In Las Palmas de Gran Canaria was presented to the public on 20 September 2026. The Archivo Viejas Glorias brings together, organises and preserves records of the stage work of trans and travesti performers on Gran Canaria from 1976 to 1998. The collection centres on photographs, posters, programmes, press reports, and private film and audio recordings; a public appeal is also under way to gather missing materials.
The coordinator Luis Lorite says the project aims to make the artistic contribution of those involved visible and not reduce them to victim or activist roles. Lorite cites his collaboration with the artist Margaret García; the organisers say that García died in the same week that the Instituto de las Mujeres approved a grant from the Ministerio de Igualdad , making the project a memorial tribute as well.
Alongside preserving documents, the project plans to conduct oral history interviews and provide expert context for the collections. Its aim is to establish a robust account of the scene within the cultural history of Spain’s Transition period and the Canary Islands. According to the project, firm decisions on permanent ways of presenting the material — such as a publicly accessible database, travelling exhibitions or partnerships with existing archives in the Canary Islands — depend on further agreements concerning rights clearance and technical infrastructure.
Local cultural organisations, people with first-hand experience and representatives of older people’s groups are involved in the collecting process. The project explicitly highlights the importance of port links and tourist routes in the artistic visibility of Las Palmas during the late Franco era and the subsequent democratisation. Public project information and a detailed report by elDiario.es dated 20 September 2026 provide the reliable evidence available so far for the date, grant approval and statements by those responsible for the project.
The next phase is the systematic cataloguing of the collections, legal clearance of usage rights and planning of initial presentations. The Archivo Viejas Glorias gives a previously marginally documented chapter of the cultural scene on Gran Canaria a dedicated archive and public presence for the first time.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).