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Sonia Rescalvo Zafra | |
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| Born | 1956 Cuenca, Spain |
| Died | 6 October 1991 (aged 35-36) Parc de la Ciutadella, Barcelona, Spain |
| Cause of death | Murder by neo-nazis |
| Known for | Galvanizing trans movement in Catalonia |
Sonia Rescalvo Zafra (1956 – 6 October 1991) was a Spanish trans woman who was killed by neo-nazis in Barcelona. Her murder led to the first prosecution of a hate crime against a transgender person in Spain, and her death became a symbol that galvanized the LGBT+ movement in the country.[1][2]
Life and death[edit | edit source]
Sonia was born in Cuenca in 1956. At the age of 16, she moved to the city of Barcelona where she initially worked at the Paral·lel and the Teatre Arnau. Sonia eventually became homeless with the crisis of variety shows, and lived and worked in the Parc de la Ciutadella.[1]
In the early hours of October 6, 1991, Sonia and her friend Doris were sleeping in the bandstand when they were brutally attacked by a group of young Boixos Nois skinheads. On their way out, the six 16- to 17-year-olds beat up a homeless man who lost an eye. While Doris and the man survived, Sonia lost her life.[1]
The murderers were sentenced to a total of 300 years in prison in 1994, but their sentences were later reduced by Spain's Supreme Court and none of them are currently in prison.[1]
Legacy[edit | edit source]
Sonia's death was the first known case in Spain of a person being murdered for being transgender. The case was treated as a hate crime by the newly established Mossos d’Esquadra police force, even though there were no specific laws regarding hate crimes at the time in Spain.[1]
Beatriz Espejo, who founded the now-defunct Col·lectiu de Transexuals de Catalunya (CTC), said that Sonia’s death and the harassment of sex workers around the 1992 Olympics were what inspired her to mobilize and form the CTC.[1]
In 1993, a plaque was placed on the bandstand in which Sonia was murdered. It read, in Catalan, "Sonia was murdered here at the hands of fascism on October 6, 1991. We do not forget." In 2013, the bandstand was officially renamed the "Transsexual Sonia bandstand" at the initiative of the Plataforma LGTBIcat,[2] making Barcelona the first city in Europe to have a public space named after a trans person.[1] In October 2021, on the day of her death, Barcelona renamed the square in the Ciutadella Park the Plaça Sonia Rescalvo Zafra.[1]
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Bandstand at Ciutadella Park
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Plaque at the bandstand commemorating Sonia Rescalvo Zafra from 2013 to 2021.
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Authorities and trans rights activists revealing the new Plaça Sonia Rescalvo Zafra sign in Barcelona on October 6, 2021
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Jump up to: 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Cristina Tomàs White (2021-10-06). "Sonia Rescalvo Zafra: the brutal murder that galvanized the trans rights movement" Catalan News. Archived from the original.
- ↑ Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 Meritxell Guixà (2021-09-30). "Remembering Sonia Rescalvo Zafra" Info Barcelona. Archived from the original.