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Corufest, the performing arts festival for affective-sexual diversity, celebrates its eighth edition this year between May 8th and 18th with a variety of cultural and artistic activities that will bring emerging and established figures in the performing arts and cultural activism for sexual diversity to the city of Coruña. Tickets for the shows are already available through Ataquilla. The event was presented this morning at María Pita, in an event where the Councilor for Culture and Tourism, Gonzalo Castro, along with the artistic directors of Corufest, Gustavo del Río and Xosé Leis, participated.
«From the Government of Inés Rey, we continue to bring a diverse cultural and leisure offer to the citizens, supporting initiatives that create awareness and promote equality,» said Gonzalo Castro. Corufest 2025 will develop its program in various venues across the city, thanks to the support of the Coruña City Council, giving visibility to a wide range of innovative artistic proposals related to identity, diversity, and memory, with the aim of promoting reflection and debate on these topics once again. In this edition, the festival will focus on exploring identities, recovering historical narratives, and generating new narratives from art and culture.
Corufest will kick off its program on Thursday, May 8th, at 7:00 pm, with the inauguration of the ‘Inevitable’ exhibition at the Casa Museo Casares Quiroga, a social critique of sexual and gender freedom where users of the Daulloa Workshop for people with disabilities based in Monterroso (Lugo) reinterpret the collective flag to show 13 situations categorized as «of serious gravity» by the collective.
The following day, Friday, May 9th, the Centro Ágora will host, at 8:30 pm, the festival’s inaugural gala, with the presentation of the complete program and a performance by the drag queen, actress, and comedian Muna Duval, who will perform excerpts from her work ‘Azules y maricones’. The music, on the other hand, will come from the Galician duo Abril, known for reinterpreting Galician folklore from a contemporary perspective.
During the event, the Samuel Luiz recognition for social commitment to the visibility of the collective will also take place, which this year will be awarded to the ALAS A Coruña Association, for its fundamental role in defending the rights of the collective and in the fight for justice following the murder of Samuel Luiz, which took place in Coruña in July 2021.
Rights will be the focus of the meeting on Saturday, May 10th at the Galgo Azul Cultural Space (12:00 pm), with a talk by Palestinian activist Murad Odeh, followed by the presentation of the book ‘Vida y legado de Pedro Zerolo’ by Miguel A. Fernández. That same evening, the Claro Boba pub will open its doors to host the Corufest 2025 party, with a drag show prepared for the occasion.
Journalist, writer, broadcaster, and screenwriter Bob Pop will take the stage on Sunday, May 11th at the Teatro Rosalía Castro (8:30 pm) alongside Daniel Bayona with ‘Hablar no sirve. De Nada’, a piece about dependency, vulnerability, and the discomfort generated by both the stage and life itself. Through an intimate and provocative narrative, the work explores themes such as love, the body, sex, words, and time.
This year, Corufest’s program will also bring memory to the youngest audience with the theatrical performance ‘caLORCAlor’ by Guayomini Producións, where two actors aim to reclaim Lorca’s figure through this interactive comedy. The show will take place on Wednesday, May 14th at the Teatro Colón (12:00 pm) with a performance scheduled for schools in the city.
That same day, in the afternoon, the Centro Cívico Cidade Vella will host a meeting at 7:00 pm with TRC Danza alongside Pablo Lilienfeld and Federico Vladimir, creators of ‘Mónica’.
On Thursday, May 15th, the presentation of the catalog ‘Propuestas artísticas para una nueva arquitectura social’ will take place, where a repertoire of Spanish artists, creators, and thinkers work, create, and investigate on or from diversity or sexual dissidence and gender issues. The event, scheduled for 7:00 pm at the Casa Museo Casares Quiroga, will feature the presence of its author, César Espada, artist Petra Iglesias (@pretaporterr), and Julio del Valle de Íscar, Director General for Real and Effective Equality of LGBTI+ People.
That same Thursday, the Centro Ágora will host, at 8:30 pm, the play ‘Hermafroditas a caballo o la rebelión del deseo’, by the Que No Saia de Aquí collective. Using tools from documentary theater, performance, science fiction storytelling, and freak show, the piece addresses the experience of intersexuality in the first person and proposes the foundation of a new order away from rigidly dualistic schemes.
First meeting of creators
As a novelty this year, Corufest will hold the First meeting of creators from the collective, who will discuss the reality in the field of creation, on Friday, May 16th, at 12:00 pm, at Galgo Azul Espazo Cultural.
The festival once again has the support of the TRC Danza program, which will bring the show ‘Mónica’ to the Teatro Rosalía Castro on that same Friday at 8:30 pm, where Pablo Lilienfeld and Federico Vladimir delve into the history of their mothers. Photographs and paintings constitute the visual elements of the work, which combines performance, dance, video, and music.
On Saturday, May 17th, coinciding with the Day of the Galician Letters and the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, the Galgo Azul Espazo Cultural will host, starting at 11:00 am, the Vermut Corufest 2025, featuring the presentation of the book ‘O centro Voando’ by Ánxela Lema, and a concert by Sophie Simonds.
‘Chemsex’, a debate
The last day of the festival, Sunday, May 18th, will focus on the ‘Chemsex’ phenomenon. In the morning, politician Eduardo Rubiño (councilor in the City Council of Madrid) will discuss this reality alongside the Citizen Anti-AIDS Committee of Coruña (CASCO) and the team behind the play ‘El Gé’, which will be performed in the afternoon at the Teatro Colón (8:30 pm).
Scenic research workshop with Pablo Messiez
The award-winning actor, author, and theater director Pablo Messiez will lead the scenic research workshop ‘A mi manera no es como acostumbro’, where participants will come together to explore exercises around body relationships in space, inspired by divas’ gestuality and song. The workshop will take place from May 15th to 17th at the Centro Ágora, with limited spaces available.
