Jesús Generelo

A documentary about the erotic writer, costume designer, theater decorator, and composer of several very popular cuplés. It is part of RTVE’s special programming for Pride 2025 and pays tribute to one of the pioneers in advocating for sexual diversity. Álvaro Retana’s family has opened their personal archive to recover the figure of their grandfather, a creator as essential as he is currently unknown. In addition, extensive research was conducted in the files of numerous archives and museums. All this work brings to the present a world of color, freedom, revolutionary frivolity, and compulsive creativity, which he left behind in a legacy of over a hundred novels, more than 1,000 cuplés (perhaps the most well-known being Las tardes del Ritz, Ven y ven, La pulga...), hundreds of costume designs, drawings, and more.

In Equatorial Guinea there is strong social homophobia and LGBT people are victims of police harassment and discrimination. Activists Angel and Gonzalo testify about the persecution they suffer, the difficulty of coming out of the closet as it is a taboo within families, conversion therapies and the role of the church. A very shocking reality that reminds us of past times in Spain. In this documentary we also make a comparison between LGBT rights in Equatorial Guinea and Spain, how they have evolved, the possibility of regression, etc. with the testimony of Spanish activists, politicians, etc.