Vladimir Luxuria: “Welcome Arcigay, you hit hard. Years ago I would never have believed it.”

It's just the beginning of something changing, but it's already a great start. On Tuesday evening, the Foggia "Arcigay" promotional committee took its first steps at the Palazzetto dell'Arte to launch the provincial committee.
A moment of joy for the many who participated and for the journey they had undertaken, but also for the stern and serious faces, especially when the exceptional godmother, Vladimir Luxuria (pictured), recounted the attacks, the discrimination, the beatings, and the armor that saved her life: "I looked at the ceiling and wondered if I was the one who made the mistake. I heard about a gay nightclub in Milan, I went there, and it became my reference point. When I returned to Foggia, I no longer wanted to be invisible, or hide; I was phosphorescent.".
When she speaks, the audience claps louder. In that packed room, others have continued and continue to suffer the same abuse at the hands of a "small and ignorant populace.".
But the city surprises in both positive and negative ways. Beyond its primitive and troglodyte customs, there are also modern and welcoming Foggians, glimpses of which could even be seen during Vladimir's adolescence: "I did well in school, but the principal was homophobic. The students voted me school president, so he had to see me at meetings too.".
Vladimir is merely the patroness of a project born during a trip to Rome. Gianfranco Meneo, the committee's spokesperson, explained: "Last June 11th, we were on our way to Europride. We discussed heterosexuality, which no one has any issues with. So why should I worry about homosexuality? Today, we're here; we're not fleeing Foggia; we're staying to fight against sexual discrimination, intolerance, and homophobia, hoping that these words will give way to terms like integration, dialogue, and civil rights." The results were accelerated thanks to the support of two associations: "Agedo" and "Rete delle Donne." Gabriele Scalfarotto is a character everyone should meet in life. Celebrating the launch of Arcigay, he spoke about the journey of his association, which celebrated its first anniversary on October 5th: "Straight or gay, they're all my children. I've been a member of Agedo Milan for 10 years. If 10% of the world's population is gay/lesbian, there must be 18,000 of them in Foggia. And there are 36,000 parents: but where are they?" [...]