Next Sunday, 6 October, a commemorative event will be held in honour of Sonia Rescalvo Zafra, who was murdered by a group of neo-Nazis in 1991 in Ciutadella Park, Barcelona, where she lived. It will take place at the bandstand which has borne her name since 2013.
This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the sentencing related to Sonia’s murder. The event set a precedent since, at the time of the murder, hate crimes were not yet legally recognised. This ruling helped put an end to the impunity surrounding crimes against LGBTI individuals.
The event’s programme has been drawn up by the working group of the LGBTI Municipal Council, which includes the participation of the organisations FAGC, ACATHI [Catalan Association for Integrating Homosexual, Bisexual and Transsexual Immigrants], Veus Trans, Stop, GAG and Encara en Acció.
The event will begin at 11 am and finish at 1.30 pm. It will include musical performances, visibility and awareness activities, such as the “Living Library” facilitated by ACATHI (this activity involves books/people inviting the public to learn about the experiences of transgender individuals, exchange opinions, and learn). The “La glorieta dels desitjos” (the wishing bandstand) activity, led by Stop, will fill the Sonia Rescalvo Zafra bandstand with colourful ribbons and positive trans messages. There will be a badge workshop for children, organised by Veus Trans, a bag-making workshop hosted by GAG and Encara en Acció, and a space where citizens can record video messages addressed to Sonia, sharing what the event means to them.
The non-binary actress, comedian, and trans rights activist Vidda Priego will host the event, which will feature representatives from the municipal government, members of various LGBTI organisations in the city, the Municipal LGTBI Council, and individuals who initiated the public prosecution.
Who was Sonia Rescalvo?
Sonia Rescalvo Zafra was born in Cuenca in 1956. During her youth, she moved to Barcelona, where she came to form part of the artistic world of Paral·lel at the Teatre Arnau. She worked for many years as a showgirl and became very famous. With the decline of the variety show industry, she lost her job and had to move to Parc de la Ciutadella, where she lived and became a sex worker.
She was brutally murdered on the morning of 6 October 1991 by a group of Neo-Nazis on the bandstand in Parc de la Ciutadella. At the time of the attack, Sonia was sleeping in the bandstand with her friend Doris, who was also assaulted. Before running off, the group of nazis attacked a third homeless person –who lost their sight in the attack– in the park greenhouse.
The events were reported by the Catalan Gay Liberation Front (FAGC) and the Gay and Lesbian Coordinating Committee. In 1994, the trial was held at Barcelona Provincial Criminal Court, and the attackers were found guilty of her murder and sentenced.
30 years since the first conviction for hate crimes
The murder of Sonia Rescalvo was a fascist-motivated hate crime. This crime was a mixture of transphobia, hatred of Sonia’s gender identity, and aporophobia, which is the rejection of those living on the streets and lacking financial means.
At the time of the murder, hate crimes were not yet legally recognised. The fact that it was reported by LGBTI organisations and that the perpetrators were sentenced set a precedent that ended the impunity of crimes against LGBTI+ people.
Over time, Sonia Rescalvo has become a symbol for LGBTI groups fighting against transphobia, hate and fascism. The 6 October, the date of her death, has become a significant date for the memory of trans people in Catalonia and falls within Trans October, which, at an international level, calls for the end to the pathologisation of these identities.