h
'NladrId o Rainbow flags mark spots - cafes, bars, restaurants, saunas,
the specialty shops - where
gay and lesbian customers are catered to In Chueca, the aty's queer enclave. Rlght In the heart of the nelghbor-
1
hood, on the narrow and bustlmg Hortaleza Street, is Berkana? Spam'sflrst gay and lesbian bookstore. Founded
11,yearsago by lesblan actlvlstMili Hernández, Berkana also houses a café and shop andIS a community gath-
gift ~~
ermg spot. But the billboard attractlon, plam and simple, books. Romance novels, blographles,
IS comics, children's
l '
-
stones, Ilterature, poetry, essays all 'of them queer and Spanish - are stacked wall'to-wall and mounted on dls-
In
,play'tables throughout the store. At Berkana, customers crulse each other, books are launched, queer culture IS
celebrated, and everyone walks out wlth a book or two In hand. II It took perseverance, SIXyears of losses, and
' , i!] {
d'$,@ngwith the remnants of soclal iepresslon before thebookstore could claim Its current success. I had known
"If
Il , 1,
Spanish reality better,I probably wouldn't have opened the store: says Hernández. She knew women's bookstores
In London and In the United States, where she lived for12 years before returning to her native country. But Spain
52 JUNE 2004
was marked for 36 years by oppresslve soclal mores Imposed by the Franco dctatorshlp The transi-
tlon to democracy In the late 1970s spawned a boomlng late-ntghtgaypartyscene, but Itwas
gay
decades before lesblans and men came out of the closet In the daytlme
Walklng Into a gay bookstore In broad dayhght was a bold, potentially rlsky move fobthose who
weren‘t out “Ten years ago, soclety wasn’t so open about sexuality:' says Connle Dagas, co-
owner, wlth Helle Bruun, of Cómpllces, Spaln’s second gayandlesbran bookstore, 300 mlles
away In Barcelona Located on a picturesque street rn the Gothlc Quarter, Cómpllces opened a
year after Berkana Though smaller, the space IS packed wlth merchandise and loyal customers
Back then, both bookstores faced a drfemma - a lack of queer books In Spanlsh Together,
between the three owners, they came up wlth a plan to tackle the problem and founded Egales,
the country’s flrst Independent lesblan andgay press Egales now has more than 70 books to Its
name, half of them wrrtten by lesbians, and half by gay men “We take great care wlth our tltles,”
the
says Dagas “We choose everything carefully, from cover to the contents”
“But we pay a prlce,” says Hernández, explalnlng that some bookshops hesitate to carry queer
books Some authors won’t publlsh wlth them for fear of bemg labeled gay And the press hasn’t
been taken serlously by the malnstream medra “Spaln has changed:’ says Bruun, “but the coun-
try still has a long way to go”
Ye?the queer Spaneh book ~ndustry In bloom Gay bookstores are In buslness throughoutthe
S
I
country, typcally, they are stockedwlthagreaternumber of books bygaymen Inaddltronto
Complces, Barcelona boasts the bookshop and café Antinous Browslng the shelves there, one can
see the products of queer publlshers such as Tempestad, Odlsea, Llambert Palmart, Laertes’ Rey
La
de Bastos, Egales, and lmprlnts from malnstream publlshers These, together wlth queer tltles that
In
are sporadlcally publlshed South Amerlca and for
Mexlco, provlde a decent selectlon the Spanlsh-
speaking publrc The good news for readers Inthe Unlted States IS that much of what IS publlshed
rn Spam IS avarlable heretoo, d you know where to look
In ~ ~ a n s ~ a t ~
Whlle Spanlsh booksare rarely translated Into Engllsh, translatlons are
from Engllsh to Spanlsh blg
In Spaln, and the queer market IS no exception Many of Spaln’s brggest-selhngqueer authdrs are
from the Unlted States, and translated flrst
tltles usually outsell Spanlsh authors In fact, Egales’ les-
blan tltle was ClalreMcNab’s Under the Southern Cross (En otras palabras), and one of their most
recent releases IS Alison Bechdel’s Dykes f0 Watch Out For (Unas bollos de cudado) Whlle
queer publlshlng In the Unrted States IS varled and voluminous, Spaln’s queer cultural productron
