0:00:09.152,0:00:12.368
I think my heart's never beaten [br]so hard in my life.

0:00:12.368,0:00:14.889
It's a pretty unique[br]experience to be here.

0:00:15.229,0:00:19.359
First, I'd like to thank you[br]for the opportunity to share my story.

0:00:19.359,0:00:22.818
In the last three weeks I've thought[br]a lot about the contribution

0:00:22.818,0:00:25.578
that I'd have to bring here to you.

0:00:26.528,0:00:28.947
I didn't sleep a couple nights[br]because of that.

0:00:28.947,0:00:31.390
I called my speech[br]"A path of consciousness,"

0:00:31.390,0:00:34.640
because I believe that,[br]as this is the theme of the event,

0:00:34.640,0:00:38.645
the path of consciousness only begins[br]when we start to accept ourselves

0:00:38.645,0:00:42.005
and, more than that, we do something[br]positive of our own identity.

0:00:42.575,0:00:45.428
I never managed to talk[br]openly about this in my life,

0:00:45.428,0:00:48.048
this is the first time[br]that I bring this up publicly

0:00:48.048,0:00:51.593
and you need a lot of courage [br]to talk about subjects like this.

0:00:51.593,0:00:54.675
But the fact that I suffered[br]violence because of my nature

0:00:54.675,0:00:57.235
was always a turning point in my life.

0:00:57.235,0:00:58.938
Two Tiagos existed to me:

0:00:58.938,0:01:01.308
one that during his growth

0:01:01.308,0:01:06.488
looked up to be a highlighted professional[br]and respected by his actions,

0:01:06.488,0:01:09.636
and the other one who in his intimacy[br]wasn't able to accept himself

0:01:09.636,0:01:12.376
and didn't consider himself[br]worthy of happiness.

0:01:13.006,0:01:15.334
And while these two Tiagos didn't meet

0:01:15.334,0:01:18.564
I wouldn't ever be able[br]to find a path to happiness.

0:01:19.224,0:01:23.636
And I wanted to bring here to you[br]an image that could transmit

0:01:23.636,0:01:27.616
a little bit of the message[br]that I want to pass on right now.

0:01:27.616,0:01:30.090
And I found this one in my preteenagehood.

0:01:30.090,0:01:32.960
I was 12 years old, and it was[br]in my first communion.

0:01:33.600,0:01:35.594
As I am from a small town,

0:01:35.594,0:01:39.274
my parents aren't religious but it was[br]an important ritual to be lived.

0:01:39.654,0:01:41.884
Then my mother decided

0:01:41.884,0:01:46.674
that instead of renting or buying a suit[br]like most of the families do

0:01:46.684,0:01:48.332
she would buy new clothes

0:01:48.332,0:01:50.832
so that I could wear them[br]later in my life.

0:01:52.092,0:01:53.714
But there was a problem:

0:01:53.714,0:01:56.254
I had slightly long hair,

0:01:56.254,0:01:58.254
an angelic face

0:01:58.254,0:02:00.624
and the details of the clothes were pink.

0:02:01.654,0:02:06.017
When I got in front of the church[br]I was feeling gorgeous, different,

0:02:06.017,0:02:08.037
but the catechesis teacher asked me

0:02:08.037,0:02:10.947
to enter the church apart from the group.

0:02:11.357,0:02:14.805
While the boys entered side by side[br]with the girls, by size order,

0:02:14.805,0:02:18.905
I entered there alone, and I was[br]by far the tallest of the group.

0:02:19.535,0:02:23.512
When I came into the church,[br]the looks were of surprise, of wonder

0:02:23.512,0:02:25.292
and even of judgement, I think.

0:02:25.292,0:02:26.844
I got scared with that.

0:02:26.844,0:02:29.473
I didn't know[br]how to handle that situation.

0:02:29.473,0:02:33.029
It took around three years[br]for me to look at those pictures again

0:02:33.049,0:02:34.639
and I ripped all of them off.

0:02:34.639,0:02:38.826
But for some reason[br]this one ended up being saved.

0:02:38.826,0:02:41.070
It also took me a long time to comprehend

0:02:41.070,0:02:43.310
my mom's behavior.

0:02:43.310,0:02:45.885
Initially I thought that she[br]had exposed me to much

0:02:45.885,0:02:49.065
but now I understand[br]that what she was doing was in fact

0:02:49.065,0:02:51.775
an act of acceptance of my sexuality;

0:02:51.775,0:02:54.563
that to her, despite what society thought,

0:02:54.563,0:02:57.383
I was a beautiful and normal child.

