In a landscape shaped by art and memory, Marina Velasco, a Barcelona-born cartoonist, emerges as a voice that carries stories from a turbulent past into the present. Her graphic narrative follows two young men who share a shy, hopeful kiss and the harsh gaze of authority in a Franco-era setting. One of the men is Arnau, and his partner is someone he met in the city in 1970. Their moment of tenderness is interrupted by police, a reminder that intimate affection could invite surveillance and arrest. Velasco reflects on that day with a grave honesty, noting how therapy and time helped her subject acknowledge what happened. Disowned by family and sent across borders to “fix” him, Arnau’s story is one of six true testimonies that Velasco has brought to life in a graphic sequence, a project that seeks not to sensationalize but to bear witness. The work earned the Fnac-Salamandra Graphics Award in 2023 and anchors a mural that contemplates what it meant to be LGTBIQ+ in Spain during the last century. The latest installments bear the title May the End of the World Find Us Dancing, as Barcelonian Sebas Martín explores a love story between two men in 1935, on the eve of the Civil War, stretching a narrative from the city’s historic streets to a moment of collective uncertainty.
“There has been much discussion about the post-war period, oppression, and dictatorship, but there remains uncertainty about how those pressures manifested themselves”, Martín explains. He notes a paradox: while left-leaning currents lingered in public life, machismo persisted, and gay or lesbian lives could be disrupted by a public scandal. The political climate also framed homosexuality in moral terms for various factions: some viewed it as bourgeois immorality, while others saw the relationship as a threat to working-class solidarity. The tension between ideology and personal life created a dangerous landscape where love could be punished as a political act.
Martin crafts a vivid, well-researched tale about Tomás, a modest office worker from Lorca, who falls for Basilio, a strong-willed worker and boxer in late-1930s Barcelona. Basilio has not fully stepped out of the shadows and carries the burden of a world that did not yet accept him. The narrative unfolds across neighborhoods like Poblenou and Paral·lel, with landmarks such as La Criolla weaving through the tale. The character is inspired by a friend of the author’s uncle, whose firsthand recollections lend authenticity to the storytelling.
Velasco’s strip draws deeply from family history. She recalls a great-aunt who kept a quiet love alive with a partner that was never openly acknowledged at family gatherings. The project resists the old model of silence, highlighting the courage of those who chose to live openly despite fear. Velasco notes that earlier medical guidelines branded homosexuality as a disease to be treated, sometimes with brutal methods. Sharing these accounts, the artist emphasizes that those who spoke on camera or in interviews still prefer anonymity today.
Many testimonies in the collection reveal how conversion therapies were wielded under the watchful eyes of institutions and church authorities. The work also critiques political leaders who have failed to protect LGBTQ+ rights in recent times, pointing to debates and reforms in places like Madrid that reflect ongoing resistance. The broader international panorama—Russia and some Arab countries—documented bans on affection between same-sex partners, illustrating a global pattern of fear and control that contrasts with local progress.
Rights remain at stake
Martín observes that in some Madrid streets, hostile taunts still echo, and a generation’s hard-won rights could be undone by backlash. He notes that while older generations faced overt aggression, today’s political shifts risk re-legitimizing discrimination through new rhetoric and policy. The work cautions that the fight for equality is not finished simply because progress is visible in some quarters. Across the globe, from Europe to distant regions, the story persists: vigilance is needed, and dignity must be defended in every public space where affection is shown and identities are expressed.
Velasco concurs: while improvements have occurred, hate speech has intensified in recent years. The fear of being judged or ostracized lingers for many who are seen as a couple, especially in public spaces. The artists’ portraits remind readers that solidarity and empathy remain essential to safeguard freedoms, even when society appears more accepting in practice than in law.
May the End of the World Find Us Dancing page
Their stories unfold up to the moment just before a pivotal historical turning point. A continuation was imagined with a muted heat, probing what the protagonists might endure under conflict and dictatorship. The narratives reiterate that Franco formalized the persecution of homosexuality with a mid-century amendment, and that earlier social injustices included mistreatment, humiliation, and arbitrary police actions. The work honors those who endured, while underscoring that the struggle for rights remained a living, evolving task.
In the early scenes, the 1930s artist portrays homosexuality as a marker of outsider status. Yet the stories also reveal the resilience of the working class, who sought a normal life with the people they love, even amid a climate that sought to erase them. Future testimonies from Velasco’s interview subjects reveal ongoing concerns about medical and social arenas where aging individuals fear further marginalization. The project does not shy away from the messy, imperfect history, instead presenting it with a human voice that invites readers to reflect on how far societies have come and how far they still must go. It remains a powerful reminder that memory, cinema, and comics can illuminate the human cost of political and social change, offering a bridge between generations and geographies, including North America where audiences seek to understand these shared histories and their relevance today.[Attributed to Velasco, Martín; interviews compiled by researchers and critics in contemporary graphic storytelling]