The Barcelona LGBTI Centre is marking its fifth anniversary with a party on Saturday, 18 May, as part of the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. The first part of the celebration will be at the centre itself in C/ Comte Borrell, with family activities, and the second part will be in Plaça de Catalunya, with concerts and performances.
All the activities for the celebration are open to all, with free admission. Part of the programme has been funded thanks to the municipal tourist tax.
The poster for the celebration was designed by Felipe Román, whose illustrations seek to capture the diverse, vibrant and colourful spirit of on occasion for celebrating and promoting a message.
Activities at the LGBTI Centre and in C/ Comte Borrell
The event starts at the LGBTI Centre in C/ Comte Borrell at 11 am, between the streets of Parliament and Marqués de Campo Sagrado, with activities for everybody and consisting of different artistic disciplines.
A special episode of Kobra Kuir, the talk show presented by Norma Mor / Muerte a la Norma, will be held in C/ Comte Borrell with various interviews and surprises. There will also be a space for the theatre show Caída libre para personas con vértigo, by the Bragacadavra theatre company.
Throughout the morning there will also be an art market, curated by the artist Andreu Llorca and offering jewellery, ceramics, textile art, illustrations and more, along with a childcare and playing space by Petita Arcàdia. The morning session concludes with a cumbia session by Missex.
In parallel, inside the LGBTI Centre there’s a storytelling workshop from children between the ages of 3 and 12, by Sara Manubens; the performance and talk “Los careos de mi copla”, offering a musical journey through pasadobles and 70s and 80s music, by Fito Conesa, and the tarot workshop “El llenguatge dels ocells” by Lu Chieregati.
There’s also a chance to visit the audiovisual installation “Un Mundo Que No Es El Nuestro”, by the Palestinian artist Maria Zreiq, whose work is based around memory, nostalgia and the enduring resistance of social and political revolt over time, plus the exhibitions “Un archivo inexistente”, by Felipe Rivas San Martín, and “Encarnar la ferida”, by cymbionte colectiv_
Evening party in Plaça Catalunya
The festivities move onto Plaça de Catalunya for the first time in the evening, where a large stage will be installed for various musical performances, with Brigitta Lamoure as the host.
The concerts begin at 6 pm, with the choirs of the Barcelona Rainbow Singers and the Barcelona Gay Men’s Chorus.
After that it’s the turn of Jim, known for her participation in the programme Eufòria.
At 8.15 pm, LLUM take centre stage with their blend of experimental pop, underground electronic music, dark techno and breakcore, accompanied by the dance performance of The voguing Sm4ck Down by Jayce.
The final part of the event features three very different DJ sets. At 8.45 it’s the turn of Chico Blanco, with his particular sound combining 90s house music, UK garage music, rap, ambient sounds and pop.
After that comes Oro Jondo, combining techno and hard acid sounds with trance, hard groove and Latinx club, in a project with the sounds of bacalao, la màquina and other peripheral culture rhythms running through it, to take the 2000 club culture into the future.
The final performance of the night comes from Deena Abdelwahed, with her musical exploration inspired by diversity of Arab music, with influences from electronic music and the experimental scene.