IS comparatlvely low “We have an lnferlorlty complex here,” says Hernández “We thmk that what IS
from overseas IS better”
Better or not, there arequlte afew authors available In SpanlshV J ~ O were orlglnally publlshed
In Engllsh Thlnk Audre Lorde, Patrlcla Hlghsmlth, Pat CalIfla, Virglnla Woolf, Sarah Schulman,
Emma Donoghue, RadclyffeHall, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwck, Judlth Butler, Rlta Mae Brown,
Gertrude Stem, KatherlneV Forrest, Wendy Caster, Camdle Paglla, Adrienne Rch, Sarah Waters,
Llnda HIII, Caro Clarke,MananneKMartln;AnnO’Leary,ShellaJeffreys, Sapphire andmore
Egales’ best-selllng translated lesbran novelIS Patrlcra NeIl Warren’sThe front Runner (€/ corre-
dor de fondo)
Chicana lesblan author Shella Ort~z Taylor was one ofthe first to be translated Faulfhne was ong-
Inally publlshed by Nalad Press% 1982, It was publlstíed asErremofo rn 1991 by Madnd‘s femtnlst
‘’q
bookstore press, Horas y Horas was very pleased to be translated Into Spanlsh because It felt lrke
to
a return somehow, a clrcllng back my onglns, though rt was a return to the Spanlsh part and not
the Mexlcan part,” says the author, who IS faculty at FlorrdaState Unlverslty’s Èngllsh Department
Spanish-Languagé Lesbian Writers
Spanrsh lesblans have thew sexual ldentlty reflected In translated books, but what about books by
Spanlsh-language authors? These started to trrckle the scene In the early ‘90s One of the frrst
onto
lesblan love stones, In pnnt, IS Cr/s & Cris by María Fellcltas
stlll Jalme, an Argentlne-born wrlter who
resldes In Madrld and who has smcepubllshed Pasiones and, most recently, the eratic short story
collectlon denmenta en Chueca (Cmderella m Chueca)
There have beenmany noveltles smce One srgnlflcant book IS Beafnz y los cuerpos celestes
(Beafr~zand fhe Celest/al Bodles), whrch waswrltten by Lucía Etxebarna, a prohflc, rlsqué young
wrlter from Madrld who does not’ldentlfy as a lesblan Orlglnally publlshed In 1998 and now In
its fourth edltlon, the book won a llterary award and brought lesblan themesto a crossover audl-
ence Anothernovelty IS Prmeras carmas (Frsf Caresses) Edlted by Beatr~zGlmeno from
54 JUNE 2004
Madrrd, this IS an anthology of first-person accounts of women’s flrst humorous and lronlc style In 2003 she came out as herself and plans to
sexual wrth
expenences other La
women sdla Turca
(The- Turksh publlsh her
under true name
Saddle),anovelbyCarmen Díaz, a Cuban lesblan who h e s InMraml, But for Franc, who was born In 1955 durlng the Franco era, wrltmg
tells the story of a lesbian In Cuba who flees to the Unlted States dur- IS no laughlng matter “My generation was robbed of wo$s Durlng the
mg the Marlel Boatllft Otras voces (Other Volces) IS the country’s flrst Franco years, everythlng was black and whlte No colors Everythlngwas
anthology of lesbran wrlters. medtated by moral represslon and guilt for what
Lola Van Guardra IS the creator of a dyke drama you say and thlnk When your hands are tred, you
trllogy from Egales that features a world of women want freedomfrom oppresslon I wanted to frnd
whobefrlendandseduceeachotherIn the flrst words, to ask questtons, to have a dlalogue with
novel, Con ped/gree (With Pedigree), the action the word”
centersaroundGayNlght,awoman-ownedbar Another writer In Spaln whose work IS fueled In
where mllltant lesblans are bathed In lavender neon part by polltlcal landscape, IS Uruguayan-born
lrghtsand the alr IS thrck wlth ctgarette smoke, Crlstlna Perl ROSSI The reclplent of numerous Ilter-
hashish and the scent of horny women As with the ary awards, ROSSIhas more than30 books In prlnt
subsequentPlumasde doble filo (Double-Edged Th% erotlc lesbfan emphasis of her poetry collec-
Feathers) and, Lamanstónde las tríbadas (The tlon Evohé and the references to Latln Amerlcan
Lesb/an Illlans/on), the novel IS llfe with qulrky char- fascrsm In lndmos psnrcos (translated Into Engllsh
acters andsexy cl~fhangers as P a m Signs) led to her exlle In Spain In 1972.
