Samuel Luiz was only 24. Last Friday, the nursing assistant was murdered outside a nightclub after being attacked by a group of 13 people. His multiple aggressors kept on yelling “maricón” (Spanish for “fag”) while they beat him to death.
This horrible attack has stirred a wave of protests around Spain, which reject violence against the LGTBI community, and many former Eurovision stars have also joined the campaign.
The death has made all the headlines inside and outside Spain, and many media have been criticised over their coverage. Many people consider they have not been remarking the fact that it was a homophobic murder.
Spain’s most recent Eurovision representative, Blas Cantó, posted several tweets asking for justice for Samuel, and calling on his huge fanbase to take part in demonstrations.
#JusticiaParaSamuel #Homofobia pic.twitter.com/lijgXIlu7l
— Blas Cantó (@BlasCanto) July 5, 2021
Blas also stood up against those who criticised him for speaking on the issue. “Freedom is out of the question. I’d rather be killed than keep silent”, he answered to a Twitter user.
La libertad no se cuestiona. Prefiero que me maten a callarme. https://t.co/OfdaPIFksL
— Blas Cantó (@BlasCanto) July 5, 2021
Eurovision 2014 representative, Ruth Lorenzo, was also actively taking part in the campaign. She wrote a heartfelt message for Samuel: “Today is a sad day. We thought we were progressing as a society, but there’s simply wolves in sheep’s clothing. Samuel, you deserved to live your life, grow, fall, dream and be. Forgive them, for they don’t know what they do”.
Hoy es un día triste, creemos que avanzamos como sociedad pero simplemente se disfrazan los lobos de cordero.
Samuel merecías vivir tu vida, crecer, caer, soñar y SER LIBRE!! Perdónalos porque no saben lo que hacen. ???????????— R U T H (@RuthLorenzo) July 4, 2021
After the demonstrations in Madrid, many participants reported police brutality. There was a Twitter chain asking to identify a couple of agents, as being particularly violent, and Ruth also joined it.
Hey @policia ¿me podría informar de la razón de uso de fuerza desmesurada por los agentes con número de identificación: 1U1O24 y 1U1021?
— R U T H (@RuthLorenzo) July 6, 2021
Ruth and Blas were not the only ones to speak up. Miki, Alfred, Pastora Soler among others also showed their support and mourned Samuel’s murder.
Samuel’s murder: A shock for Spain’s LGTBI community
News about Samuel’s murder emerged during the weekend, but it happened on Friday night, outside a nightclub in the city of A Coruña. On Tuesday, three individuals were arrested, after almost 15 people had been questioned about the crime.
Indignation arose from the divergence between Samuel’s friends’ version and the police’s first investigations.
While Samuel’s close friends — who were with him right before the fatal beating — clearly pointed out how his assassins yelled “fag” and other homophobic insults towards him, the police disregarded homophobia as the attack origin, arguing that the attackers didn’t know Samuel was gay.
Moreover, the media have also received criticism for their approach to the issue. Many media reported on the incident based on the police’s version, and thus, didn’t qualify the incident as homophobic at first.
On Monday, protests were held around Spain. The one in Madrid was particularly notable, as many participants claimed the police used violence against them.
Cargss pic.twitter.com/Pf2SBAvdYU
— Fermín Grodira (@grodira) July 5, 2021
Violence against the LGTBI community didn’t stop there. Over the last few days, several aggressions have been reported in Madrid, València, León and Sant Cugat del Vallés. Many have also shared their distress over the recent attacks against Tbilisi Pride, in Georgia.
Samuel’s murder has been a turning point for Spain’s LGBTI community. You can share your thoughts on the comment section below.
Unfortunately, this is the world we live in right now. The world is not always full of rainbows, cupcakes, and butterflies, the world can also be full of hatred, homophobia, & racism and sadly we have to live with it. I wish this never happen but I guess this will continue on from year’s ahead 🙁
That’s messed up. People were swearing at him because of his sexual orientation AND THEN KILLED HIM. Jesus I thought Spain was an LGBTQ+ friendly country (it is still, it’s just sad that it happened there)
Just finished watching the report, and to date they still haven’t determined the identity of those who attacked him, nor that it was a homophobic attack (the first attacker thought he was taping him and yelled at him not to or he’d beat him, then calling him “f**”, although it could have happened more times).
I’m not a member of LGBT movement, but it’s inexcusable that his death was wrong and tragic, regardless of motive. A sus padres, familiares y amigos les mando mis condolencias
How sad that you are not an ally. Please reconsider.
How sad that people have downvoted my comment.
You don’t need to be an ally, you just need empathy and critical thought, please reconsider
They are the same thing.
If you’re not homophobic, then you’re an ally. What problem do you downvoters have with that?
Dude, he said he’s not A MEMBER. With your way of thinking, Manizha is homophobic
Membership is not a thing. Everybody is welcome, heteros included. Manizha is an ally.
Didn’t realize how much the thread had continued XD It is possible for people not to agree with LGBT and still not be homophobic. My position is that just because you don’t have opposite-sex attractions doesn’t mean that you’re less of a human and deserve less dignity. That also doesn’t mean I agree with the choice but not everyone has to share the same opinions, that’s what makes us beautiful!
Also, if I was homophobic I wouldn’t be such a huge Eurovision fan most likely; I don’t want to know what that would be like lol!
You are clearly extremely homophobic. I hope Sot and the other downvoters can now see that. You don’t seem to be able to. Sad.
Homophobic, how…? I literally just called everyone beautiful XD, sounds a bit ad hominem.
What “choice” do you not “agree” with, and why not?
There’s a rumour which claims Samuel’s murderers are described by witnesses as “latin mulattoes”. Until official statements, take it with a pinch of salt (although I won’t be surprised if it ends up being the truth).
all to criticize russia, poland and hungary but as you can see in other civilized countries this happens as it happened in spain
Oh please, don’t compare those countries to Spain. Spain is one of the most socially advanced countries in civil rights, and LGBT rights. What happened to Samuel (even though the reporst sating that the killers were not Spanish) was wrong and sad but in those countries you can’t even come out publicly.
Homophobia exists everywhere but the difference between countries comes down to laws.
Anyway this murder is horrific. Hope justice is served.
It’s called LGBTQIA*_ community and not LGTBI community. Wiwibloggs.com should know how our community is called!!! *angry face*
Stupid comments like yours are why LGTB phobia doesn’t stop increasing, people are fed up of postmodern political correctness.
This!
But he is right! The community should be inclusive, not forgetting any members under the rainbow!