You are a member of the Candela association. How did you get there?

I came to society because of militancy, not because of studies. I was a street feminist, from the guts, and I had such a feeling that we had reduced political influence. I already knew Candela, it was not exactly what he is today, but there was a project that wanted to achieve a feminist social transformation, linked to education and the prevention of violence. Several friends worked, and when I heard them, I felt like entering. I walked in, and now it's my daughter.

How has the partnership changed since it entered?

When I walked in, it was a militant activity, but I also intended to create self-employment. When the group that we now have was formed, it became a priority objective to be able to live thanks to the work of the association. You have to spend time doing this work, you have to learn things -- so turning it into a profession was a way to dignify the activity. At first, to get money, he was a waiter, in addition to the work of the association, and he couldn't dedicate all the spaces he needed to Candela. We finally made a bet, and here we are. In 2017, we want to become a cooperative, because we're actually cooperative, imprisoned in the body of a partnership.

What do you do in the partnership?

I coordinate the youth section, all the projects related to adolescents and young people, as well as the training and workshops; I also deal with the blog El blog de la Lore. On the other hand, I train professionals who work with young people: health workers, teachers, youth technicians, social educators…

What are the pillars of the partnership?

Basic feminism, that is, feminism that serves us to live better, for all. We think it is very important to reach young people, because that is where the capacity for transformation is located. We start from a concrete pedagogy: that all people keep the instruments to live better within themselves and that we are all aware of what society does not do us well. The thing is, young people are the fastest in transformation, because they haven't taken political opportunity yet, so they say what they think, and stereotypes and beliefs are working more easily.

Is political opportunity an obstacle?

When it comes to dealing with these things, political opportunity is an insurmountable wall: it is hard for us adults to tell the truth. For example, we have a dynamic to identify homophobic attitudes. If, when it comes to carrying out this dynamic, people explain to you the barbarities, you know they are working; others tell you: I think I am not mistaken… So you cannot deal with the problem.

What about young people?

It's very different from young people. When we work on sexual diversity, we approach nausea a lot. We call it emotional homophobia, not rational, not born in the head, and there's a way to recognize and disconstruct it.A
young man tells you: I don’t care if they are gay, but two men with mustache kissing… If you recognize nausea, you can ask them what exactly gives them repugnance, because, for example, the kiss of an 80-year-old couple produces that, even if it is a very heterogeneous couple. Therefore, the sex that is out of the ordinary, that is, everything that does not belong to the sex of the young and beautiful people, really makes them nauseous, because they have educated us.

What methodology do you use with adults?

We work in the first person and try to break the eyes of adults: that young people do not know, that young people have unequal relationships (as if the elderly were not), that young people are very macho (as if machismo had not come to them in part from adults), etc.

I guess after bullying cases you will often be called from schools.

Yes, and we always say that prevention is basic. They should call us before bullying occurs.

Why is prevention so important?

On the one hand, because exclusion always exists: patriarchy is there, also homophobia. Things have already happened, the case is that you haven't noticed.

On the other hand, I'll give you an example. It's a long time now that a girl has sent a sexy photo to the guy or the couple she likes, or whatever, and then the guy has spread it all over Catalonia. What's behind that? Punishing the sexuality of women, making it clear that women do not have the right to be in the public domain and to show our sexuality. If you address the issue after it happens, you will instrumentalize that girl’s disgust and you will have to make another intervention. However, if you work before it happens, if you try to spread a photo without permission is to hurt, it's an attack, it might do so, but when it happens, it's taken in a different way, it won't fall into the jungle. Young people have already become aware of this, they have gone through the body.

What sexual education do young people receive?

In our society, sexuality is a taboo, although at the same time it is a hyper-sexualized society, based on violence against women. When conducting the workshops, young people are told about the risks of sexuality. Actually, teenagers need a lot to talk about sexuality, to ask themselves, to learn, and when they finally offer a workshop, well, they're told that they can die of a terrible disease if they don't do it right. No one mentions pleasure. Our starting point is pleasure, sexuality and sexual and reproductive rights.

I know it's hard to do it, but could you tell me what situations you've seen in classrooms in general?

Sometimes I'm terribly optimistic and I think the patriarchy will end tomorrow, and other times I think we're in a damn hole and we'll never get out.

