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A larp about hope and the right to exist in a fascist dictatorship in Spain 1971

We are not afraid.
We are.

Nosaltres no tenim por. Nosaltres som.


Banner of the first LGBT demonstration in Barcelona, 1978

A larp about hope and the right to exist in a fascist dictatorship in Spain 1971.

Pasaje Begoña

The Begoña Passage (Pasaje Begoña) was frequented by national personalities, such as Sara Montiel or Massiel, and international ones, such as John Lennon, due to its reputation of being an oasis of freedom in the midst of General Francisco Franco’s dictatorship.

The great raid of Pasaje Begoña took place on the night of June 25-26, 1971. During the raid, Franco’s police arrested more than 119 people. The law established penalties ranging from fines to five years of internment in prisons or psychiatric centers for the ‘rehabilitation’ of individuals.

Themes & Important Info


IMPORTANT INFO

Run #1 (International):
Friday 12 to Sunday 14 Sep 2025
Players: 35
Location: Guadalajara
Prices: 250 € (regular) | 160 € (2 reduced tickets)
We will give 2 super reduced tickets of 50 € to Spanish players under 30 years old or unemployed.

Themes that ARE part of the game

Sexism | LGTBphobia | Politics | Racism

Themes that ARE NOT part of the game

Sexual violence | Bodies of players

Artist Sara Montiel & a collage of pics of Pasaje Begoña (1971)

The experience


We want to portray the existence of that space of freedom, in a world where queer people had to follow the conventions of Franco’s Spain during the day but could be themselves at night in those bars.

To do so we will play during the day/afternoon by scenes the lives of the characters, using the other players as NPCs for such scenes. The scenes will be proposed by organizers but also players.

We will play the nights as a continuous time at the bars in Pasaje Begoña, ending in the great raid.

We are not pretending to be historically correct.

Spain, 1971


Under Francisco Franco’s rule, Spain was a deeply authoritarian state, characterized by a centralized and repressive political system. Franco established a dictatorship following his victory in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), after which he instituted a regime based on nationalism, militarism, and conservative Catholic values. The regime sought to restore Spain’s traditional institutions, including the monarchy and the Catholic Church, while suppressing regional identities and movements for autonomy, such as those in Catalonia and the Basque Country. Political opposition was outlawed, and Spain became a one-party state under the Falange, a fascist-inspired political organization that provided ideological support for the regime.

Franco’s government was marked by censorship and repression of civil liberties. Political dissent was severely punished, with thousands of people imprisoned, exiled, or executed for opposing the regime. Intellectuals, trade unions, and other social movements that advocated for democratic reforms were repressed, and freedom of the press was virtually nonexistent. Additionally, regional languages like Catalan, Basque, and Galician were suppressed, as Franco sought to impose a uniform Spanish identity.

Despite these oppressive policies, Franco’s regime managed to maintain stability for several decades, in part due to its ability to co-opt the Catholic Church, military, and elite sectors of society. The 1950s and 1960s saw some economic growth, as Spain became more integrated into the international economy, especially after joining the United Nations in 1955 and signing a series of agreements with the United States. During that same year, The Tefía Penitentiary Agricultural Colony on the island of Fuerteventura, in Spain’s Canary Islands, opened to imprison homosexuals and others accused by the Vagrancy and Loitering Law.

Under Franco’s authoritarian regime, the persecution of sexual minorities, including queer individuals, was part of a broader social repression aimed at maintaining a conservative, Catholic view of morality. Homosexuality was illegal, and same-sex relations were punishable by imprisonment, reflecting the regime’s alignment with Catholic doctrine that condemned such behavior as sinful. The law against homosexuality gave authorities the capacity to arrest and imprison individuals suspected of being gay, lesbian, or transgender. This law defined homosexuality as a social danger, linking it to criminal behavior and making it an offense that warranted forced rehabilitation, often in the form of detention in prison or mental institutions.

The social stigma against homosexuality was compounded by harsh state repression. Queer individuals faced discrimination, harassment, and violence, often perpetrated by both the police and the public. The regime’s moral framework encouraged silence about non-heteronormative sexualities, ensuring that any visibility of queer people was actively suppressed. Bars, clubs, and spaces that catered to the LGBT community were regularly raided by the police, and people who were caught could face significant jail time. The culture of fear and repression forced many LGBT individuals to live in secrecy, either hiding their identities or leaving Spain for more tolerant countries in Europe.

Despite this, there were small signs of resistance in the form of underground LGBT networks, though they had to remain largely hidden from the state’s scrutiny. The 1970s were a time of rising awareness and change, as Spain began to transition toward democracy after Franco’s death in 1975. This change gradually allowed for greater freedom of expression, and with the country’s shift toward democracy, the criminalization of homosexuality was eventually abolished.

