April 2025. The flamenco dancer from Granada Manuel Linan He was enjoying a sweet moment in his career, selling out his shows and being acclaimed by critics and the public, until some images of one of his performances in the Madrid Guitar FestivalThe video, which went viral on social media, has sparked homophobic outrage. Up to five hundred comments have accumulated under the video of the artist dancing, as he has done many times in the last decade, in a flamenco dress with a train.
“It’s horrifying to see this hunk like that”; “No way, this is the last thing I expected to see, don’t let his balls get tangled up in that dress!”; “Is this for real or is it some kind of joke?”; “I prefer to interpret it as a gathering of friends and one of them, the funniest one after a few drinks, starred in the scene with the robe and shawl (poor shawl) borrowed from his sister”; “Pervert, sick, degenerate”… A torrent of insults that only stopped when the video was taken down, after it had already surpassed 100.000 views.
The show in question wasn't even by Liñán, but by the guitarist from Jerez. Manuel valenciawho had featured him as a guest artist, and couldn't believe the users' reaction. "I think that the society we live in is generally quite tolerant, although there will always be people who don't respect each person's sexuality," the musician said. "Let's hope that there are fewer and fewer intolerant people. I want to believe that there are more good people than bad; it's just that the bad ones make more noise, especially hiding behind social media, which is often like the sewers of society where everyone dumps their filth." flamenco It remains a true reflection of the society I'm talking about, although it has long been very open to all kinds of trends and aesthetics.”
In any case, the incident brought an old question to the forefront of the debate. Are the flamencoAre there homophobes? Is there room in this art for sexual diversity? Or, turning the reasoning around, is it possible to keep the flamenco of attitudes that are widespread in Spanish society itself, such as sexism or homophobia? There have always been prejudices that associated, for example, dancing flamenco from men to sexual ambiguity, although There have also been artists who have embodied the most orthodox virility from this discipline… And others who had to hide their identity all their lives.
“These people, I’m sure of it, are completely unaware of the work I do, which doesn’t stop them from making all sorts of hurtful and offensive comments,” Liñán himself states. “I’ve always felt loved by the public and the critics, and by a large part of the profession. This is a social reflection that has nothing to do with my shows; it comes from people who have probably never seen any of them. And that’s the serious part.”
"Whenever it happens, I get messages like 'it's okay, you're above all that.' And yes, I know I'm above all that, but I also believe it's part of a social reality that we must address and examine."
Liñán recalls that the homophobic attacks he has been subjected to since the beginning reached their peak with the premiere of his show Live! And a subsequent Nike campaign on social inclusion was met with a barrage of vomiting emojis because it featured men dressed as women. “This has been going on for a long time, and whenever it happens I get messages like 'it's okay, you're above all that.' And yes, I know I'm above all that, but I also think it's part of a social reality that we need to address and examine.”
Consulted by ExpoFlamenco, a colleague of hers, the woman from Cádiz Lucia La Pinona, believes that “in the flamenco Homophobia exists, but no more and no less than in the rest of society, which I do find quite homophobic. In fact, I would venture to say there is less of it in the world of... flamenco than in other environments, since in the flamenco "There is a very natural coexistence between gay and straight people," he says.
“I don’t know if social media has made it worse, although I don’t think so; that would be another issue. But it does provide an opportunity to attack from behind a veil of anonymity and without dialogue,” adds the woman from Jimena. “And what’s posted on social media travels so quickly that it can’t compete with an opinion shared in a café, with what…” We should be more careful and ashamed when spreading hatred so freely.".
On the other hand, the issue doesn't seem to be limited to the artistic field, but also extends to everything surrounding that world. jondoAn internationally recognized manager like Chema Blancowho expresses his horror at expressions like the one Liñán suffered. “I don’t know if before social media that hatred was as explicit as it is now. But it was always there, despite so many gay artists,” he explains. “In my case, during the time between my appointment as director of the 2022 Seville Biennial and its end, most of the attacks were personal, with a veiled homophobia that served to protect the cowards.” It's a fact that it's there, and everywhere. And I would venture to say that the peñaThey are one of the main centers of homophobia in flamenco".
Is homophobia an unresolved issue? Will there be other regrettable incidents like the one last April? Manuel Liñán has continued dancing in a flamenco dress and shawl – for example, in the past Flamenco London festival—and he doesn't seem inclined to stop. “I'm calm and touched by the affection I receive from so many people every time something like this happens. But I have to be honest and committed, and If I have to tell society that homophobia exists, I will, because it's adding insult to injury.”. ♦
