^[1][2] two years before the national Gender Identity Law was established.^[3]

Biography

Early life

Florencia was born Roberto Carlos Trinidad in the city of Monte Grande, Buenos Aires Province. The family home was located in Villa Los Lirios. At age 2 she lost her mother to cancer, and eventually moved to Lomas de Zamora (Province of Buenos Aires) with her father and brother.

At age 16 Florencia dressed-up as a young lady to attend the sweet 16th birthday party of her best friend. From then on she became to be known as Karen until one day she was renamed by a boyfriend as “Florencia de la Vega”; eventually for legal reasons her name was adapted to Florencia de la V.

Education

She completed her primary and high-school in the suburbs of Lomas de Zamora, located in the southwest part of greater Buenos Aires. A fashion enthusiast since she made her first dress, she decided to follow a career in fashion design at the UNNE, the National University of the Northeast, Argentina. As Karen, she began her career producing out-fits and theatrical garments for Burlesque and Musical productions, until one day she met the main character of a show, a trans woman named Cris Miró (née Gerardo Elías Virguez). At that moment Florencia de la V became a media trans woman taking the main step into a mega-career in show-business.

Since then on, she was godfathered by one of the main Argentinean lords of show-business, Gerardo Sofovich, who guided Florencia to national stardom.

Career Summary

• Florencia de La V began cross-dressing at the age of 16. She enrolled in a university in fashion design, and later took jobs as a designer and promoter.
• She also worked at the popular Buenos Aires club "Tabaris", replacing Cris Miró, a well known transvestite, in the show. It was while working there that she became a vedette, catching the eyes of television and theater producer Gerardo Sofovich.
• She made her acting debut in the TV show Polémica en el Bar ("Controversy at the Bar").
• De La V subsequently played small roles in many telenovelas and variety shows for Argentina's Telefe, but the show that made her an internationally known star has arguably been Los Roldán (2004), a sitcom that became a hit across South America and among digital television viewers in the United States. In Los Roldán, she played as "Raul Roldán", a transvestite who goes under the name "Laiza Roldán" when dressed as a woman. She is currently the hostess of the semi-acted comedy and gossip show called "La Pelu", with Gladys Florimonte.^[4]

Florencia de La V expressed that she felt a little uncomfortable at first with being given a job as a transvestite in the soap opera. Later on, however, she accepted the fact that her character shares some life characteristics with her, which made her more comfortable about playing "Laiza Roldán". She has said, however, that for her next roles, she would prefer to play a woman. After Los Roldán ended, Florencia De La V worked in Mar Del Plata.

In 1998 she met her current partner, dentist Pablo Goycochea, whom she married on November 1 in [Buenos Aires]. She has two children, twins, a boy and girl.^[5]

Gender controversy

During August, 2014, well-known Argentine reporter Jorge Lanata declared that De La V was not a woman but a transvestite. Actor Dario Grandinetti made a public comment on a Buenos Aires radio station supporting De La V and Lanata threatened Grandinetti with a perjury lawsuit.^[6]

References

1. Murray, Ross (April 4, 2014). "GLAAD Global Voices: This transgender star paved the way for Argentinians like her". GLAAD. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
2. Murray, Ross (December 14, 2010). "Flor de la V recibió su DNI y ahora es Florencia Trinidad". La Gaceta (in Spanish). La Gaceta S.A. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
3. "Ley 26.743: Establécese el derecho a la identidad de género de las personas." (in Spanish). InfoLEG. Ministry of Economy and Public Finances. May 9, 2012. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
4. "La Pelu, a punto de abrir" (in Spanish). Retrieved November 5, 2012.
5. Story on "Gente" magazine
6. "Lanata le hará juicio a Grandinetti," DiaADia.com.ar (in Spanish)

External links

• FlorenciaDeLaV.com (Spanish)
• Florencia De La Vega at the Internet Movie Database
• Florencia de la V at Cinenacional.com
• Personal webpage (Spanish)