A parade led by children during the carnival in Torrevieja, a city located in the Spanish province of Alicante, was the target of harsh criticism from conservative groups after the minors wore costumes that simulate female underwear, such as garter belts, nipple shields and shoes. in high heels, in addition to carrying flags of Spain and the LGBT community.
The controversial outfit, which resembles that of adult women, was also accompanied by satirical slogans about the country's main political acronyms. For example, “Traditional family”, in reference to the Popular Party (PP); “Immigration out!” and “feminism oppresses us”, from the right-wing party Vox; and “Todes, tudis” and “Só sim é sim”, by the leftist party Sumar.
The episode, organized by the group Ousadia (in free translation), set social networks on fire with accusations about the sexualization of children and even incitement to pedophilia.
Last year, the same team was criticized for dressing younger girls up as nuns, under the slogan “Who is free from sin…”. A priest from a local community, Pedro Payá, even demanded that they not parade days later: “It seems to me to be a lack of respect for those who consider religious feelings to be very important,” he said at the time.
The Catholic leader explained that he was not against the event itself, as long as certain limits were not exceeded: “Audacity has the particularity of being a very fine line and whoever dares to cross it takes the risks.”
The new case involving children led the Christian advocacy foundation Christian Lawyers to file a complaint for a possible crime of using minors for exhibitionist shows. The group is collecting signatures calling for the resignation of the city's events advisor, Rosario Martínez, who is part of the government team of Eduardo Dolón, mayor for the Popular Party (PP).
“It is reprehensible and falls into the category of corruption of minors. We hope that justice will act so that the innocence of children is not lost or used in this way”, says the president of the Foundation, Polónia Castellanos.
The foundation Christian Lawyers directs its complaint against the festival's advisor, the president and secretary of the Torrevieja Carnival Cultural Association, Francisco Pizana and Armando Bueno, and those responsible for the Ousadia group. The Chamber, which has not officially commented on the case, financially supports the parades, declared to be of Regional Tourist Interest, but has no control over who participates in the parades.
The Christian organization considers it “very serious” that the carnival team, responsible for recruiting minors, received 650 euros (approximately R$3,400) for the fourth prize in the costume category.
After the criticism, the city's Cultural Association and the City Council expressed their support for the group. “The Torrevieja Carnival Cultural Association will always support all teams and participants in our carnivals, always defending freedom in the parades.”
The municipal body stated in a document to which the newspaper El Español had access that supports “the great carnival family and the Management of the Carnival Cultural Association of Torrevieja”.
“Carnival is criticism, satire, provocation, fun, and taking it out of context and sizing a fact as what is being criticized is totally wrong.” This is how the Torrevieja City Council has defended the values of its great carnival.
“We are certain that the intention of the fathers and mothers of these children was not, in any way, to hypersexualize their children with their costumes”, stated the organization, arguing that this year’s parade was held with the intention of criticizing the situation. political and social policy in Spain.
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