The rainbox pillar box in Torremolinos. SUR

Correos installs first LGBT rainbow post box in Torremolinos

The multi-coloured mail box has been installed at the entrance to Pasaje Begoña, a place of historical significance to the gay community

Wednesday, 6 July 2022 | Updated 07/07/2022 09:40h.

The Spanish postal service, Correos, has installed a fixed mailbox painted in the LGTB colours in Torremolinos, the first of its kind in the province of Malaga.

The official unveiling of the mailbox, which is situated at the entrance to the Pasaje Begoña, was attended by the town’s mayor, Margarita del Cid; the director of Communication and Marketing of Correos, Eva Pavo; the president of the Pasaje Begoña Association, Jorge Pérez, and representatives of various associations and local groups.

During the presentation, Pavo highlighted the launch in 2020 of the LGBT stamps, which commemorated the 50 anniversary of the police raid that took place in Pasaje Begoña, a place of historical significance and a symbol of the rights and freedom of the gay community.

One of the best-known venues in this street during the 1960s was The Blue Note, a jazz club owned by the renowned pianist Pia Beck, who ran the club with her partner, Marga Samsonowski. During the inauguration, their son, Gino Felleman, read an emotional letter to his mothers thanking them for opening the way for the rights of the LGBT community in Spain, and explaining how society has evolved since then: the letter was then the first to be deposited in the mailbox.

The first letter is posted in the rainbox pillar box in Torremolinos. SUR

The colourful pillar boxes first became a protest symbol in Madrid during the Pride celebrations in 2020, but had not been used outside of the capital until the president of the Pasaje Begoña Association requested that one be installed in Torremolinos.

“This is the first mailbox with rainbow colours in Spain, since there were some in Madrid in 2020, but after Pride, they were removed. This one in Torremolinos is planned to remain here permanently,” Pérez explained.