“Our pride, our struggle”. These were the first chants breaking the tranquillity of El Médano to kick off the Pride Day demonstration. At 18:00, LGTBIQ+ and intersectional rainbow flags were waved, and the Red Square of El Médano vibrated with the Tamatimba drum group. The multicoloured wave was made up of hundreds of people with a clear objective: to demand respect for sexual, family, and gender diversity on Pride Day.
Tenerife associations CanaryPride, Pedro Zerolo Foundation, ChrysallisCanarias, Libertrans, Aperttura, Caminar Intersex, and Diversas were responsible for organizing this massive event which featured advocacy for the rights of an entire community and celebration for the recognition and laws achieved so far.
From the Red Square to El Médano square, hundreds of people marched with banners bearing messages like “My pride is greater than your prejudice” and “Love should not cost freedom or life”. They were accompanied by chants such as “We don’t parade, we demonstrate” and “the fight continues no matter what”. A well-known song played, “who cares what I do, who cares what I say”. The song became the soundtrack of the demonstration with a message of freedom, one that many people gathered for in the southern municipality yesterday.
In El Médano square, people like Felipe San Martín, a volunteer with Amnesty International, were present. In his case, he carried banners discussing the personal case of Argentine activist Pierina Nochetti, who faces up to four years in prison for painting a graffiti in support of the LGTBIQ+ community. He also spoke up on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community in Turkey, which “since 2015 has banned and repressed Pride marches throughout the country”. He wanted to emphasize that “the rights of LGBTQ+ people are being threatened worldwide”.
Protesters in El Médano streets on Pride Day. / Arturo Jiménez
“I faced many painful situations that I don’t want anyone else to go through”
They arrived at a desert where there was nothing. This is how the southern association feels for having succeeded in uniting the community in the south of the island. Dailos Luis is the president of Canarypride and a social worker. Through these two professions, he works by providing support and the necessary help for people belonging to the community and by educating those who need specific training to know how to “treat people with the respect they deserve”.
Luis emphasizes: “we are still a persecuted community”. In this sense, social work entered his life to help people suffering from discrimination. Thus, he has managed to unite his cis gay identity to provide professional help with training. “I faced many painful situations that I don’t want anyone else to go through,” he asserts.
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Anthony Carballo, activist, doctor, and sexologist from the Diversas association. / Arturo Jiménez
The activist fighting for accessible healthcare for LGTBIQ+ people
Diversas aims to improve the quality of life for LGTBIQ+ people. They believe that people in the community, like anyone else, need more than seven minutes in a medical consultation. Diversas provides an early detection service for.
The Libretrans association provides support to people facing HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, as well as offering sexological assistance for issues related to identity or orientation.
Psychological care for violence in their homes and for LGBTphobia are some of the main reasons why people turn to the association.
Carballo, out of vocation and as a member of the community, decided to work in the organization to ensure that individuals have access to a basic right such as healthcare. Their goal is to make public healthcare a service that the community can benefit from.
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Yelko Fernández, president of the Libretrans association. / Arturo Jiménez
“I Want to be Like Everyone Else, Without Having to Hide, Fight, or Say I’m Trans with Fear”
The unity of trans individuals led to the creation of the Libertrans association. Yelko Fernández, as an LGBTQ+ member, is aware of the challenges they face in society. “We are the most criticised community,” he acknowledges. Fernández, first-hand, knows the reality that trans people endure. “We receive a lot of mockery,” he declares. That’s why his phone is always available to help anyone in need of support.
His goal is to work towards having the rights of trans individuals recognised and ensuring they have a future with equal opportunities.
When he hears questions like why Pride Day is still celebrated, his response is clear: “I want to be like everyone else, without having to hide, fight, or say I’m trans with fear.”
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Jana Mandelik / Arturo Jiménez
“Trans Childhoods Have Always Existed. Adult Trans Individuals Were Children Once”
Jana Mandelik emotionally shares the story of her daughter who, at five years old, expressed that she was a girl. The president of the Chrysalis association in the Canary Islands still remembers the words: “Mom, I’m a girl, can’t you see it?” Mandelik states that there is much ignorance about how to act, and in Chrysalis, she found the support and information she needed.
The association provides support to families detecting or suspecting that they have a transgender child at home. They aim to provide the necessary information and dispel fears such as those Mandelik experienced with her daughter. This situation arises from a lack of understanding of a trans reality from childhood or adolescence.
One of the messages she wants to convey is that “trans childhoods have always existed. Adult trans individuals were children once.”
