Barcelona just got even gayer, joining a handful of international gay destinations with dedicated memorials. Mayor Jordi Hereu dedicated the LGBT memorial at Ciutadella Park. The triangular-shaped granite slab is framed in pink and bears the inscription, “In memory of the gays, lesbians and transexual persons who have suffered persecution and repression throughout history” in Catalan.
The Mayor was joined by several hundred supporters as he spoke about the city being a refuge to persecuted minorities and the respect it fostered for LGBT people. After the dedication, the local gay men’s chorus performed as people laid flowers all around the granite triangle, eerily resembling at tombstone.
But Barcelona is is not always the epitome of social tolerance. In fact the location of the memorial was moved after Catholic groups complained the original site would be too close to the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia, a popular tourist attraction.
Similar monuments have been erected in Los Angeles (The Wall Las Memorias), New York (Christopher Park), Berlin (Tiergarten Park) and Amsterdam (Homomonument).
Photos courtesy of Will Shank
