March of the Carolinas
| Date | 9 January 1933 |
|---|---|
| Time | 8:00 |
| Location |
|
| Type | March |
| Motive | Protest the destruction of a vespasian toilet |
| Participants | The Carolinas |
The March of the Carolinas (Catalan: Marxa de les Carolines, Spanish: Marcha de las Carolinas) was a public demonstration held in the Spanish city of Barcelona on 9 January 1933. It was held by La Carolinas ("The Carolinas"), a group of transvestites against the destruction of a public vespasian toilet, and is amongst the first LGBTQ demonstrations in Spain.
Background
In the early twentieth century, Vespasian toilets, a type of public urinal used by men, were installed in various sectors of Barcelona. These were often frequented and used by transvestites and served as a meeting place for homosexuals.[1] Among those who used these Vespasians were La Carolinas ("The Carolinas"), a group of transvestites. They frequented a urinal located in El Raval, then known as "Chinatown".[2][3]
As described by French writer Jean Genet, who lived in Barcelona in the early 1930s, in his book Diario del thief, a bomb placed in the Vespasian destroyed the urinary during the anarchist revolts that occurred in the city in 1933.[4]
Protest march
To protest against the destruction of the Vespasian, the Carloinas organized a public demonstration on 9 January 1933. It was amongst the first LGBTQ demonstrations in Spain.[5][6][7] The protest march began at 8:00 on Avinguda del Paral·lel and continued along Carrer de Sant Pau (San Pablo street), and reached La Rambla. From there on, they marched to the Columbus Monument, and turned right to pass through the locality of the Port of Barcelona and the military barracks before reaching the point where the ruins of the urinal were located, where they placed flowers.[8][9]
Legacy
The march of the Carolinas is recognized as a historical event within the LGBTQ community in Catalonia. In October 2017, the Carolinas Program was launched, which seeks to protect the rights of these communities in Barcelona and was named as a tribute to the Carolinas.[10]
In 2020, LGTBI.cat, a group representing the interests of the LGBTQ community, presented a proposal to install a replica of the Vespasian at the corner of La Rambla, in front of the Columbus Monument and the port, as a commemoration of the march of the Carolinas.[11]
See also
References
- ↑ Lozano, Beatriz (10 August 2020). "Travestis, bombas y un cortejo fúnebre: el urinario que homenajeará la historia de las Carolinas" [Transvestites, Bombs, and a Funeral Procession: The Urinal That Will Commemorate the History of Las Carolinas]. The Objective (in Spanish).
- ↑ Corominas i Julián, Jordi (31 August 2022). "Las muchas letras del Raval (y II)" [The Many Letters of El Raval (and II)]. Catalunya Plural (in Spanish).
- ↑ Jordana, Marta (20 August 2021). "Jean Genet y las Carolinas" [Jean Genet and Las Carolinas]. La Caparra (in Spanish).
- ↑ Mérida Jiménez, Rafael M. (2013). "Homosexualitat i cultura a Catalunya: vides trans a Barcelona (1914–1978)" [Homosexuality and Culture in Catalonia: Trans Lives in Barcelona (1914–1978)] (PDF) (in Catalan). Barcelona: Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-07-27. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
- ↑ Martínez, Ramón (2017). Lo nuestro sí que es mundial. Una introducción a la historia del movimiento LGBT en España [Ours Truly Is Global: An Introduction to the History of the LGBT Movement in Spain] (3rd ed.). Editorial Egales. p. 67. ISBN 978-84-17319-00-7. OCLC 1252862632.
- ↑ Cols, Carles (6 July 2016). "Barcelona, 1931, una manifestación gay recorre las calles" [Barcelona, 1931: A Gay Demonstration Marches Through the Streets]. El Periódico (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 10 August 2025. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
- ↑ "1ª manifestación trans en España años 30; LES CAROLINES" [1st Trans Demonstration in Spain in the 1930s: LES CAROLINES]. Transexualidad: ATC Llibertat (in Spanish). 10 November 2018. Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
- ↑ Jean Genet; Philippe Sollers (1993). Journal du voleur. Querelle de Brest. Pompes funèbres [The Thief's Journal. Querelle of Brest. Funeral Rites] (in French). Gallimard. ISBN 978-2-07-073563-1. Archived from the original on 2025-02-21. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ Museu d'Història de Barcelona (2019). "Sexualitats S. XX BCN" [Sexualities in 20th-Century Barcelona] (PDF) (in Catalan).
- ↑ "Un programa que protege los derechos de las mujeres trans" [A Program That Protects the Rights of Trans Women]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 15 October 2017.
- ↑ "Dossier Memorial Carolines" [Carolines Memorial Dossier] (PDF). LGTBI.cat (in Catalan). 2020.