Municipal authorities and several people, members of different groups and in their own capacity, have participated this Friday afternoon in the celebration of the LGTBIQ+ Pride Day in San Roque. The organization has been carried out by the Delegation of Equality and Social Affairs of the San Roque City Council, with the collaboration of the Roja Directa Association.
The Councillor for Equality and Social Services, Eva Gil, chaired these events, in which she stressed at all times that the objective of the same is to underline the importance of fighting so that we can all love in freedom. The activities began at 6:00 p.m. with a conference entitled “From tolerance to recognition”, given by the jurist Octavio Salazar, who began by explaining that while tolerance implies that the other is not seen as an equal, but as someone at a lower point on the ladder, in recognition both parties are on the same level.
He recalled that homosexuality is persecuted in one in three countries, and that in Spain a long journey has been made from a legal point of view that did not culminate until well into the 21st century, with milestones such as the reform of the Civil Code that allowed marriage between people of the same sex and with the so-called “Trans Law”, of 2023, which expands the rights of all LGTBIQ+ groups. In any case, Salazar stressed that “rights are never definitive conquests,” and today the “Trans Law” has been appealed in the Constitutional Court by the PP.
She expressed her fear at the increase in hate crimes targeting sexual orientation, and made a list of future challenges that must be faced, such as education from and for equality, giving greater visibility to diverse women, the fight against plumophobia even in the gay world itself, and progress in areas such as the rural world, the gypsy population, people with disabilities and the elderly.
At the end of the conference, the attendees moved to the Alameda Alfonso XI, where the speech for Pride Day began, also by Octavio Salazar. He focused on it as a letter to a girl called Emma, daughter of a couple formed by two men. He reminded her of moments in her life, such as a childhood that she would not like to return to because of the problems she had to face for knowing she was different. In addition to launching some darts at the Catholic Church, which he defined as “one of the great closets of History”, he made an appeal to the “macho men of the world”, whom he urged to “become faggots once and for all”.
The jurist from Cordoba remembered Manolo El Seta, “the faggot from my town, Cabra”, and also insisted on abandoning “shame”, as it is “the opposite of dignity”. In this sense, he stressed that “a closet is like a concentration camp”, as well as “a garbage can where dreams rot”. He ended his speech by reminding that “rights have to be fought for every day”, and insisted to politicians that “it is not enough to make the rainbow the wallpaper” to look good.
Eight people, including Eva Gil and other councillors from the Corporation, then read the manifesto prepared by the Roja Directa collective. This text highlights the progress made in recent years in the acceptance by the majority of society of the reality of sexual and gender diversity.
The manifesto emphasizes the need to work with “the sector of society” that does not accept “love free of judgments”, and thanks the families who “no longer try to change their sons and daughters” and the people who have evolved in their positions. Gratitude is also shown to the people who started this fight despite the great difficulties they had to face, and also to “the committed institutions.”
The text concludes with the need to make progress in this area, especially in countries where this diversity is “synonymous with condemnation,” and with the hope that one day “love” will emerge victorious.
After the manifesto, the rainbow flag was raised, after which the event was closed.
Octavio Salazar Benítez (Cabra, Córdoba, 1969) is a Spanish jurist specialising in Constitutional Law, particularly known for his work on gender issues. He is a professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Córdoba, accredited as a professor, as well as a member of the Feminist Network of Constitutional Law and the Equality Commission at the same university.
As for the International LGBT+ Pride Day, it is commemorated every June 28, a date on which different associations, foundations and groups demand that the needs of all those people who are diverse in their sexuality and gender expression and identity be met in order to continue advancing on the path towards equality that is not only legal, but also absolute and necessarily real.
The LGTBI flag or rainbow flag – sometimes called the “freedom flag” – has been used as a symbol of gay and lesbian pride since the late 1970s. The different colors symbolize the diversity in the LGTBI community. Although it was born in California, it is currently used throughout the world.