But unhke thebarhopplngclty slrckersrnher She lives In Barcelona
novels, the author h e s In a small town outslde of Hlghly literary, ROSSI’Swrltlng IS multlfaceted It
Barcelona and IS In bed most nlghts by I ? p m In IS concerned wlth exlle,allenattlon, leftlst polltrcs
fact, the authorIS not LolaVan Guardla after all,but andsexualfantasy It ranges from the nonflction
Isabel Franc, who used the pseudonym for SIX Cuando fumar era un placer (When Smokrng Was
years, at her publlsher’s request, to create an aura of lntrlgue “The trllogy a Pleasure), to the poetrc Estado de ex/l/o (State of &de) It makes
wasn’t p1anned:’she explalns But the success of that flrst novel to the
led statements about patrlarchy, capttallsm and rellglon But It’s not all les-
next two She was a regular customer at Complces and had already blan Ilterature “My poetry ISlesblan because In poetry I am talklng about
publishedthe Irreverent erotlc novel Entre todas mujeres (Among AI1
las myfeellngs:‘ says
she “But when I construct novels I create an
the Women). She accepted Egales’ lnvltatlon to wrrte In her slgnature autonomous reallty” Whlle she has never been In the closet, she also
56 JUNÈ 2004
.
hasn’t been outspoken about herlesblanlsm “I beheveInIlberty,” she Transsexual ldentlty In Spain has been brought to the forefront by an
“And
says I believe
that any type of rlgld rdentlty IS neurotlc” ~ over-the-top personallty known as Mlss Shangay Llly She IS a postmod-
Fearing repercusslons, several keySpansh wrlters have yet to openly ern feminlst diva and the author of a trllogy of smart and spunky novels
declare theIr lesbianlsm “ItIS thew rlght to stay In the closet,” says lesblan she calk Tnlogy of the Escape Deconstruction of the Hommexual
novelrst Olga Gulrao “I understand and respect It, but I don’t partlcl- second book In the serles
Realrty from a Neo-Femrnrst Perspecfrve The
pate. I am alesblanand I wrlte wlth all IS Machrsfófeles (2002), an anti-patrrarchal
parts of myself In aperfect world, your sex- , innovatwe
lesblan tale that uses narratlve
uality wouldn’t matter Berng out IS a wayto technrques to turn gender on Its head Mrss
combat hornophobla“ Shangay L~lyalso hosts a weekly llterarytalk
PubIlshed by malnstream Spanish show on televwon and posts an onllne,blog
presses, Gulrao’s llterary success began in , WW corn
shangayllly
1992 wlth M quendo Sebastlán (My Dear
r Also along the h e s ofdarrng gender-
Sebastrán); a prrzed novel about a homo- thought
bending IS Beatrrz Preciado’s
sexual relatlonshlp wrthln the context of the Manrfiesto contra-sexual Prácflcas subver-
FrancoeraHer latest IS Carta con drez sivas deIdentidad sexual (Contra-Sexual
añosderetraso (A Letfer 10 YearsLate), Manifesto: Subversrve Practrces of Sexual
an epistolary novel based on e-mat1 corre- Identity)A phllosopher andqueer activist,
spondence between two frlends who fall for the samewomanShe Preciado orlfptca!ly pubIlshed the book ln French Her eye-oDenlng man-
presents complex scenarios In her wrltlngs and explores gender, love lfesto IS “a response to the lnvislblllty of lesblans, blsexuals and trans
and war between the sexes In elegant prose sexuals:’and deconstructs dlldos,masturbatlon,homosexuallty, Inter-
“Olga Gurrao IS Spaln’s Marguerrte Yourcenar:’ says lesblan lournallst sexuality and queer theory
Jennlfer Qulles, who has lntervlewedmany of Spaln’s queer lumlnarles for There are many more queer Spanlsh books and authors Slnce there
the Spanrsh media Qurles author ofthe groundbreaklng self-help book are hardly any Spanrsh-language queer materlals In the Unrted States,
IS
M& que amigas (More Than Frrends) PubIlshed In 2002 and already In Spain (as well as LatinAmencaandMexico)are loglcal sources for
