She was a transgender activist, who was a veteran of the 1969 Stonewall Inn uprising. She was Puerto Rican and Venezuelan, grew up in NYC and ran away from home at age 11 because of a challenging childhood and having been targeted by classmates for being Transgender. In 1973, Rivera was part of the Gay Pride Parade but was not allowed to speak on stage because of Transphobia within the LGBTQ community. Instead of walking away, she grabbed the mic and uplifted how much work has been done by drag queens and other transfeminine people. She worked with Marsh P. Johnson in founding the group known as Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR). They worked to provide housing and support to LGBTQ people and particularly youth who were forced to live on the streets due to lack of support or instances of violence at home. Rivera was homeless herself many times. After decades of work in the NYC LGBTQ community, Sylvia passed away from liver cancer at 50 years old.