For the first time, the city is hosting a dedicated programme that raises awareness of the realities faced by the LGBTIQ+ Rroma community as part of Pride 2026, featuring events, theatre and cultural activities
On Thursday, Seville hosted the first edition of Rroma Pride, a pioneering initiative that forms part of the city’s Pride programme under the slogan ‘Diversity without permission, Pride without limits’. The project aims to raise the profile of the voices, experiences and demands of the LGBTIQ+ Rroma community.
The Equality Officer for Seville City Council, José Luis García, emphasised that this proposal represents a step forward towards achieving “a Pride that truly belongs to everyone and is for everyone”. As he pointed out, the LGBTIQ+ Rroma community faces a dual reality, and recognising their activism, culture and diversity represents “an act of justice and respect”.
The programme kicked off at the Hogar Virgen de los Reyes with a gathering of the Rromani gender and sexual minority community, where activists from Andalusia and other parts of Spain shared experiences and strategies to strengthen the Rromani LGBTIQ+ movement.
Debate and culture as tools for change
The event also featured discussions and round-table sessions open to the public, led by Iñaki Vázquez, director of La Fragua Projects. These sessions addressed topics such as Rromani culture as a driving force for social transformation, Rromani transfeminism, masculinities and the so-called ‘Romani closet’.
The first day concluded with a theatrical performance of ‹Puños de harina›, by Jesús Torres, at the Teatro del Hogar Virgen de los Reyes, as part of a programme combining social activism, art and reflection.
The events will continue this Friday with the launch of the books *Biopolítica del armario* and *Propaganda queer* by Javier Sáez, as part of the cultural programme for Rroma Pride.
The initiative forms part of Seville City Council’s Diversity Month, a programme through which the city commemorates LGBTIQ+ Pride and champions equality and the rights of the community in all areas of society.
La Fragua Projects is organising a participatory event with an anti-discrimination focus to highlight the structural violence faced by the Romani People, with a particular focus on women.
On 21 May, the Las Góndolas Community Centre in Seville East hosted the participatory conference “Intersectional Discrimination and the Roma People 2025”, organised by La Fragua Projects, a Roma organisation within the social and solidarity economy that provides comprehensive services.
The event forms part of the DiscriRromani Sevilla-DCR 2025 programme, which has been run by Seville City Council since January with the aim of tackling the structural discrimination faced in particular by Roma and racialised women, using an anti-discriminatory and intersectional approach.
The event was hosted by Celia Montoya Montoya, an actress, activist and founding partner of La Fragua Projects, who welcomed the audience and emphasised the need for an anti-discriminatory and intersectional approach that extends beyond Seville’s society.
The opening address was given by José Luis García Martín, the representative for the Department of Priority Neighbourhoods and Social Rights, who emphasised that “we cannot speak of full democracy if there are communities, such as the Roma, that remain excluded from the most basic rights”, and that “there can be no justice without full recognition of these rights”.
Her speech emphasised the need to address the discrimination faced in particular by Roma women, and she highlighted the participatory nature of this event as a tool for social change. Her remarks were followed by a panel of presentations featuring several experts.
Multiple forms of violence: health, education and social services
The first presentation was given by Virginia García Linde, a political scientist and social research specialist, who spoke on the topic of “Health and obstetric violence” and describes herself as an advocate for the humanisation of childbirth.
She has portrayed childbirth as an intimate, private and domestic event, whilst also providing a historical overview of the role of the midwife and paying tribute to all those Romani women who carried out this work and were executed in contexts of criminalisation after being accused of witchcraft. At the same time, she has condemned the medicalisation of childbirth driven by patriarchal and capitalist logic.
In this regard, she has highlighted the experiments carried out on women and the cruel practices perpetrated against black women by some of the ‘fathers’ of gynaecology, as well as controversial instruments that are still in use today.
It is therefore impossible not to mention hierarchy, given that, at present, it is predominantly men who are present at births. In contrast to the care and good medical practice required to support this vital natural process, hospitals are increasingly trying to speed up the delivery process, which entails various forms of violence against pregnant women.
In the context of this conference, she mentioned that verbal abuse and anti-Roma sentiment are factors in obstetric violence. From the educational sector, Laura Páez Hurtado, a member of the teaching staff and a specialist in therapeutic pedagogy, addressed the topic of ‘Education’. In this regard, she highlighted the reality faced by many schools with pupils at risk of social exclusion: the lack of Roma representation on the parents’ association, persistent truancy and the worrying impact of socio-economic conditions.