0:02:58.553,0:03:02.756
In the sequence of my life I went through[br]a series of bullying situations

0:03:02.756,0:03:05.596
like most homosexuals.

0:03:05.596,0:03:10.685
I suffered bullying at school,[br]at college, at work,

0:03:10.685,0:03:14.945
but actually it's not about bullying[br]that I want to talk about here

0:03:14.945,0:03:16.957
because I believe that we have to learn

0:03:16.957,0:03:21.027
to do something positive[br]out of negative things in our lives,

0:03:21.027,0:03:24.065
so that we can be better human beings.

0:03:25.435,0:03:28.207
But it's evident that situations[br]of prejudice and violence

0:03:28.207,0:03:30.877
have consequences in our behavior.

0:03:30.877,0:03:35.948
Until my thirties I was an antisocial,[br]repressed, aggressive person,

0:03:35.948,0:03:38.468
and I wasn't able to comprehend myself.

0:03:38.468,0:03:41.444
With that, I also couldn't[br]comprehend others.

0:03:41.444,0:03:43.085
The fact that I suffered prejudice

0:03:43.085,0:03:47.755
made me absorb this prejudice[br]and I began to be a biased person.

0:03:47.755,0:03:51.933
I was biased against myself,[br]against others homosexuals.

0:03:51.933,0:03:54.573
I was biased against people in general.

0:03:54.573,0:03:57.456
For me it was like[br]the law of action and reaction.

0:03:57.456,0:03:59.294
As I received violence

0:03:59.294,0:04:02.204
I thought that I should spread[br]this violence to the world,

0:04:02.204,0:04:07.178
that I should repress my behavior[br]and all of my homosexual gestures

0:04:07.178,0:04:09.557
so that I wouldn't suffer more violence.

0:04:09.557,0:04:12.836
But it's evident that this model[br]doesn't sustain itself.

0:04:12.853,0:04:15.188
I also felt alone in this world.

0:04:15.188,0:04:17.478
As I come from a small town[br]with 20,000 inhabitants

0:04:17.478,0:04:20.738
and in my teenagehood[br]internet wasn't so popular yet,

0:04:20.738,0:04:23.066
I thought I was the only[br]homosexual in the world

0:04:23.066,0:04:25.394
and so I wasn't worthy of happiness,

0:04:25.394,0:04:27.734
that I really wasn't a normal person.

0:04:27.734,0:04:32.355
With time and with data and information[br]being shared on the internet,

0:04:32.355,0:04:34.664
I had access to information like this one:

0:04:34.664,0:04:37.424
a research in 500 Brazilian schools

0:04:37.424,0:04:42.174
revealed that 26 percent of the students[br]declared that they don't accept us,

0:04:42.174,0:04:46.953
25 percent believed[br]that we aren't trustable,

0:04:46.953,0:04:49.679
and 23 percent believed[br]that we are mentally ill.

0:04:49.679,0:04:52.304
I already have thought[br]all of that about myself.

0:04:52.304,0:04:55.668
Nowadays, I don't think that way anymore.

0:04:56.378,0:04:59.288
I also developed a certain rage[br]at the school model.

0:04:59.288,0:05:03.605
I had a lot of anger against schools[br]and against what happened in classrooms.

0:05:03.605,0:05:07.735
But, with time, I gave a new meaning [br]to this rage and I understood that in fact

0:05:07.735,0:05:11.105
schools are nothing[br]but the reflex of our society.

0:05:11.105,0:05:14.993
And if society doesn't change,[br]schools won't change either.

0:05:14.993,0:05:18.009
Therefore, I bring another[br]important information:

0:05:18.009,0:05:21.506
based on "Disque Denúncia,"[br]in the last four years

0:05:21.506,0:05:26.415
the index of complaints[br]of homophobia rose up by 460 percent.

0:05:26.415,0:05:31.246
This information has two sides:[br]one positive, that we, homosexuals,

0:05:31.246,0:05:34.836
are now able to talk more about this[br]and to claim our rights;

0:05:34.836,0:05:37.604
and the other that intolerance[br]might have increased.

0:05:37.604,0:05:40.419
Regardless of the interpretation[br]we make of this data,

0:05:40.419,0:05:42.244
I think that in the Brazilian society

0:05:42.244,0:05:46.854
we still have to discuss a lot[br]about tolerance and acceptance.

0:05:47.524,0:05:53.017
I ask you - not only regarding[br]the acceptance of homosexual people,

0:05:53.017,0:05:56.946
but the acceptance of others[br]regardless of who he might be.

0:05:56.946,0:06:00.226
When you look in the mirror,[br]what do you see?

