Alcoletge has its first transgender giant

SchoolChristrans. This is the name recently given in Alcoletge to the first giant figure representing a transgender woman. The 3.2-meter-tall figure was built by members of the town's giant figure group. They say they spent a year creating the figure using exclusively recycled materials. Rainbow-colored hair (a symbol of the LGBTQ+ movement), a black dress, a basket, and long, painted nails are the giant's main features.

Christrans joins the other figures in this group, which is only three years old but already boasts a total of eight giants and around thirty members of all ages. The annual meeting on October 25th, attended by 17 groups and 300 people, provided the perfect setting for the traditional naming ceremony and its official incorporation into the group.

Far from wanting to joke about the trans cause, Alcoletge group leader Cisco Bernadó assures: "It's meant to be a symbolic embrace of the LGBTQ+ community, and especially of trans people, who too often face criticism, discrimination, or a lack of understanding. They are to be respected, and within the giant world, they will always find an open, joyful, and inclusive space." "With this giant, we celebrate equality, diversity, and everyone's right to be who they are," adds the group leader. Coexistence, respect, freedom, and "remembering that the festival belongs to everyone, without distinction," are other messages the organization intends to convey with the giant.

This trans giant joins the few figures of this kind known in Catalonia. One of them, also recently named, is the Pearl of the Llobregat, a giant queer Created by the Sant Andreu de la Barca Youth Group. It is a figure of aesthetic drag With a beard, colored makeup, tattoos with symbolism, and clothing made in the colors of the trans and inclusive flags.

Cisco Bernadó states that the Alcoletge group intends to incorporate more figures with socially conscious content. For this reason, they have already begun working on creating another giant (the ninth for the group) to raise awareness of breast cancer: the figure of a woman with only one breast. "We want to send messages that society needs to be constantly reminded of," Bernadó concludes.

It should be noted that the Alcoletge group already has two giants (Cantinflas and Mainadera) that were christened in 1995 by the now-defunct Germanor group from the city of Lleida. The remaining figures have been added in the last three years by the members of the group themselves. "Commissioning the manufacture of a figure is beyond our budget," admits the group leader.