Spain
and Portugal have a long history of official repression
and public tolerance of homosexuality. These days, the voices
of repression can generally be ignored, and the two countries
are as gay-friendly as practically anywhere you care to mention.
Sitges, Ibiza, Torremolinos, the Algarve and the Chueca quarter
of Madrid are the main gay centres, but except for the most
rural backwaters, you will find some gay life everywhere.
Unfortunately,
there are still vestiges of anti-gay feeling among
more conservative elements in Spain, and the eight years of
government by the Partido Popular were less than ideal.
The consistently reactionary and disproportionately influential
Catholic church, in particular, is light years from accepting
homosexuality as normal. And local initiatives aside, issues
like single-sex marriage and adoption by homosexual couples
are yet to be resolved, as in most of the world. Even so, it
can be said that Spanish legislation with regard to gays and
lesbians is at least as liberal and in most cases more so than
that in more modern Western nations.
Historically,
the place with most "tradition" of homosexuality
in Spain and Portugal is Andalusia - in fact, in Spanish,
to say that someone "comes from Cadiz" is the same as saying
they are gay. Like most minorities, homosexuals were singled
out for persecution during the long decades of the Franco
dictatorship. Though this was relaxed a little during the
sixties, a law outlawing "homosexual acts" passed in 1970
led to the emergence of a kind of gay resistance movement
in Spain and among Spaniards abroad, particularly in Paris.
But by the end of the transition (the period between Franco's
death in 1975 and the formation of the first fully elected
government in 1982), the situation had almost been turned
on its head.
In terms of stature, the
list of famous Spanish gays must necessarily begin with Federico
García Lorca. Contemporary illustrious Spanish gays include
Juan Goytisolo, Antonio Gala, Eloy de la Iglesia, the late
Terenci Moix and, of course, the inimitable Pedro Almodovar.
Hotels Hotel
Club
This booking service covers a very wide range of places in both
Spain
and Portugal.
Venere.com
An on-line booking service with great discounts.
Car
Hire Auto
Europe Car rental, motor homes, minibuses... And an interesting short-term
lease option.
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