The first LGBTQ demonstration was held in Barcelona in 1979. One of the banners said “We aren’t afraid. We are”. That’s what we want to speak about in this larp. The right to exist with the same rights as any other citizen.

The location


San Agustin Hostel

The San Agustín Hostel in Fuentelaencina, Guadalajara, offers rooms for 3, 4, and 6 people, as well as wooden bungalows.

Go to Google Maps

The facilities include a restaurant, a social room, 3 classrooms of 40m2 each, a 180m2 chapel, a forest, green areas with wooden tables, a sports area, and a swimming pool that will be operational during the event.

Don’t forget to bring your swimsuit!

Sign up


  • DATES RUN #1 
    12-14 September
  • Number of players
    35
  • Superreduced tickets
    50€ (2  tickets of 50 € to Spanish players under 30 years old or unemployed.; there can be more depending on the donations).
  • Reduced tickets
    160 € (only 2 available; there can be more depending on the donations)
    You can donate to the reduced ticket program during signup.
    For logistical reasons, the donation cannot be reimbursed if you drop out
    .
  • REGULAR TICKETS
    250 €
  • LOCATION
    Guadalajara, Spain

Payments


You can sign up now until the 19 January 25. We will make a lottery in which we will check a mix of participant’s experiences, countries and larp cultures. If you choose to share a bed, you’ll have more chances to get a spot.

After signup, will make a safety cross-check for all participants.

First payment: 3 days after confirmation of your spot: 90€ (or 25€ in case of super reduced tickets).

Second payment: by 10 April.

If you need to make your payment in more installments, please contact us: notonlylarp@gmail.com

Cancellation policy


In the unfortunate event that you need to cancel the event, our cancellation and resell policy is as follows. Players are not allowed to directly resell their tickets. You need to inform us, and we will reach out to the players on the waiting list. But if you want to sell your addon to another player, we can talk about it.

The larp signup fee (90€) is non-refundable.

Three months before the larp, the refundable part of the ticket will be 50% of the total.

If you cancel your participation two months or less before the larp starts, there will be no refunds. 

The organizers reserve the right to refuse participation to anyone in the larp without giving any reason. In such a case, the full fee will be returned to the participant. The organizers also reserve the right to refuse a participant to continue the larp if said participant makes the larp an unsafe place. In such a case, no refund will be given

Alcohol, after game dinner and party

We won’t serve alcohol in-game, but we will sell it at the afterparty at our bar. We will have an in-game bar where you can buy sodas, energy drinks and coffee or tea. Water is always free in the game.

Casting & Character Sheets


Casting Questionnaire: Once you have secured your ticket for the larp, we will send you a confirmation email. In this email, you will find a link to a casting questionnaire. This questionnaire is designed to help us better understand your preferences and the type of experience you are seeking.


Casting and Character Blurb: Around May, we will end the casting process and you will receive an email containing your character blurb. This is a concise description of your character.


Full Character Sheet: We will send you your character sheet by the end of July.

Schedule


DAY 1

  • 17:00h Player’s Arrival
  • 18:00h Workshops
  • 20:00h  Dinner
  • 22:30h  Larp starts

DAY 2

  • 10:30h  Breakfast
  • 11:30h  Day scenes
  • 13:00h Lunch
  • 16:00h Day scenes
  • 20:00h Dinner
  • 21:00h Night scenes
  • Larp ends afterlarp party

DAY 3

  • 10:30h  Breakfast
  • 11:30h  Optional debriefing
  • 13:00h Lunch
  • Players have to leave before 16:00h.

Safety


Our safety system relies on the ability of players to set and respect boundaries, be able to say safe words, and be able to speak with the safety team in case you are not ok. If you have trouble doing that, this larp is not for you.

This document is inspired by the safety documents from Conscience, Living Games Conference, New World Magischola, and Just a Little Lovin’.

