Gina lives a life that not everybody understands, yet she is proud to be who she is, who she knew she was since she was a little boy.

Gina was born male, but says she always was meant to be a woman.

Gina was born in Camargo, a small town in Chihuahua in 1968. When she was a teenager, her father forced her to study accounting and to act like a man. However, she wanted to be a stylist, she wanted to live in a big city, but most importantly, she wanted to be herself and live freely. So she moved to the city of Chihuahua and eventually to Juarez.

“People in small towns have small mentalities; I wanted to be in a place where people would mind their own business and I could be true to myself,” Gina says.

When she was 26, Gina started her mission to fully become a woman. She already dressed, walked and spoke like one, but the make up and high heels weren’t enough.

She flew to Mexico City and had a sex change operation. She also had her breast, hips and nose done.

“I am a woman on the inside, but it needed to show on the outside too,” she says.

In Juarez, she found many friends, but also realized that not everybody was as accepting as she had hoped. Slowly, she has gotten used to living in constant discrimination.

“Some people in Juarez are elitists. They get uncomfortable when they see me, and I understand, but I have no choice, this is who I am,” Gina says.

When Gina was able to visit El Paso, she felt more accepted because she says people are more open in the U.S. However, her visa was taken away at the border in 2001. The photograph on her visa was her with no make up and short hair, and had her male name on it, so when she attempted to cross, she was accused of false identity for being dressed as a woman. An officer cut her visa into pieces with a pair of scissors and told her that it was nothing personal, simply a security measure. She has not renewed it since.

The biggest stereotype that Gina has had to face is that people think all transsexuals live a promiscuous life filled with drug use.

“I have lived a good life; I am a good person and do not fall in any of the stereotypes. I am not ashamed of who I am,” she says.

Gina has accomplished what she has always wanted. Gina got married to a man when she was 33. She had a traditional wedding; she wore a white dress and was accompanied by all of her friends. Even though it was symbolic, her marriage has lasted for seven years. Since then, she has also kept a close relationship with her family.

“If you would have asked me what my dreams in life were 10 years ago, they would have been what I already have; to be a successful woman and to find true love,” she says.

Gina says that her husband is brave for marrying her and for not being ashamed to be seen with her on his arm. They plan to marry officially soon, with a new law passed in Mexico called “Ley de convivencia” which allows same sex couples to marry, granting them some of the same rights as heterosexual couples. Gina also has another big love in her life, her dog Elvis, who always travels with her.

Gina believes in God and knows that he loves her despite what people say.

But, she says, “I do not go to church out of respect for other people who are not ready to accept me.”

Gina agreed to tell her story because she thinks that some people live their whole lives wanting something. She wants people to recognize the courage she has to confront life and to show that even though happiness may be extremely hard to find, it is not impossible. Gina exists as a woman. Gilberto, her real name, doesn’t exist in her anymore.