Pedro González Zerolo (20 July 1960,
Caracas
Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...
– 9 June 2015,
Madrid) was a
Spanish-
Venezuelan
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
lawyer, politician and a town councillor of the city of Madrid,
and a member of the Federal Executive Committee of the
PSOE where he held the position of Secretary for Social Movements and Relations with
NGOs. He was also a trustee of the Fundacion IDEAS, Spain's Socialist Party's think tank.
Zerolo was also one of the most important
LGBT activists in Spanish history and one of the biggest promoters of extending the right to
marriage and
adoption to homosexual couples in the country. Zerolo has become a
gay icon among the Spanish LGBT community.
Biography
Zerolo was born in
Caracas
Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...
,
Venezuela,
to a family native to the island of
Tenerife, one of
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
. His father, Pedro González, lived in exile from the
Francoist government there. Pedro González was the first mayor of
San Cristóbal de La Laguna (Tenerife) in times of democracy and also well-known painter.
Pedro Zerolo went on to study law at the
University of La Laguna on
Tenerife, where he spent his childhood and adolescence. After gaining his diploma, he moved to
Madrid, where he continued his studies, focusing on
comparative law. At the same time, he collaborated with Catholic priest
Enrique de Castro in a project to help the people of the poor Madrid barrio of
Entrevías
Entrevías is a neighbourhood of Madrid belonging to the district of Puente de Vallecas
Puente de Vallecas (''Bridge of Vallecas'') is one of the 21 districts of the city of Madrid, Spain. It forms, with the district of Villa de Vallecas, the ge ...
.
Through his work with law and politics, he went on to become one of the most well-known activists for the
LGBT movement in fighting for marriage equality in Spain.
On 1 October 2005, Zerolo married Jesús Santos, his partner of ten years, in a civil ceremony. In the same year he officiated in the marriage of politician
Ángeles Álvarez
Ángeles Álvarez Álvarez (born 12 February 1961) is a Spanish politician and feminist activist. She served as a deputy for Madrid from 2011 to 2019. She was also a spokesperson for equality of the PSOE in the Congress of Deputies. She has a lon ...
and Teresa Heredero who became the first two lesbians to marry in Madrid.
At the age of 55, Zerolo died from
pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...
on 9 June 2015 in
Madrid.
Professional career
Pedro Zerolo worked as both a lawyer and a politician throughout his professional career. In 1992, he became a legal consultant for the ''Colectivo Gay de Madrid'' (Gay Collective of Madrid,
COGAM
Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals and Bisexuals Collective Organization ( es, Colectivo de Lesbianas, Gays, Transexuales y Bisexuales de Madrid), COGAM is a Spanish Non-governmental organization, non-governmental association stated as a public utilit ...
). In late 1993, he was elected president of the organization. He subsequently provided legal assistance to the ''
'' (National Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals and Bisexuals, FELGTB). In 1998 he became president of that organization FELGTB. He was reelected in 2000 and 2002.
In 2001 and 2003 he participated in negotiations between opposition and the government deputies over five modifications to the
Spanish Civil Code relating to
same-sex marriage.
In 2004 he joined the board of directors of the
International Lesbian and Gay Association. Also in 2004, he resigned as the president of the FELGTB after being elected to the Federal Executive Committee of as a councilman for the City of Madrid by the
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was head of the Secretariat of Social Movements and Relations with NGOs in both the 36th and 37th Congress. Until the 38th Congress in 2012, where he was elected to new executive of PSOE. Throughout his work with the Socialist Party he was able to support and defend LGBT rights in the
Congress of Deputies. Zerolo addressed the
Spanish Congress of Deputies during the debate over civil partnerships. He also appeared in the
Spanish Senate
The Senate ( es, Senado) is the upper house of the Cortes Generales, which along with the Congress of Deputies – the lower chamber – comprises the Parliament of the Kingdom of Spain. The Senate meets in the Palace of the Senate in Madrid.
Th ...
to denounce discrimination against the gay community in Spain.
Tributes to Pedro Zerolo
On 11 December 2015,
Radio Club Tenerife Cadena Ser granted him the "Teide de Oro Award" posthumously.
In July 2015 the City Council of Madrid decided to change the name of the Plaza de Vázquez de Mella to the
Plaza de Pedro Zerolo
The plaza de Pedro Zerolo is a public square located in the centre of Madrid, Spain.
History and description
It lies on the Centro District, most specifically in the administrative neighborhood of Justicia. It is considered part of Chueca.
It ...
in honor of him. The plaza was inaugurated on 14 May 2016 in the Madrid neighborhood of
Chueca
Chueca is an area of central Madrid, named after its main square, Plaza de Chueca. It is known as Madrid's gay neighborhood. Plaza de Chueca was named after Spanish composer and author Federico Chueca.
It is located in the administrative ward ...
. The mayor of Madrid,
Manuela Carmena; General Secretary of the PSOE,
Pedro Sánchez; the General Secretary of the PSOE-Madrid, Sara Hernández; and members of the LGBTI collective were all present at the inauguration.
Other dedications such as a square in the south of Tenerife in the Villa de Adeje, and a garden by
Elche (province of
Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in th ...
) were honored in his name.
Malaga,
Murcia and
San Cristóbal de La Laguna in Tenerife have plans to dedicate either squares or streets in his name. Lastly,
Alcázar de San Juan plans to dedicate an open-air theater in his honor as well.
The
Cabildo de Tenerife
Cabildo Insular de Tenerife (Island Council of Tenerife) is the governing body of the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands). It was established on 16 March 1913 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in a session held by the City Council. It was, at that time ...
declared Pedro Zerolo ''Illustrious Son of Tenerife'' on 14 June 2019.
El Cabildo de Tenerife reconoce a Pedro Zerolo como Hijo Ilustre de la isla
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zerolo, Pedro
1960 births
2015 deaths
Spanish gay men
Spanish LGBT politicians
Deaths from pancreatic cancer
Deaths from cancer in Spain
Gay politicians
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party politicians
Spanish atheists
Spanish people of Venezuelan descent
Spanish LGBT rights activists
Politicians from Caracas
People from Tenerife
Venezuelan people of Canarian descent
Madrid city councillors (2011–2015)
Madrid city councillors (2007–2011)
LGBT history in Spain