Talks, round tables and a concert by Melody provide the event with a programme that promotes freedom and equality.
Beyond the music, art and celebration that already characterise it, the Isla Bonita Love Festival is, above all, a commitment. An unwavering commitment to inclusion, respect, memory and diversity. For this reason, the Isla Bonita Love Festival Social Week, organised by the Cabildo de La Palma through Sodepal, continues to be a fundamental pillar of commitment to the island's society, as the island's president, Sergio Rodríguez, emphasised at the presentation ceremony.
Rodríguez recalled that the Isla Bonita Love Festival's Social Week is a key initiative to strengthen the festival's commitment to diversity and freedom, promoting freedom and equality through a diverse and enriching programme that goes beyond entertainment.
He also stressed the importance of this Social Week, in which, in addition to events, it becomes a platform to defend the rights of the LGTBI+ collective and promote a more inclusive world. The festival, as a whole, seeks to generate a positive and lasting impact on the island of La Palma, promoting diversity and respect in every corner of the island".
For her part, the CEO of Sodepal, Miriam Perestelo, indicated that this year, on a national level, the slogan 'Being LGTBI+ beyond the big cities' recalls the challenges faced by people of this group in more rural environments, with this Social Week event stressing the importance of making visible those who, from the distance of urban centres, continue to suffer rejection due to their condition.
Perestelo also indicated that "spaces such as the Love Festival bring people together, generate community and break silences that for a long time were invisible".
The presentation of this year's agenda was attended by the mayor of Tazacorte, Manuel González, and the councillors for Social Services of the municipality and Los Llanos de Aridane, Lisi Sánchez and Idaira Pérez, respectively, as well as the president of the Violetas La Palma Collective, Besay Viña.
The latter indicated that "this Pride is not just another one", stressing that it will be held "at a time of regression, attacks and attempts to erase our identities and our achievements. We have seen this in the Canary Islands and throughout Spain. But we have also seen something even stronger: the response of the people. Our capacity to organise ourselves, to resist and to shout that we will not go back a single step".
The programme of activities presented is designed for reflection and action, and will begin on Tuesday 24 June, starting with an emotional institutional recognition of the victims of the Social Danger Act in La Palma. This event, which will take place in the emblematic Palacio Salazar, is an indispensable exercise in remembrance.
On the afternoon of Tuesday 24th, there will be the opportunity to listen to the courageous testimonies of Juana María Ortega Santana and Víctor Ramírez, voices silenced for too long, who will remind us that the struggle for human rights and dignity has no expiry date.
On Wednesday 25 June, reflection and dialogue are invited with the unique opportunity to delve into the history of the LGTBI collective in Spain with the screening of the first chapter of the series 'Zero, the magazine that brought a country out of the wardrobe', followed by an enriching encounter with Miguel Ángel López, its director. That same afternoon, the Avenida de Puerto Naos will witness a special edition of the popular LGTBI podcast 'Lo Normal', with the participation of Nerea Pérez de las Heras and Antonio Nuño, guaranteeing a space of humour, information and closeness.
The social agenda on Thursday 26 June will turn into a high-level political and social convention. It will be attended by such relevant figures as Miquel Fernández, Tony Poveda, Carla Antonelli, Miguel Ángel López and Conchi Zerolo, who will offer an in-depth and celebratory look at the twenty years of equal marriages in the country. A milestone that marked a before and after, and that reminds us of the transformative power of the struggle for equality.
On Friday 27 June, the 'Challenges of the Future' will be directly questioned. A necessary debate with essential voices such as Clara Montesdeoca, from Caminar Intersex; Joss C. Pérez, from the perspective of asexuality, and Nayara Martínez, from Libertrans. Pérez, from the perspective of asexuality, and Nayara Martínez, from Libertrans. The evening will culminate with the premiere of the monologue 'Resistir para seguir' by Bob Pop, an opportunity to laugh, think and, perhaps, change the way we understand the world.
And the culmination of this week of commitment will come on Saturday 28 June, with the Pride Demonstration in Tazacorte. A day of joy, colour, union and celebration that will continue with DJs, fair and gastronomy, and which will include an emotional opening speech, culminating with the awaited concert of someone who has become a reference for this collective, the singer Melody.