The City Council hosted the presentation of the book that rescues Colita’s historical report on the first major LGTBI+ demonstration in Spain
On February 24, the Saló de les Cròniques of the Barcelona City Council hosted the presentation of Nosaltres no tenim por, nosaltres som, a publication edited by La Fábrica in collaboration with the Ministry of Equality that recovers, for the first time in its entirety, the report that the photojournalist Isabel Steva Hernández, Colita (1940-2023), made about what is considered the first major LGTBI+ demonstration in Spain.
From Rainbow Magazine we were present at an event that not only reviewed history, but also placed it at the center of the current debate on memory, rights and cultural resistance.
An institutional opening with a political message
The inauguration was led by Maria Eugènia Gay Rosell, second deputy mayor of Barcelona, who stressed the importance of preserving democratic memory and recognizing the city’s role in promoting LGTBI+ activism in Spain.
The closing was carried out by Julio del Valle de Íscar, general director for real and effective Equality for LGTBI+ people of the Ministry of Equality, who highlighted the need to continue advancing in public policies that guarantee the protection of rights against ideological setbacks and hate speech.
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The institutional presence showed that the legacy of June 26, 1977 does not only belong to the past, but continues to be part of the contemporary political debate.
June 26, 1977: when making yourself visible was a risky act
The demonstration held in Barcelona in 1977 marked a turning point in the history of the LGTBI+ movement in our country. In the midst of the Transition, with repressive structures still active, thousands of people occupied public space to demand dignity, freedom and recognition.
Colita captured that moment with a look that today is a historical archive and collective memory. His images portrayed banners, bodies and gestures that defied fear.
The presentation brought together in a colloquium led by: Francesc Polop, director of the Colita Archive; Nazario, cartoonist and painter; Laura Terré, photography historian; Sergio Marey, artist and cultural manager; and Maria Giralt, LGTBI+ activist and feminist. The conversation was moderated by Rafael Doctor, curator of the project.
During the meeting, they reflected on the role of photography as a political tool, the importance of preserving historical archives and the need to connect those struggles with current challenges.
The debate left a clear idea: memory is not a nostalgic exercise, but a collective responsibility.
Queer culture as a tool of resistance
Because memory is not a romantic exercise.
It is a collective defense tool.
At an international moment where LGTBIQ+ rights are once again being questioned in different contexts, recovering 1977 is not nostalgia. It’s strategy.
Say “we are” then and now
That first big demonstration was not just a symbolic milestone. It was a break with the silence.
Almost five decades later, the question remains open:
Are we taking care of memory with the same determination with which rights were won?
The presentation of Nosaltres no tenim por, nosaltres som reminded us that each projected image is also a warning against oblivion.
And that culture, when it is memory, is also resistance.
