Tefía at the heart of Spain’s historical memory this Friday

The Spanish Government will declare, on Friday, 27 February, the former Agricultural Penitentiary Colony of Tefía in Fuerteventura a Place of Democratic Memory. This site will become the first Place of Memory in the Canary Islands. During the dictatorship it housed a forced‑labour camp for homosexual men, imprisoning around 100 people who endured inhumane conditions.

In the framework of the declaration, a major ceremony will be organized by the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, with the participation of Minister Ángel Víctor Torres. The event will serve as a tribute to the victims of the colony and as recognition of the struggle of the LGTBI+ community, one of the groups most persecuted by the regime.

The ceremony, to be broadcast live on TVE 2, will be attended by Minister Torres, President Fernando Clavijo, and President Lola García.

The ceremony will take place at 11:00 a.m. Canary Time (12:00 p.m. mainland time) and will be streamed live on La 2 and the RTVE “24 hours” channel. During the event, ten Declarations of Recognition and Reparation will be handed out to former inmates of the centre and to representatives of the LGTBI+ movement.

The program will be presented by journalists Lluis Guilera and Fátima Hernández, and will feature a debate panel as well as musical performances by Julia Rodríguez and Pasión Vega.