WHO: Leonardo Zuniga, 25, photographer/human rights activist; with roommates Apolinar Garcia and Rony Padilla.

WHAT: Three-bedroom apartment.

WHERE: Bloor and Sherbourne.

HOW LONG: Four months.

FAVOURITE THING: Zuniga zeroes in on the orange and silver retro starburst wall clock. “That was my gift when I [finished a recent] contract with SOY [Supporting Our Youth],” says the passionate volunteer worker. Zuniga was once a client at the Sherbourne Health Centre organization and he now assists with their queer community empowerment projects.

LEAST FAVOURITE THING: His bedroom’s square footage: “It’s too small!” At a loss to provide an exact number, he pulls out a long metal meter ruler and measures exactly 90 x 140 inches. Owning little furniture of his own, the photographer uses his bedroom as a basic studio/living space. “My goal is to have my own studio, but I need to start somewhere.”

THE STORY: Mexican-born refugee Zuniga has lived in Toronto for three years. During that time, he’s scoured co-op housing lists, bouncing between eight different residences, taken numerous ESL classes to tackle the language barrier and understand immigration paperwork, survived on food banks and homeless shelters for meals because there was “no money, no permit — nothing. It was so difficult.”

He may fret about tight corners and sparse walls, but he’s thankful to have an assembled set of Ikea furniture for a bedroom he can call his own.

Two heavy, dark wood dressers make up for the limited storage space, holding neatly folded clothes, books, work binders and DVDs of favourites like Harry Potter and Queer as Folk in Spanish.

Zuniga smartly splits his day/night activities in the bedroom’s other half. Near the window, a utilitarian box-like wire frame has a ladder leading up to a single bunk covered with a black comforter and sea-foam sheets, the lone accent of colour. Underneath is a large, glass-covered desk with mementoes stuck to the hanging magnetic board, including his AGO ticket stub from the recent Ansel Adams and Alfred Eisenstaedt show.

Zuniga’s love for photography developed through a SOY drop-in photo workshop, and his works of cut-and-paste, three-dimensional urban landscapes will be in an upcoming group exhibition at Gallery 44 for the Contact 2008 Festival. A recent recipient of the gallery’s David Barker Award, he’s there most nights, developing film in the dark room.

Despite his involvement in queer refugee issues, Zuniga is still facing deportation to the country he left because of its dangerously homophobic environment. But with an online petition (see www.leonardozuniga.ca) and support from individuals like MP Olivia Chow and Councillor Adam Giambrone, Zuniga is making headways. Says Zuniga, “I want… to be able to be who I am.” 

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