Barcelona to Erect LGBT Monument – Possibly near Gaudi’s Famous Sagrada Familia
piss the Pope off!
“In memory of gays, lesbians and transsexuals who have suffered persecution and repression throughout history. Barcelona 2011” –
that’s the inscription on the granite pink triangle the local authority announced today it would possibly place right opposite the basilica of the Sagrada Familia.
The Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudí’s unfinished masterpiece, is one of Barcelona’s most popular tourist attractions. Construction on this church will continue at least until 2041, but it has already become Barcelona’s most important landmark.
The announcement – in a statement – came just weeks after the Pope consecrated the building, and faced a mass kiss-in on his route through the city.
The park opposite is currently being re-modelled, and Barcelona’s city council said it’s a perfect central location for a monument to the LGBT community, which will no doubt become a place of pilgrimage in the way that a similar site in Amsterdam has.
Not everyone was thrilled. The leader of the opposition Partido Popular in Barcelona described the decision to put the monument opposite such a potent symbol of the Catholic Church as “pure provocation” and demanded the decision be reversed. Those in favour – who include transsexual activist and actress Carla Antonelli – can’t understand their opposition, and ask whether the PP is arguing that the persecution and assassination of gays is somehow “less detestable than any other crime”, or worse, that it’s something the party approves of.
As of this afternoon, council sources have indicated that the site opposite the basilica has now been ruled out, and that the city’s Sculpture Commission will soon make the final decision as to where the LGTB monument should go. We’ll keep you posted.
