Alpujarra RARA is an ongoing initiative of the IIESL that explores how rural territories can develop more community centered, inclusive and place-based approaches to tourism and local economic development. Grounded in queer, decolonial, and place based perspectives, the project centers local memory, storytelling, and community cultural production as foundations for belonging. It asks how difference, particularly sexual and gender difference, can be recognized as a living and constitutive part of the territory rather than erased, folklorized, or commodified in rural economic development strategies.
The first public gathering took place from October 30 to November 1, 2025, in Mecina Fondales, in the La Alpujarra region of Granada, Spain. Co-organized with local artists, cultural associations, local leaders and municipal partners, the transdisciplinary workshop brought together scholars, activists, musicians, public officials, and community leaders. Through lectures, public conversations, and a site specific musical performance, the event examined how rural difference can be narrated and valued beyond homogenizing models of touristification.
IIESL Director Sergio Montero, himself from La Alpujarra, opened the workshop by reflecting on how touristification and rural depopulation can be rethought through queer and place rooted lenses. The program featured a keynote by Guillermo Correa from Universidad de Antioquia on rural sexual dissidence in Colombia, and a public lecture by Christina Civantos from the University of Miami, author of Jamón y Halal: Diversidad y Tolerancia en la Alpujarra Actual. A decolonial roundtable with Medina Whiteman, Eva-Lynn Jagoe, and Ramón Grosfoguel examined coloniality, Christendom, and epistemic justice in relation to contemporary rural tourism, agricultural practices and land in La Alpujarra.
Local voices were central throughout the program. Local tourist guides José Vílchez and Daniela Murciano led sessions and site based workshops that critically intervened in dominant tourism narratives in Soportújar, Pampaneira, Yegen, and Mecina Bombarón. Conversations with local associations such as Abuxarra, represented byAna Sánchez, and the Asociación de Mujeres de Órgiva, represented by Salvadora Moreno, as well as meetings with municipal representatives from La Taha and Pampaneira and with Nelia Reyes, organizer of the Sulayr Festival, strengthened connections between cultural practice, queer memory, and public policy.
A major highlight was an experimental musical performance that brought traditional Alpujarra music into dialogue with Canary Islands folklore. Canarian artist Daniasa Curbelo and the local group El Gebel explored the relationships between tradition, witchcraft, and sexual dissidence, proposing an open and evolving understanding of cultural heritage. The program also featured contributions from Diego Mendoza and Victoria Fernández of Universidad de Granada on feminist and queer memory in Andalucía, as well as local percussionist Miguel Hiroshi and his group Balate Abajo.
Key outcomes of this first workshop include the creation of the local queer nonprofit association Asociación Alpujarra Rara and the strengthening of new forms of collaboration with local cultural initiatives such as the Sulayr and Al Taha festivals, as well as with municipal governments in the region. These partnerships lay the groundwork for future work on queer, place based, and community centered approaches to rural cultural life, local economic development and tourism policy.