However, I would say that girls in general come strong, and that the view of society gives them above all power. If a girl has long hair and takes care of her look, we think it is wrong, and maybe that girl is very powerful and has things very clear. And if the girl has sex, we send her directly to a social service worker. Due to sexual diversity, Lgtb teenagers [lesbians, gays, transsexuals, bisexuals] come with an incredible force, suffer a fabulous suffering in silence, but they leave, they come out of the closet and it's no small thing. When I was a teenager, in high school, nobody would come out of the closet and we waited for him to leave. Guys -- good. They will ever have to change their attitude.

In general, we see great concern in classrooms.

Before you told me to take care of the blog El blog de la Lore. Could you explain to me what this project is?

Our dream is to create a welcoming space for young people, face-to-face, a dream that we have in mind for a long time and that, although it is ever closer, is at the moment impossible and that is what we have put in place four years ago. Support: At the end of the workshops, we offer cards to young people to send them anonymously if they still have doubts or questions. Then, we also have a section dedicated to lesbian girls, because there is a big gap there.

What kind of questions do they ask?

Most of all, they ask questions about sexual orientation, and how “my condom has been broken.” Many girls write to us saying they don't feel pleasure in their sexual relations with their boyfriends. They show great frustration. Boys don't know what the clitoris is, so penetration is the great dominator and girls don't have a good time. That's why we also criticize traditional sex education, teach how to put condoms, and it's already there. That is enough. Penetration is not the only sexual practice, not the most important, and the placement of the condom is not that difficult, you'll learn, it's not nonsense. It's worrying that so many questions are asked about it, but it has a positive side, because girls are conscious and express, they don't want to accept a relationship without pride.

Two years ago, you launched the Oasis camp, aimed at young Lgtb people. How did this idea come about?

The truth is, we've had the idea in our head for a long time, and not just the members of Candela. Candela manages the project itself, but has many external collaborations. In the classrooms, we always find a teenage girl with a different gender expression, who lives the theme closely and feels lonely, and we said to each other: Wouldn't it be great to bring together all those who feel lonely?

Were you aware of any such projects?

There are projects of this kind in the United States, so we knew it wasn't that rare, but we're not in touch with them. We ourselves are constantly building the project. It is clear, however, that there was a need. The Spanish State is a desert in this sense, and in those oases people from all over the State registered, although we, at first, organized them looking to Catalonia.

What has the experience been like?

Great. It's one of the most beautiful projects I've ever done in Candela. For the participants it has also been like this; some have come to the two rounds and it is amazing how much they have changed in a year, especially trans children: how they have spoken, how they are, what they look like… They are much more content with themselves.

Family members have also thanked the knowledge of positive referents. This is one of the foundations of the project, because there are myths that all trans women are sex workers and that Lgtb people are not happy. Then they see us, they see that we are at ease in our work, that we live happily… They calm down.

In 2014, a new law on homophobia was approved in Catalonia. What do you think?

I do not know the law in depth, but, on the laws, I would like to say something. A few years ago, it was quite the opposite of the laws, and I've really changed my mind, as a result of what I've seen. When you fight on the street, you don't realize that the struggle doesn't meet the needs of a multitude of women who suffer violence and don't have a network. The law helps, although it is not enough, it is a paternalistic law, the state will never do anything against itself, etc. It is an instrument, after all, and so we have to take it. It's not a panacea, but it's nothing.

Is this shift in focus a consequence of Candela's work?

No doubt. I have known a wider reality thanks to the work of the association. I'm more flexible. For example, in terms of sexuality, prevention is to reduce harm. There's no absolute prevention, or yes, but that's what you should be meeting in a cellophane and then contributing to anyone you want, and well, I wouldn't recommend it to you. Therefore, reduce the damage. The ideal situation is not that a 15-year-old girl takes the pill, but if for some reason she does not use it, then take the pill. We have to know the context and act accordingly, and not throw away the moral super judgment, which is what education and society does today. A girl has to listen to her if she takes the pill. That look destroys them, collapses them and is of no use at all. That's right, then they organize self-esteem workshops for girls. What self-esteem do you want to encourage when girls are repeatedly considered stupid?