Loverboy has been brushing up on its knowledge of Queer characters from Spain’s LGBT life, as we read author, Valeria Vegas‘ latest release – Libérate. The book looks back at some of the important figures who have paved the way internationally, nationally and even provincially for Spain’s younger generations. 

Valeria’s first book was a tribute to the Grandes Actrices del Cine Español. Following that she self-published Digo! Ni Puta, Ni Santa. Las Memorias De La Veneno, a biography of one of Spain’s most famous transwomen, Cristina Ortiz Rodriguez aka La Veneno. The book was the basis of the must-see series, Veneno, which covered Valeria’s own story of meeting Veneno, her own transition and the publishing of her book.

Valeria has gone on to write an in-depth analysis of the representation of transwomen in Spain in Vestidas De Azul, while Libérate completes the circle. Loverboy speaks with Valeria about her favourite figures from Spain’s LGBT history, how she has been able to carve out a career as a writer against the odds and whether the cause of Veneno’s death will ever be solved.

Valeria, congratulations on Libérate. Why did you decide now was the right moment to document characters from Spain’s LGBT history?
Almost all the references and films that appear in the book have accompanied me throughout my life and I wanted them to have the recognition they deserved. I saw that there were already books that highlighted international references and I thought the same thing should be done but within Spain.

When you wrote Libérate, were you looking for key figures of Spain’s LGBT history or those that have been overlooked?
A bit of everything, because someone like Carmen de Mairena for example, is well-known for her high-profile in the media but I wanted to delve into the more unknown parts of her career and then mix that with figures that are not talked about, like Rambal or Yeda Brown. This mixing of profiles came about organically. Our LGBT history is itself quite under-represented and at times some figures have almost only remained as stories from the provinces.

When writing the book, did you discover anything about someone you didn’t already know?
Maybe the most unknown case, and one that I discovered when writing about Vestidas de Azul, is the ‘transformista’, Francis. His death attracted a lot of press, which allowed me to investigate further, but with time he had been forgotten.

Was there anyone you wrote about that you already had a pre-conceived idea of, but which then changed after researching them further?
No, realistically all it has done is to reaffirm even more my admiration for people such as Psicosis Gonsales, Paco Clavel, Walkiria…and so many others that I have always placed on a pedestal.

One of the first people you mention, is one of my favourites – All About My Mother’s Agrado. After reading Ni Puta, Ni Santa, it feels like Cristina could have easily inspired Pedro Almodovar to write the role….
Well, according to what Pedro told me, the two never met, but I myself had that same feeling and even more so with the parallels between Cristina’s and La Agrado’s lives. There’s no doubt that the character shares similarity with her.

You also mention Antonio Amaya & Rafael Conde aka ‘El Titi’ both successful singers who became more flamboyant and outlandish later in their careers, notably post-Franco. Now it is more common for gay men to support female singers or drag queens than to celebrate other gay male performers. Do you think this has changed since the days of Antonio and Rafael?
Yes, I think that in Spain, there is change and it is a positive one. I really wish that Drag Race Spain will bring a lot of work and visibility to all of those performers that work in the world of transformation, that have lived in times when they have not been valued or celebrated enough. The problem comes from having to classify things too much and, however unfairly, it seems the LGBT community always comes second.

You’ve said that Libérate closes the circle that you started with Grandes Actrices del Cine Español and ¡Ni Puta, Ni Santa! Is there anything you still want to write about in this circle – or are you going to focus on something different in the future?
No, there are no loose ends. I feel you will see that I have ‘celebrated’ our LGBT culture, first by revinidicating the person that was most denounced, La Veneno, and then with the social and cinematographic essay on Vestidas de Azul. Libérate closes this cycle by paying tribute to the stars, the divas, the ‘transfomistas’ and the songs. I think my next project will be a novel.

Do you have plans to translate your books into English or publish them internationally?
If a publishing house makes me an interesting offer to take them beyond Spain, then I would love that. But to be honest I am not ambitious in that way and once I finish writing a book, I’m already thinking about the next thing. I haven’t made any plans to translate them into English.

With the success of ¡Ni Puta, Ni Santa! & Veneno the series, have more doors opened to you internationally in general?
The thing that has changed is that people abroad now know who I am, “The Real Valeria”, but I have not received offers from across the pond. The pandemic has also meant that we have not been able to promote the show in America, France, UK…but I’m not going to feel down about it. There is enough work in Spain.

Do you think the success of the show will encourage the police to reopen Cristina’s case and find out how she died?
Well that has nothing to do with how much, or how little, she is spoken about. It’s more about the fact that her family ordered her body to be incinerated forty days after died. There is not much else that can be clarified. It only serves other TV shows to continue with their morbid fascination.

In Veneno’s time, and even now, sex work is a common profession for transwomen. It feels like you have been the start of a new generation, particularly in Spain, which offers transwomen other options. Has it been difficult to overcome society’s expectations for transwomen and accomplish the kind of career you are achieving?
Well, first of all thank you for your kind words. Easy it has not been, because the people at the top of the ladder, who give the orders, sometimes they tend to think that you are not valid in different professions, because they have a misconception about our collective. I include Cristina – many publishing houses felt that her story was not interesting. When I started to write for Vanity Fair in 2015, it’s true, I noticed a more positive perception. Many people started to see that my identity was secondary to my life and that what was first was the content and articles I wrote about the stage, cinema and artists. I have no complaints but neither am I going to deny that eight years ago life seemed more complicated.

For those outside of Spain, they have little idea of how much Franco’s dictatorship has affected the social growth of the country, not only during the years of his reign but also the years afterwards. What do you think is the most important thing people need to know about the effect he has had on Spain?
Most importantly it is undeniable that a country that is suffering under a dictator, be it the left or the right, is a diminished one for not only years but even decades. Even more so if the ideas of morality come contaminated via the oppressive part of Catholicism. But we are coming out of all this, we have been for a while now and young people should value that.

In the 80s people seemed less inclined to label themselves and just exist. Now in the 2020s, everyone seems to want to use a different term to identify themselves. Do you think these terms help open up the conversation of identity or end up making people fit into more specific boxes than is necessary?
I don’t have anything against labels, because I think there is always something worse and that is ignorance and disinformation. What you cannot do is misuse labels. People still have a lot to learn and understand. Maybe with time we will be able to free ourselves of them.

Finally we are named after the biggest-selling single of 2001 so we always ask, what is your favourite Mariah Carey song?
Well, here we are in March but already I am longing for the arrival of December so I can sing ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You.’

Libérate is available now via Dos Bigotes