0:06:01.516,0:06:04.915
Do you accept your hair,[br]and in my case, the lack of it?

0:06:04.915,0:06:09.095
Do you accept your weight, your gender?

0:06:09.095,0:06:10.858
Do you accept that of others?

0:06:10.858,0:06:14.060
And how do we contribute[br]for these concealed prejudices

0:06:14.060,0:06:16.190
to keep happening in our society?

0:06:16.190,0:06:19.723
Isn't it time for us to give[br]all of this a new meaning?

0:06:19.723,0:06:23.292
Like in that situation of my communion,[br]when that happened to me

0:06:23.292,0:06:25.840
and I received judgemental looks[br]for being different,

0:06:25.840,0:06:31.226
I still think society is too schematized[br]to give privilege to some people.

0:06:31.226,0:06:34.587
Like heterosexuals,[br]white people, rich people...

0:06:34.587,0:06:37.697
But how can we consciously[br]leave these models?

0:06:37.697,0:06:41.897
We've been educated to accept[br]certain behaviors, and not to question:

0:06:41.897,0:06:43.398
the clothes we wear,

0:06:43.398,0:06:45.830
the toys, that are defined by gender,

0:06:45.830,0:06:48.788
the housework,[br]that is associated to women,

0:06:48.788,0:06:50.307
the way we have to behave.

0:06:50.307,0:06:52.055
Who defined all of that?

0:06:52.055,0:06:55.667
Isn't it time for us to change[br]the meaning of these things?

0:06:56.957,0:07:00.204
I learned, in the hard way,[br]that the more I judged the other,

0:07:00.204,0:07:01.885
the less I would be comprehended.

0:07:01.885,0:07:04.573
When I started offering[br]comprehension to the world,

0:07:04.573,0:07:07.338
the world also started to comprehend me.

0:07:07.338,0:07:10.390
This became a mantra in my life,[br]and every day I try to say that:

0:07:10.390,0:07:13.385
"Judgement isolates people,[br]comprehension brings them together.

0:07:13.385,0:07:16.385
Judgement isolates people,[br]comprehension brings them together."

0:07:16.385,0:07:19.224
With that I learned that in fact

0:07:19.224,0:07:22.224
to be gay shouldn't be a subject[br]to be discussed in society.

0:07:22.224,0:07:23.697
This shouldn't be relevant.

0:07:23.697,0:07:26.442
I needed two years of therapy[br]to comprehend this

0:07:26.442,0:07:30.856
and to understand that I am Tiago,[br]I am a human being, a good person,

0:07:30.856,0:07:35.104
with hits and misses, that I deserve[br]to be happy, as do all of you.

0:07:36.464,0:07:41.779
I learned that with one of the persons[br]that brought me more learning in my life.

0:07:41.779,0:07:45.799
This person is here today, [br]she's 80 years old, and she's watching me.

0:07:45.799,0:07:48.796
(Applause)

0:07:58.007,0:07:58.985
Thank you.

0:07:58.985,0:08:02.548
It was in my grandma kitchen,[br]Massimília Conceição da Câmara,

0:08:02.548,0:08:04.854
that I learned how to be a person.

0:08:04.854,0:08:09.367
To her my sexuality never needed[br]to be a subject to be discussed.

0:08:09.367,0:08:12.945
She never asked me this question,[br]not because she was afraid of the answer,

0:08:12.945,0:08:17.358
but because to her[br]I've always been her grandson, Tiago,

0:08:17.358,0:08:22.255
a human being that deserves[br]respect, care, affection and acceptance

0:08:22.255,0:08:25.481
like all human beings, not only me.

0:08:25.481,0:08:29.754
My grandmother's love saved me[br]from addiction and self-aggression.

0:08:29.754,0:08:34.185
Through this gesture, I understood[br]that what humanity needs

0:08:34.185,0:08:37.216
isn't our aggressivity, neither our fears,

0:08:37.216,0:08:40.235
but love, whenever we can achieve it:

0:08:40.235,0:08:42.657
self-love, love for others,

0:08:42.657,0:08:46.056
including love for people[br]that we can't comprehend.

0:08:48.526,0:08:51.915
And it was only at this point[br]that I was able to free myself.

0:08:51.915,0:08:53.828
I could free myself from my job,

0:08:53.828,0:08:57.469
and from the most deep[br]prejudices that were inside me.

0:08:57.469,0:08:59.009
When I freed myself

0:08:59.009,0:09:01.347
from this heavy load that was inside me

0:09:01.347,0:09:03.488
I was able to make room for love.

0:09:03.488,0:09:05.736
And then my entrepreneurial[br]project came about.