She has also shared transformative experiences from her school, such as the celebration of Roma Day with a gender perspective, with a view to increasing the involvement of the entire school community and promoting harmony, as well as various initiatives aimed at challenging traditional concepts found in classic stories or festivities such as Valentine’s Day.
In doing so, he has highlighted the need to include the Roma community in the education sector and the importance of equality plans.
For her part, Ana León Távora, Professor of Spanish Language and Literature at Salem College (USA), in her section “Anti-racist education and experience of working with migrant students”, highlighted the need for anti-racist education that enables the dismantling of myths and stereotypes about immigration and a rethinking of cultural roots from a decolonising perspective.
Drawing on the history of imagery and symbolism, he teaches his students the importance of anti-racist education in enabling them to think critically and avoid being misled, as well as in combating ignorance, since perspectives and their inherent biases shape the knowledge we receive and, consequently, often internalise. “Racism is significant because it divides,” he stated.
The final speaker was Séfora Vargas Martín, a Romani lawyer, writer and activist, personal and leadership coach, as well as president of the Aproideg association and a consultant for DiscriRomani Sevilla 2025, a contributor to the Roma Professional Network and La Fragua Projects. Speaking from her own experience, she highlighted the degrading treatment that many Roma women receive from some social services staff, as well as the overwhelming fear of reporting such incidents due to fear of reprisals, institutional mistrust, or even the concern that non-Roma women might find out about these complaints.
He also highlighted the importance of mediation in ensuring equal treatment for the Roma community, given that people turn to social services due to financial hardship. He also denounced the presence of racist officials, the lack of care, and the prevalence of common accounts among those affected by, amongst other issues, waiting times for care, as well as the need to alleviate, communicate or educate in the face of the dehumanisation suffered by the Roma people from childhood.
Participation and collective horizons
Subsequently, round-table discussions and working groups were organised as a participatory format involving those attending the event, with the aim of drawing conclusions based on the various key themes.
These contributions will help shape the programme’s annual report, thereby ensuring that the document is drawn up on the basis of a diversity of voices.
Against a backdrop of rising anti-Gypsyism and institutional racism, this gathering has provided a forum not only for speaking out, but also for collective action. It is undoubtedly another step forward in the struggle for a society in which the Roma people are not merely present, but fully recognised and heard.
Roma activists are calling for an end to stereotypes and for greater recognition of diversity
Education remains a major challenge: 63% of Roma pupils do not complete their secondary education
Celia Montoya Montoya and Iñaki Vázquez Arencón joke that they are a “mismatched couple”. They have known each other for years, spend a lot of time together and share a common project: La FraguaProjects, a Romani social and solidarity economy organisation. They are activists for the rights of their people, which, they say, is a struggle for human rights.
Celia describes herself as a feminist and an actress “who works hard but doesn’t make a profit”; Iñaki describes himself as an activist—and also a gender-nonconforming activist. Neither of them fits the stereotypical moulds usually attributed to their community. Celia laments that saying she “is a feminist and a Romani woman” still raises eyebrows.
“They seem like opposites, but the strongest people I know are Romani women. Not just those in my family, but also incredibly powerful women I’ve come across in my research.” She criticises the fact that these figures are rendered invisible and that society portrays her people — and others on the margins — as the most sexist “to convince white women that they are better off and that we are the savages”.
“Society projects onto others what it does not want to be”
Iñaki agrees: “It’s the theory of otherness. Society projects onto the ‘other’ what it does not want to be. We are cast as the ‘savage’ side.” He laments that this is a dehumanising strategy: “We are homogenised in order to deny our diversity.”
To put an end to this, Iñaki Vázquez proposes a solution: “It is very important that the state provides role models for young men and women. There are lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people in the Roma People – of course there are. Some have a very hard time of it and others do not. “Role models are vital, and the state must provide them, because otherwise it is complicit in all the violence suffered by these people,” he argues.
Sara Giménez, director-general of the Secretariado Gitano, highlights another aspect of this homogenisation: “There is a perception of the Romani people that is linked to exclusion or folklore. It is very regrettable to speak in this way, but all of us Roma who do not fit that image—and there are many of us—go unnoticed,” she explains. “There are many of us Roma women who have stepped forward to promote employment, to promote education, to make progress, and even to advocate for active participation in society. And almost nobody sees it,” she adds.
Celia Montoya, like many of her colleagues in the industry, has come up against the stereotypes associated with the Romani community. “In the world of film and television, if you don’t play stereotypical Romani roles, you don’t get work. I have a look that makes people see me as very ethnic or exotic. Because of that, all the roles I was offered were always linked to prostitution, marginalisation… And I’ve always turned them down, which is why I haven’t done much in film and television.”
