- The sixth edition of the sectoral recognitions praises historical activism, sports visibility and the conservation of LGTBI+ cultural heritage.
- The official delivery gala will be held on Saturday, June 20 at 8:00 p.m. at the Casa de la Música in Fuenlabrada.
- Football player Alberto Lejárraga is highlighted as a key reference for youth who face intolerance in sports environments.
The Madrid delegation of activism from the south of the region has revealed the winners of the Fuenla Entiende 2026 Awards. The Fuenla Entiende LGTB association has officially made public the names of the personalities and social projects selected to receive the distinctions in its sixth consecutive edition. This year’s categories unanimously pay tribute to figures who have transformed their respective work, artistic and political environments in favor of human rights and the visibility of the diverse community throughout the Spanish State.
Manolita Chen receives the national award for her legacy
The highest honorary recognition of the citizen entity has fallen on one of the most respected figures in the history of the Spanish movement. Manuela Saborido Muñoz, popularly known in the institutional sphere as Manolita Chen, has been awarded the National Award for her tireless social work at the head of her homonymous foundation.
The organization highlights the combative career of this activist of Cadiz origin, whose childhood and youth were spent under the repression of the Franco dictatorship. Its historical persistence has served to guarantee housing resources and comprehensive support for people in the group in situations of extreme vulnerability, shielding them from systematic exclusion for reasons of gender identity or sexual orientation.
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Visibility in professional men’s football against intolerance
In the individual recognition section, the Fuenla Entiende organizing committee has rewarded the work of the professional footballer Alberto Lejárraga. The current goalkeeper of the Unión Deportiva San Sebastián de los Reyes accepts this award for his firm determination when it comes to making visible the reality of homosexual athletes in a traditionally hermetic and masculinized environment such as football.
The entity emphasizes that the athlete’s public behavior has become a mirror of dignity and security for children and adolescents who wish to participate in federated competitions without hiding who they are. His figure drastically breaks the barriers and prejudices rooted in stadiums, offering tools of civil empowerment to confront verbal attacks or discrimination in elite sport.
Arkhé Archive and the preservation of historical memory
The Collective Prize of this sixth edition has been awarded to the exhibition hall and documentation center Arkhé Archive, recognizing its role in cultural management. The headquarters of this institution currently houses the largest collection of art on LGTBI+ themes in the entire national territory, configuring an indispensable inventory for Spanish sociological analysis.
In addition to its exhibition function, the space normally operates as a free-access academic research center. This documentary work makes it possible to bring the historical heritage, literary production and political memory of dissidents closer to all citizens, safeguarding the archives and testimonies of the social struggles of past decades from institutional oblivion.
Details of the official gala at the House of Music
The official ceremony where the Fuenla Entiende 2026 Awards statuettes will be awarded will take place next Saturday, June 20, starting at 8:00 p.m. The town council has provided the facilities of the Casa de la Música de Fuenlabrada, located on the central Valdemorillo street without number, to host an event that will bring together local political representatives and social groups.
With the celebration of this new edition, Fuenla Entiende consolidates these awards as one of the annual reference events within the Community of Madrid. The event serves to reaffirm the importance of providing institutional support to those who build spaces of effective equality through competitive sports, the conservation of independent art and traditional grassroots activism.
