By Euro Weekly News Media • Published: 25 May 2017 • 10:00
FLYING THE FLAG: Associations believe the event has lost its soul
LGBT associations in Torremolinos are up in arms after the council’s decision to seize control of the 2017 Gay Pride celebrations sparked outrage.
In a statement they claim the town hall has “politicised” the event and “prioritised the recreational and tourist elements above the educational and social aspects” and are threatening to boycott the main parade as a “symbolic protest.”
President of LGBT campaign group Andalucia Diversa, Antonio Ferre, explained how in 2014 former conservative mayor Pedro Fernandez Montes axed an event planned for the central Plaza de la Nogalera due to its proximity to a children’s playground.
This led to local groups working together in a fight for sexual freedom and diversity, and after a major protest the Torremolinos Gay Pride was given the green light by the new socialist council in 2015.
But just two years later the event has lost much of its social awareness message to become “completely focused on tourism and business,” said Ferre.
Spokesperson for the Colega group in Torremolinos, Santiago Rubio, added that Culture councillor Aida Blanes has “excluded the associations that started the Pride” and neglected to hold regular meetings “that have never happened” beyond a single get together in February.
President of the Ojala body, Charo Alises, stressed the need for the council to “balance” the programme, highlighting activities such as a donation of books to the library, an anti-homophobia vigil in Plaza de la Nogalera and a cineforum representing “the true spirit of the pride.”
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