La Cañada Real in Madrid, one of the many places where social exclusion is evident
For Celia and Iñaki, 8 April is not a day for “symbolic or institutional celebrations, or empty promises; it is a day for taking a stand”. That is why they have asked us to meet them at the Cañada Real. They want to keep the spotlight on the issue and remind people “that they have been without electricity for four years”.
For Iñaki Vázquez, the situation in this part of Madrid is a prime example of what the Roma community has always had to endure. “The state always looks the other way. Just look at what’s happening here in La Cañada. A whole host of European institutions say this is a violation of human rights, but neither the local, regional nor national governments are doing anything about it.”
600 years of the Romani people in Spain
The first historical document recording the presence of the Roma in Spain dates from 12 January 1425. Sara Giménez, director-general of Secretariado Gitano, laments the fact that, 600 years later, there is still a great deal of ignorance about them. For this reason, she calls for their history and contribution to the country’s culture to be made more widely known.
“This lack of awareness has serious consequences in terms of discrimination, the formation of prejudices and stereotypes,” which, he argues, undermine access to a dignified life, given that 86% of the Roma community lives below the poverty line: “We continue to face severe inequalities. Particularly in education, housing and employment.”
Education: the major challenge still to be tackled
According to a report by the Fundación Secretariado Gitano, 63% of Roma pupils do not complete their secondary education, whereas the figure for the general population is 4%. For this reason, they advocate investing “in specific programmes that address this disadvantage so that education—which acts as a social ladder—truly works for the Roma community, because so far it has not been working well enough”.
On the 23rd and 24th, around a hundred people gathered to discuss digitalisation among future generations of the Rroma People
The Gaz Kaló Federation, in partnership with the Public University of Navarra (UPNA), the Centre for Research and Community Action (CESPYD), the YILÓ Association of Seville and the Romani social economy enterprise “La Fragua Projects” (LFP), organised this forum to analyse the challenges and opportunities of digitalisation for Roma people within the framework of public policies and the National Strategy for Equality, Inclusion and Participation of the Roma People 2021–2030. The event was attended by prominent activists and influencers from the Roma community, coming from different autonomous communities, alongside representatives from social organisations, academia and public administrations.
On the first day, the methodology was presented by the Centre for Research and Community Action (CESPYD) in collaboration with the Public University of Navarre (UPNA), and working groups were organised across five areas: health, education, employment, housing and discrimination, to address the consequences of digitalisation over the coming decade, using the photovoice method, featuring a range of diverse voices that contributed to this process, promoting participatory processes and community action in the design of public policies, to build and envision a digital (and analogue) future free from discrimination and full of opportunities for the Roma community and for all citizens.
The event featured a roundtable discussion with Roma representatives, followed by a highly insightful debate, in which Samuel Escudero, a MásMadrid member of the Madrid Regional Assembly; Paco Vargas, a PSC councillor in San Adrián de Besós; and Pedro Aguilera, Commissioner for Citizen Participation at Barcelona City Council, took part. Among those in attendance were representatives from the Department of Social Rights of the Government of Navarre and the Parliament of Navarre; Javier Arza and Maite Esporrín, councillors for Pamplona City Council; Zaloa Basabe, Marina Curiel, Eloy del Pozo and Miguel Matellanes; and the Ombudsman of Navarre, Patxi Vera.
Also present during the event was EspacioKrea Educational Radio: the Gazteak+Sociales project run by the Navarre-based association Nuevo Futuro, in which the youngest participants took part by conducting interviews: Palmi, an activist with the Kera association in Irún; Sheyla, a young woman from Larraga who is studying for a Higher National Diploma in Pamplona; Alex, a young Roma man trained in social and healthcare support; and Natalia, a school outreach worker in the Carcastillo area.
The event concluded with a commemoration of the 600th anniversary of the arrival of the Romani people on the Iberian Peninsula and the 25th anniversary of the Gaz Kaló Federation. We received greetings from Diego Luis Fernández, director of the Institute of Romani Culture, and Carmen Santiago, vice-president of the State Council of the Romani People, as well as a live link from India with the “Ethnosfere” project, which aims to document the origins of the Romani people through audiovisual means, connecting them with the Romani community of Navarre. A moving tribute was held, including a minute’s silence for the Romani victims of the Nazi genocide, and the event concluded with a tribute to all the older Romani people who took the first steps to claim their rights, organise themselves within the Romani associative movement, and champion Romani youth.
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