🌈 A diverse Spanish school for a diverse neighbourhood, Chueca 🌈
If you’ve never visited the city of Madrid, you might be wondering where it is and why the Chueca neighbourhood is so famous. In this post we explain everything you need to know about this neighbourhood: why it was and it’s still important for the LGBT community, and the advantages of studying Spanish in a neighbourhood like this one. Discover a school friendly with the LGBT community. Keep reading!
The Chueca neighbourhood is located next to Gran Vía street and very close to Plaza de Callao in Madrid. It owes its name to a small square dedicated to the Madrid musician and zarzuela composer Federico Chueca. It is an area of narrow streets, full of bars, nightclubs and shops. Mainly it’s very well-known in the city for being a benchmark for the defense of LGBT rights in Spain.
Chueca was for many years an unadvisable neighbourhood to visit in Madrid. However, from 1980 onwards, many people belonging to Madrid’s LGBT community bought houses and shops in the neighbourhood and improved its image. They wanted to promote a peaceful coexistence and tolerance among people. Their aim was to create a pleasant, cheerful, festive and, above all, respectful atmosphere. And they succeeded! Nowadays it is one of the trendiest areas of the capital. We highly recommend you to visit Chueca both to eat or have a drink with friends, as well as to go out partying at night. It’s always full of people who are always eager to have a good time.
As you may already know, years ago being gay, transsexual or lesbian was not well considered and you might have problems because of that. In that context, this neighbourhood became a place to defend their rights as a collective, as well as a place where they could feel safe (from attacks or aggressions).
Nowadays, Chueca continues to be a neighbourhood of vindication and freedom. In fact, every summer the LGBT Pride Festival takes place. During this festival, LGBT members take to the streets to demand greater rights for the LGBT community and celebrate their diversity. Various LGBT associations organise activities. These activities are both fun and interesting: a heel race, a proclamation, a parade, a gala to choose that year's Mister Gay and various street concerts with very famous music groups from Spain and other countries. You can't miss it if you're in Madrid in July! It doesn't matter if you are part of the collective or not, it's all about celebrating equality and respect between different people.
In the heart of the Chueca neighbourhood there is a very nice Spanish school where you can learn the language and meet other people at the same time. It is an academy that advocates peaceful coexistence. Inhispania not only welcomes students from many different countries, continents, religions and cultures in its classes, but its employees are also very aware of the importance of treating LGBT people well.
Recently, the school has received a Socially Responsible ELE School certification from the Federación de Asociaciones de Escuelas de Español para extranjeros (Federation of Associations of Spanish Schools for Foreigners). This award obliges the school to comply with a series of social and environmental commitments, including respect for diverse people and the commitment to their integration into the Spanish and Madrid society.
At Inhispania we organise some activities during the week such as the ‘Punto de encuentro’, a place where students can get to know each other and practice Spanish. This Punto de encuentro has different topics, varying depending on the day of the week, among which we highlight the LGBT meeting between students. This is a fantastic opportunity for the students of the school to get in touch and exchange experiences related to their identity and condition.
In addition, during the LGBT Pride week in Madrid, the school is decorated with rainbow flags to indicate that all its workers are open-minded, support the LGBT collective's demands and advocate for equal opportunities for all citizens, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation.
Finally, permanently at Inhispania there is a classroom called Chueca, decorated with rainbow balloons and flags. Each classroom is decorated in a way that represents a neighbourhood in the Community of Madrid. This particular classroom refers to the neighbourhood where the school is located and which Inhispania employees feel very proud of.
👉 Do you want to find out 5 things that make our school different? Read this post.
If you want to know more about our Spanish courses in Chueca, find more information here.