0:09:05.736,0:09:08.284
It was from this liberation[br]that I could understand

0:09:08.284,0:09:11.827
my talent and the positive things[br]that I could do in my life.

0:09:11.827,0:09:14.205
It was in my grandma's kitchen[br]that I found myself.

0:09:14.205,0:09:17.731
It was from her sensibility[br]that I developed my own.

0:09:17.731,0:09:19.905
I didn't need to do a gastronomy course,

0:09:19.905,0:09:21.319
I didn't need to do anything.

0:09:21.319,0:09:25.785
I simply needed to liberate[br]something that was already inside me,

0:09:25.785,0:09:27.930
through the relation I had with her.

0:09:27.930,0:09:30.187
Then things started to be light in life.

0:09:30.187,0:09:34.024
Things started to come about[br]in a very easy and beautiful way.

0:09:34.654,0:09:36.524
Today I don't think I have a brand,

0:09:36.524,0:09:38.495
a company that may become international,

0:09:38.495,0:09:40.577
and that with that I can be a millionaire.

0:09:40.577,0:09:42.699
This doesn't even matter to me.

0:09:42.699,0:09:44.959
What I think is that I have a life project

0:09:44.959,0:09:46.774
that I share with other people.

0:09:46.774,0:09:50.538
From the moment that I accepted[br]and understood myself as a human being

0:09:50.538,0:09:54.508
I started to develop a pretty important[br]feeling in the world today,

0:09:54.508,0:09:56.076
that is empathy.

0:09:56.076,0:09:59.008
Today I comprehend [br]the suffering of others,

0:09:59.008,0:10:02.015
I can comprehend [br]the development of others,

0:10:02.015,0:10:05.881
and the importance of bringing up[br]a talent of our own and that of others.

0:10:05.881,0:10:07.946
I try to do this in my project.

0:10:07.946,0:10:10.663
The people that work with me[br]aren't my employees;

0:10:10.663,0:10:14.446
they are dreamers,[br]that dream their dreams with me.

0:10:14.806,0:10:17.469
Last night they recorded a message for me,

0:10:17.469,0:10:21.794
because during the last week they noticed[br]that I was tense to be here on this stage,

0:10:21.794,0:10:23.862
because I don't hide who I am anymore.

0:10:23.862,0:10:26.808
Then they sent this positivity[br]message to me.

0:10:26.808,0:10:31.126
There's nothing cooler in life[br]than to receive a gesture of kindness.

0:10:31.126,0:10:34.267
I'm so thankful that today[br]I could find this gesture.

0:10:34.267,0:10:37.745
It was only when I started to respect[br]and accept myself and other people

0:10:37.745,0:10:39.890
that I understood[br]the world can be lighter.

0:10:39.890,0:10:43.588
Things don't have to be dense and heavy,[br]it doesn't matter the noise outside.

0:10:43.588,0:10:45.569
When we can hear ourselves

0:10:45.569,0:10:48.655
all that noise becomes silence.

0:10:49.528,0:10:53.256
And I know that the path to find[br]our consciousness and to accept ourselves

0:10:53.256,0:10:55.299
is really complex, dense;

0:10:55.299,0:10:58.416
I took 18, 20 years to find myself.

0:10:58.416,0:11:01.227
But more important[br]than that is that we can be good

0:11:01.227,0:11:03.279
and try to transmit good to other people.

0:11:03.279,0:11:05.835
I feel a little bit like[br]a priest saying that...

0:11:05.835,0:11:07.598
(Laughter)

0:11:07.598,0:11:09.250
but I became an optimist person

0:11:09.250,0:11:13.006
because I believe in the human being[br]and in our potential as human beings.

0:11:13.556,0:11:16.635
I think that this movement[br]must come from inside, always.

0:11:16.635,0:11:18.876
Today we talk a lot about[br]empowering others,

0:11:18.876,0:11:20.876
about how much we can[br]empower other people.

0:11:20.876,0:11:22.675
But I think we can't empower anyone,

0:11:22.675,0:11:27.507
what we can do is to show these people[br]that we are beside them in this walk

0:11:27.507,0:11:30.479
because empowering comes from inside.

0:11:30.479,0:11:33.444
And for people that still suffer[br]some kind of prejudice,

0:11:33.444,0:11:35.521
that feel less than others[br]because of that,

0:11:35.521,0:11:39.441
that think they aren't worthy of happiness[br]as had happened to me,

0:11:39.441,0:11:43.428
and end up falling into addictions[br]like drugs, alcohol, indebtedness,

0:11:43.428,0:11:44.978
and a series of other addictions,

0:11:44.978,0:11:46.818
what I have to say to you

0:11:46.818,0:11:51.168
is that anxiety and difficulties[br]will only get out of you

0:11:51.168,0:11:54.354
when you start listening[br]to what's in your heart;

0:11:54.354,0:11:57.214
when you start to comprehend[br]who you are in the world

0:11:57.214,0:11:59.639
and how you can be nice to the world.

