By: Cassandra DesVergers
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, my four roommates and I gazed in awe at our little sliver of wooden paradise that would serve as our home for the next month.
“This is gay,” our taxi driver Miguel Rozas said with a toothy grin.
Exchanging looks of confusion, we gathered our suitcases and headed up to our apartment.
“Do you think he was using it as a slang term? Or, maybe we just misheard him?,” my roommate Nicolle Valencia said.
Finally noticing the rainbow-colored flags adorning almost every balcony, window and door, we realized that our apartment was, in fact, located in the heart of Barcelona’s LGBTQ neighborhood “Gaixample.”
Gaixample stretches from Carrer de Balmes to Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes to Carrer del Comte d'Urgell and Carrer d'Aragó.(Image Courtesy of Maps Barcelona)
As a byproduct of the Eixample district, Gaixample reflects society’s changing times.
Murals and other artwork symbolizing the LGBTQ community like this can be found in multiple places around the Gaixample district.
Eixample was designed by engineer IIldefons Cerdá to be a more modern version of Barcelona’s bustling old city. Now filled with an assortment of communities like Gaixample, Cerdás aspirations have been met.
“I feel really lucky to be living in this part of Barcelona,” Gaixample resident Benyad Badr said. “I can be whoever and whatever I want.”
While predominantly LGBTQ, Gaixample epitomizes the city’s inclusive spirit. With an assortment of leisure and culture activities, both locals and tourists from all backgrounds can enjoy themselves in an atmosphere filled with tolerance and freedom.
Loud and Proud
Gaixample boasts a lively ambience with streets active from sunrise to sunset. Sprawling across an exponentially growing grid-like pattern, the neighborhood is full of lavish LGBTQ hangouts, delectable restaurants, trendy boutiques and stores and bass-pumping nightclubs.
As a symbol of being “LGBTQ-friendly,” many establishments in Gaixample display rainbow-colored flags and stickers outside their doors.
Bars and Restaurants
With over hundreds of bars and restaurants clustered in the cultivating block, Gaixample offers a refuge for every type of person. From the avant-garde and cosmopolitan Axel Sky Rooftop Bar to the electrifying Museum Bar to the rustic and laid-back Bacon Bear Bar, Gaixample has evidently created comfortable LGBTQ meeting areas.
Axel Sky Rooftop Bar
Specifically crafted for the LGBTQ community, the Axel Hotel chain is known for their “we are heterofriendly” slogan. Often located in forward-thinking and gay-friendly areas, Axel Hotel flaunts an elegant rooftop bar in Barcelona. With modernist decor, the Axel Sky Rooftop Bar has become a popular LGBTQ meeting place.
Museum Bar
The Museum Bar is filled with tasteful statues and paintings, grand chandeliers, and employees dressed in white wigs. With such a creative theme, the Museum Bar takes an ironic and sardonic twist on the educational concept of history museums. Known for their bass-pumping music and video walls, the Museum Bar has become a LGBTQ rendezvous point before going to the club.
Bacon Bear Bar
With wooden high-top tables and barstools, the Bacon Bear Bar exhibits an easygoing, no-attitude climate. Located in the heart of Gaixample, this bar is an exclusive hangout spot for huskier and hairier LGBTQ men.
Shopping
With the addition of Catalonia’s landmark Anti-Homophia Act, LGBTQ clothing brands have been able to better develop and thrive. From clothing ranging from streetwear to exotic glam, this neighborhood has become the epicenter of Barcelona’s most sought-after LGBTQ shops.
Addicted
Founded in 2009 in the Gaixample neighborhood, Addicted has helped pave the way for other LGBTQ male fashion brands. Purely dedicated to design and dressmaking, this company has an extensive repertoire of swimwear, undergarments, sportswear and accessories.
Addicted has 16 different clothing collections. They pride themselves on style, fabric and design innovation.
“The different clothing options have really helped me find myself,” customer Jose Perez said.
X Boxer
Marked by a big black ceramic dog outside its door, X Boxer offers a wide variety of urban clothing. Influenced by the lifestyles of avid partiers and sportsbrand, this chain has made strides in the design of undergarments and sportswear. Known for their nonchalant and relaxed vibe, Boxer offers shoppers coffee to sip on while they browse the store.
Boxer is notorious for pushing the boundaries with clothing.
“There is just so much to choose from,” Perez said. “Sometimes, it’s kind of overwhelming.”
Libreria Antinovs
The Antinous bookstore was founded in 1997 by Spanish brother Maria and Josep Vitas. With literature often being used as a source of validation and understanding, the Vitas brothers wanted to create a sanctuary and safe haven for the LGBTQ community.
Now specializing in only LGBTQ literature, the bookstore works to inform the public about LGBTQ topics, issues and problems. They also often host book presentations, talks and book club.
The progression of LGBTQ social acceptance in Spain also allowed for more and more LGBTQ authors, publications, bookstores and publishers to emerge. Many of which the bookstore sells today.
The Antinovs Bookstore possesses an extentive collection of LGBTQ books and merchandise.
“I really like the wide variety to choose from,” bookstore patron Amelia Vasquez said. “From picture books to chapter books – this store really has it all.”
Of Susceptible Nature
Although Barcelona is now one of the most culturally liberated and LGBTQ-friendly cities in Europe, the concept of “pride” is historically a very sensitive and controversial topic.
Painting the Town Rainbow
Dating back to 1977, a law was passed by the Francoist dictatorship that punished the LGBTQ community with fines, jail time or psychiatric care.
Armed with rage and desire, an estimated 4,000 people stormed the busy thoroughfare of Las Ramblas in Barcelona. Lead by Armand de Fluviá and Francesc Francino, this event came to be known as Barcelona’s first pride event.
Inspired by the Stonewall riots in the United States, campaigners, politicians and supportive citizens unified to promote inclusive initiatives. (Images Courtesy of La Rambla Barcelona)
Tensions revolving around LGBTQ pride only continued to escalate and grow worse with time. To create a “better image,” the Catalan government ordered police to raid and close all suspected LGBTQ shops, bars and restaurants. The LGBTQ community was also heavily blamed for the HIV/AIDS pandemic during this time.
Facing ongoing and sizeable setbacks rooted in divided differences, radical uprising and passionate fervor, Barcelona’s LGBTQ community persisted and fought against the anti-LGBTQ laws that harmed them. They advocated for the recognition and acceptance of LGBTQ individuals and organizations.
Although the possibility of change seemed bleak, progress finally came with the Spanish Gay Rights Movement. With a focus in normalizing LGBTQ, organizations like the Gay Initiatives Coordinator helped pioneer legal and social victories like the legalization of same-sex activity and marriage.
Now, Barcelona is solidly committed to diversity and inclusion and is home to a vibrant LGBTQ scene that attracts visitors from all over the globe.
The Rainbow Flag is the international symbol of the LGBTQ community.
“Yes, I do think that Barcelona is very welcoming and inclusive,” Badr said. “But, there is always more that can be done.”
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