ISSUE NO. 1617
30 June - 6 July 2016
AXARQUÍA - COSTA TROPICAL YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
Celebrating pride
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Safer pedestrians THE council and police in Velez-Malaga are considering introducing ’30 zones’ in certain areas of town which will bring
speed limits down and give priority to pedestrians in an attempt to make the streets a safer place to walk. See page 2
Sounds of Norway MORE than 350 Norwegian musicians have spent more than a week in Almuñecar taking part in this year’s music festival, and six of the bands have already signed up to come back See page 4 next year.
Home from home AMERICAN author Felicia Hall, who lives in La Herradura, will be presenting her
new book featuring the area on Sunday evening. See page 6
Rolling patrol LOCAL POLICE officers have two new motorbikes which will come in very handy this summer to patrol the streets of VelezMalaga and help keep locals and visitors safe. See page 8 By Eleanor Hawkins Tuesday (June 28) was International LGBT Pride Day and this year, for the first time, Nerja and Torrox took the plunge, came out of the closet and flew the rainbow flag from their town halls. Although they were the newbies to the group the two towns were far from the only ones in the Axarquia-Costa Tropical area to embrace the spirit and were joined in celebrating diversity on the day to a greater or lesser extent by most other places in the area including Motril, Velez-Malaga and Rincon de la Victoria
among others. Silence regarding gay rights is very much a thing of the past now and there was something for everyone on the day with activities including readings of manifestos in support of sexual diversity, minutes of silence in honour of the victims of the June 12 attack on a gay club in Orlando, marches and screenings of films. However Arco Iris Federation was quick to note that while some areas really are working to bring down the barriers, others appear to raise the flags for show and little more. For the first time, the Malaga branch of the LGBT group re-
leased a study on local councils and what they do for gay rights which had praise for some but scathing contempt for others. While Velez-Malaga was classed on the report as an “example for others to follow,” Rincon de la Victoria received an encouraging comment of “lots of personal commitment” and Torrox was noted to have planned “novel activities,” the Federation decided that Malaga City and Antequera’s attempts were “sectarian and not very clear.” Gonzalo Serrano, head of the Andalucia branch of the federation, said: “this is an opportunity for each council to
send a message of commitment to equality and respect for diversity,” while Isabel Martinez, head of Familias Por la Diversidad (families for diversity) association added: “all towns and villages should support the group as there are homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals everywhere.”
Flying school A BEACH in Axarquia is the perfect place for orphan seagulls to learn to fly and fend for themselves in relative
safety, while ecologists keep an eye on them from a distance. See page 9