"Coligay": brazilian soccer and homosexuality in the 70s and 80s
i wanted to find a piece of queer history outside of the USA to tell people this pride month, and i remembered this one, so i decided to look it up again and sum it up for you guys. links with more information are at the end of the post
-> what was "Coligay"?
Coligay was a group of fans of the soccer club Grêmio, from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, made up entirely by queer people. It was created in 1977 by Volmar Santos, Grêmio fan and owner of a gay bar, named "Coliseu", coliseum in portuguese. That's where the name of the group comes from, a mix of "Coliseu" and "gay"- Coligay! The members were, in turn, called "coliboys", as "boy" is a common slang in Brazil.
In a very sexist and homophobic environment, during the military dictatorship, Coligay members were scared of possible aggressions and repression from fellow soccer fans and the military, so they trained karate. Yup! A group of gay soccer fans who fought karate, in the late 70s, can this get any more badass?
It sure can!
With the birth of Coligay, Grêmio finally started to win games and titles again, being the champion of the "Gaúcho Championship" that year, and winning other championships after that. they basically became a lucky amulet to the team, and wherever the team went, the coliboys were there, just like the Grêmio anthem says ("Mas o certo é que nós estaremos onde o Grêmio, onde o Grêmio estiver").
-> what caused "Coligay" to end?
the leader and creator, Volmar Santos, had to go back to his hometown in the 80s, causing the group to lose strength and to finally dismantle in 1983.
the group also suffered a lot of aggressions and threats from other soccer fans, even within Grêmio, and was watched closely by the government at the time, due to, again, existing during the military dictatorship, a time of intense repression of leftist views and anyone or anything that didn't follow the strict, conservative social norms.
regarding aggressions, Volmar Santos says there was only one instance of direct physical aggression against the coliboys, but nonetheless, the group didn't feel safe, which was still a strain for the members.
-> does "Coligay" exist nowadays?
sadly, no. there were attempts made to bring it back, with the help of other queer soccer fan groups, but the amount of aggression faced online lead them to back down. Brazil is an incredibly bigoted country, and soccer is, unfortunately, a place where that is extremely clear.
other gay and queer groups were created for other teams, however, inspired by Coligay, and though it's taken a while, Grêmio has recognised its existence years after it ended and there are even books written on its history now. there's also a piece of their history in the Grêmio museum.
-> conclusion:
I hope this short summary of this incredible piece of Brazilian queer history makes some of y'all happy today, specially for fellow Brazilians and gaúchos who may have been unaware that it even existed. Happy pride month, and have a queer-tastic day.
links:
-> coligay wikipedia page
-> UOL web article on coligay
-> El Pais article on coligay
-> UFRGS, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, article on coligay
65 notes
·
View notes