It seems like we have always lived in the 21st century, but the Barcelona that the LGTBI community experienced in the 1980s was very different from today's city. If you listen to the story of José Tenorio, you will see why.
Just for a moment, let's go back to the Barcelona of half a century ago. In 1970, the Franco regime's Social Danger Act was amended making it possible to intern and subject to psychiatric treatment people who were suspected of being homosexual, while the Catalan Front for Gay Freedom was not legalised until 1980. It was not an easy life, being attracted to someone of the same sex, and it wasn't a good idea to make it known. Even so, in the 1970s, José Pérez Ocaña, whose performances would enliven the Libertarian Sessions held in Park Güell in 1977, let himself be seen on La Rambla. But not everyone dared to make themselves visible like Ocaña, in a Barcelona where AIDS was about to make its appearance. The director and dramatist Úrsula Tenorio knows about this, through the experience of one of her great uncles. José Tenorio was born in Cádiz, the youngest of eight siblings, and after an adolescent escapade in Madrid, he ended up living his adult life in Barcelona. By the clothes and wigs he kept, he may have been a transvestite, but he kept his activities completely to himself. At the end of the 1980s, he contracted AIDS, and without any effective treatment to combat the illness, he returned to the south, moved into an empty house and lived apart from his family and friends until his death in 1993, without anyone having been able to talk openly about what was happening to him or what had been the cause of his death. José's story is similar to that of many other people who lived sexually dissident lives, in a way that is difficult to imagine today. For that reason, this production, partly drawing on the experiences of some pioneers of the LGTBI struggle in Barcelona, is about flamenco and transvestism, Barcelona's nightlife in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and of course, about AIDS.
The production is by Lalinea, a group formed in the Institute of Theatre, which connects people from various specialities and disciplines, all with the common conviction that what is personal is also political.
A Teatre Lluire production.
With the collaboration of the Barcelona LGTBI Centre, Casal Lambda, Fundació Enllaç, GENI (UB), MEDUSA (UOC) and CC Parc Sandaru.
Authors: Lalinea Director and dramatist: Úrsula Tenorio Performers: Alejandro Avrai, Aleix Castany, Goliarda Parda (Marcel Fenocchio), Úrsula Tenorio Music performed by: Sergio Camacho Scenographers: Enric Naudi, Úrsula Tenorio Costumes design: LaLínea Dressmaker: Marta Lofi, Aleix Garcia, Mariona Signes Wigs: Manuel Pereira Lighting design: Enric Naudi, Jordi Baldó Sound design / sound conception: Sergio Camacho Assistant director: Andrea Pellejero Audiovisual: Miguel Galván Executive producer: Rut Girona Movement advisor: Roberto G. Alonso Dramaturgy advisor: Albert Boronat Director's assistants: Gabi Jiménez, Gaia Bautistaç With the collaboration of: Carme Pollina, Carme Vidal, Dèbora Cartañà, Emilio Tenorio, Ferran Pujol, Jaume Piqué, Joan Tallada, Joaquim Roqueta, Jordi Petit, Jordi Samsó, José Romero, Julia Cabrera, Leopold Estapé, Lidia Gómez, Luís Argudo, Luís Escribano, Maria Codina, Miguel Galván, Nazario Luque, Thais Morales, Vicenç Ferrer, Rafael Cáceres, Claudi Royo, Domingo Belart, Juanjo Martínez, Titiritrans, Discotecas años 70, 80 BCN, Jordi Neus, Cesc Girona, Tina Aguilar and Urati Lab.