Its second edltlon, the book educates lesblans and blsexuals about com- them “It’s very Important for there to be vrslbrlrty and access to lesblan-
Ing out and has reached wlde and grateful audlence “Schools In Spain
a related books In all languages,” says Llzanne Dellz, a Puerto Rlcan les-
don’t educate people about sexual Identity,” she says, and sexuality has blan who h e s In Los Angeles “Everyone wants to see themselves vali-
not beensystematlcally researched, resources onthe subject arefew
so dated and recognlzed” =
Curve 57
contmbutors
I
“Some of my best frlends are mues -with an emphasls
Arnencans,” confesses Ivan on crlmmal ~ust~ce, ethnuty
E. Coyote, who belleves that and gender (see “On the
frlends don’tlet frlends leave Inslde,” page 44) - has
therr country unattended. garnered five Socletyof
Coyote, who was born and Professimai Journahsts
ralsed m the Yukon regional awards Talvl was
Territory and now resldes m bom m Helsinki, Finland,
Vancouver, spent her forma- was raised m Hollywood,
tlve teen years servmgbreak- Cahf., and IS currently
fast to Amerlcan tounsts on based m Seattle, where she A Lesbzan Phenomenology
thex way to Alaska and IS the staff wrlter for (Calaca Press, 2002), and
now cites neighborly ColorsNW Mugazme, a the chapbook Porcupzne
concern as the mpetus for monthly devoted to Paclfic Love and Other Tales From
her guest column (see page Northwest communitles of My Papaya (Chbcha Press,
71), devoted to what hap- color. When she’s not 2003).
pens whenAmericans want wrltmng, snowboardmg, or‘
to flee thelr “homeland secu- biking, dancrng and a “I knew I would love Tahm
rlty ” Coyote, the author of genuine obsession'with the moment we arrwed and
Close to Spzderman and One hpstrck occupy the rest of the hotel bellman, barefoot
Mank Trash, recently her walung hours. and wearmg only a sarong
released her first CD, You’re and flowers, gently sald
u Nutzon. “All I could remember z ora na - welcome,” says
a
about the tlme I went to Giselle Kovac, who was
“From mad cow to factory Spain eons ago was vlsltmg lucky enough to write a
farms, It’s hard to eat meat a women’s bookstore m firsthand account of her
these days - every t m e I Madnd,” says tatiana de Talutl adventures (see page
blte Into a burger, part of la tierra, who has been 22). Although it’s true she
me wonders If I’ll sumve!” callectmg lesbian and was lured by French
says Shannon Laskey, who woman-centered books in Polynesia's warm waters and
Inked the illustration for Sparush and by Latlnas pnstme beaches, she saysit
“Steakout” (see page 48). - smce the 1980s. “I was sur- was the Polyneslans them-
Laskey’s whimsical style prised to find that Llbrerla selves who really captwated
lends itself well to her de Muleres IS stdl m exis- her “I was Impressed by the
mostly fashion and beauty tente, 15 years later. When grèat respect they havefor
chents. She also recently I strolled In on a Sunday one another and for the
completed anunatlons for a afternoon wearing a red earth and sea. The vlbe was
pilot for NBC Visit her wlg, a fun thmg Madnleíios bhssfully >ectlous, though
onlme at www.smalldog do around Chnstrnas, I was personally I am stdl worklng
workshop.com. touched that the fierce out my feehngs for the
femmst owners remem- sharks.” Kovac wrltes,pho-
Silja J.A. Talvi IS a Journal- bered me ” See her account tographs and sculpts m
1st and essayist wlth credits of Spamsh-language Ashevllle, N.C., and IS
n
In over 75 pubhcatlons, publlshmg on page 52 De worlung on a series of fig-
mcludmg The Natzon, In la tierra is the author of a ures called “WomenWlth
These Tzhes and Nzgh blllngual book of poetic Balls,” a trlbute to women
Tzrnes- Her work on social prose, FOY the Hard Ones. of courage.