It’s late afternoon when I arrive in Madrid and, heaving my case up the Metro steps, I’m welcomed by a blast of hot, musty air and the toot of a trumpet somewhere not too far away. A group of burly men in fluorescent mesh string vests stroll past, and, hoping to get my bearings, I follow them towards the sound of swelling chatter. As we approach the square of Puerta del Sol, with its surrounding buildings draped in rainbow flags, it dawns on me that I’ve arrived for the final hours of World Pride – a week of open-air concerts, flotilla parades and street parties in the name of LGBT rights.
, have been tainted by the grim reality of the global financial crisis. Spain was hit particularly hard, prompted…