0:12:00.969,0:12:03.917
We can all be much more[br]than what we imagine.

0:12:03.917,0:12:07.025
Today, with my project[br]and my conquered freedom,

0:12:07.025,0:12:11.417
I can support the fight for the rights[br]of gay people like me, with no fear;

0:12:11.417,0:12:14.258
the rights of black people,[br]the rights of the elderly,

0:12:14.258,0:12:15.857
and any human being's rights.

0:12:15.857,0:12:18.190
Today I think that it's[br]from micro-revolutions

0:12:18.190,0:12:19.899
that we can transform the world.

0:12:19.899,0:12:23.958
I try to do this every day,[br]with different actions in my life.

0:12:24.508,0:12:28.751
Today I think that we are all equal,[br]and I look at that communion picture

0:12:28.751,0:12:30.449
and it doesn't bother me anymore.

0:12:30.449,0:12:32.922
I think that I looked pretty well,[br]dressed that way.

0:12:32.922,0:12:34.916
And I miss my hair.

0:12:34.919,0:12:35.976
(Laughter)

0:12:35.976,0:12:38.027
(Applause)

0:12:38.027,0:12:39.068
Thank you.

0:12:42.138,0:12:45.380
I think that our essence[br]says a lot about who we are.

0:12:45.385,0:12:47.883
I needed to revisit[br]my relationship with my grandma,

0:12:47.883,0:12:51.840
my relationship with my mom,[br]my family's acceptance of my story,

0:12:51.840,0:12:54.478
so that I could rebuild[br]the human being that I am today

0:12:54.478,0:12:56.806
and be a better human.

0:12:56.806,0:12:59.761
I have developed gratitude[br]for all my journey

0:12:59.761,0:13:02.886
because if I hadn't gone[br]through that communion situation,

0:13:02.886,0:13:05.778
those bullying situations,[br]and that violence I experienced,

0:13:05.778,0:13:08.109
I wouldn't have become[br]the human being I am today;

0:13:08.109,0:13:10.698
that is why it is so important[br]to give a new meaning

0:13:10.698,0:13:13.798
to negative things that happen in life.

0:13:13.798,0:13:17.138
What I say is that today I feel[br]like the best human being in the world.

0:13:17.138,0:13:20.039
I don't think that I'm the only[br]best human being in the world,

0:13:20.039,0:13:22.806
I think we all are[br]the best human beings in the world.

0:13:22.806,0:13:26.648
And we need to believe in that because[br]the world already has enough intolerance,

0:13:26.648,0:13:29.716
Brazil is already polarized enough,[br]and while we can't understand

0:13:29.716,0:13:34.562
that only by self-empowering[br]we'll be able to transform the world,

0:13:34.562,0:13:36.727
we won't leave this status.

0:13:37.187,0:13:39.802
I think it's more honest[br]for us to be as we are

0:13:39.802,0:13:41.798
than as others expect us to be.

0:13:41.798,0:13:45.344
And here I'll mention two gay men[br]who, throughout history, for me,

0:13:45.344,0:13:48.768
were very important,[br]they suffered violence too,

0:13:48.768,0:13:51.138
but they managed to do[br]something good out of that.

0:13:51.138,0:13:54.008
One of them was Harvey Milk, in the USA,

0:13:54.008,0:13:58.089
who ended up being victim of murder[br]for defending gay rights

0:13:58.089,0:13:59.448
in the '60s.

0:13:59.448,0:14:03.337
And the other one, misunderstood[br]in his time, is Caio Fernando Abreu.

0:14:03.337,0:14:05.674
"Gaucho" as us, he ended up[br]being a victim of AIDS

0:14:05.674,0:14:09.394
and today his texts[br]have been popularized on the internet.

0:14:09.954,0:14:15.725
To finish my message, I would like[br]to ask you this question:

0:14:15.725,0:14:18.125
why does my affection affect you?

0:14:18.125,0:14:20.583
Why are we so intolerant?

0:14:20.583,0:14:24.888
I hope that from that we can develop[br]a little bit more empathy

0:14:24.888,0:14:27.417
and make the world much more meaningful.

0:14:27.417,0:14:28.418
Thank you.

0:14:28.418,0:14:29.528
(Applause)