Not Only Larp Safety System

Code of conduct

  1. People are more important than the larp. Safety is our priority. Respect all the game security rules.
  2. Each person’s body is their own. They alone may set their boundaries and say what makes them comfortable. Please be clear in establishing your limits, both physical and emotional. Don’t be afraid to modify your limits during the game if you feel they have changed. Asking about someone’s boundaries is expected; pushing them is not acceptable
  3. Consent must be freely given, vocalized, and considered inviolable. Respect everybody’s boundaries and don’t tease, gossip about, ostracize, or retaliate against someone who has set a consent boundary. In fact, we would like you to thank your fellow co-players for setting boundaries, as practicing active consent negotiations allows everyone to feel more comfortable.
  4. Off-game harassment, abuse, or assault of any participant – or using the alibi of character to harass, abuse, or assault a player – is not tolerated. This includes any reference to the race, gender identity or presentation, sexuality, body size, conventional beauty, age, or experience of a player or organizer.
  5. Each participant is responsible for their own actions, for reading, understanding and abiding by the Code of Conduct, and for the consequences of their actions to others.
  6. Everybody makes mistakes, and everybody is capable of harming another participant. Whether harm was intended or not, each person must accept the responsibility of their own behavior. If you are informed about this kind of situation you are expected to reflect on your own behavior and seek to change it. Don’t deflect, blame, or become defensive if you are informed that you have harmed someone.
  7. No one should ostracize or retaliate against any member for setting a consent boundary or for making a report of harassment or abuse.
  8. If you witness someone behaving in a manner that is against our Code of Conduct we encourage you to ask them to stop. Please inform the Safety Team of the incident. You may report anonymously if you feel more comfortable doing so and we will respect your privacy.
  9. We won’t serve alcohol in game, but we will do so at the afterparty. We ask you to avoid drinking your own alcohol during the game. You will have time to enjoy alcoholic drinks during the afterparty.
  10. Inform Not Only Larp team about any health problem or allergies we should take into consideration.

Safe words

For every player:

“Off-game (+ what you need)”:

In any kind of context:

  • Examples: “off-game, I want to change the subject of this conversation.”, «off-game, I want to calibrate with you».

In a confrontation:

  • off-game: rise intensity: This is a suggestion.
  • off-game: lower intensity, tap out: This is an order.
  • off-game: stop. This is an order.

Also organizers can say this:

  • Off-game, make way for this van.
  • Off-game, EMERGENCY, there is a fire

Sex

When recreating a public sex scene, one you want other players to witness, it needs to look like sex; this will be covered in the workshop.

Violence

The baseline is grabbing arms and wrestling. Escalate scenes with safe words SLOWLY. It is also ok to say “Off-game: please don’t touch me”.

When the scene has started any of the players can and should use the safe words to ask for more intensity or to slow down the scene.

Scenes about sexual violence and nudity will be played in special zones of the location. You can play this kind of violence there.

Safe space

This is an out of game space that works as a safety net for the players. If your play is having any negative impact on you, you can come here and eat, rebalance, relax, or get a hug.

Are you OK?

Gamemasters or other players can ask if a player is ok with this sign:

You can reply with:

“Yes, I am OK”.

“Not sure”.

This hand signal, which means the player doesn’t quite know how they feel, or that it’s neither good or bad. Please ask the player if they want to stop the scene.


“No, I am not”.

Please bring the player to the safe space. If the player doesn’t answer, stop the scene.

Medical Team

NotOnlyLarp has a First Aid Team to deal with any health problems that might occur during the event. Please inform us about any health problems or allergies we should take into consideration and the way to deal with them should they arise. We also want to know any player willing to volunteer in helping our First Aid Team.

We have a first aid kit, but this does not include medication; everyone has to bring their own.

Unfortunately we don’t have a psychologist in the team, but safety team members can speak with players in confidence.

Safety Team

NotOnlyLarp has a Safety Team to deal with any issue that can be considered a violation of the Code of Conduct or threaten attendee safety.

Feel free to raise any complaint to our Safety Team, each complaint received will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

SAFETY TEAM MEMBERS

Juantxi Rodríguez

Enrique Esturillo

Germán del Toro

Espe Montero

Harassment

NotOnlyLarp’s definition of harassment may not necessarily align with legal definitions of harassment. Therefore, attendees should regard the following guidelines as expectations of conduct in addition to legally actionable actions. In other words, the legal expectations of tangible proof are not necessary for the Safety Team to take action upon a complaint.

For our purposes, harassment includes:

  • Verbal comments or displayed images that denigrate individuals based upon gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, religion, political beliefs, philosophies, geographic origin, or socioeconomic status;
  • Body policing, including gender policing in all bathrooms;
  • Non-consensual physical or emotional interactions;
  • Non-consensual sexual acts.
  • Unwelcome sexual attention, whether verbal or physical.

This harassment policy applies to both in-person and online activities. Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately. Not Only Larp volunteers and committee members are also subject to the anti-harassment policy.

REPORTING HARASSMENT

We will provide members of the Safety Team with detailed instructions and training procedures in case of a violation of code emergency. Attendees can report harassment at any time:

Before the event:

If you are privy to information about harassment towards yourself or someone else by someone in the community at large, please email us at notonlylarp@gmail.com. Please include as many details as you consider necessary. These messages will remain strictly confidential, known only to the safety team. Reports received about registered attendees before the event are subject to the same consequences as those received during the game.

During the event:

If a violation of the Code of Conduct becomes known, please a member of the Safety Team as soon as necessary. You can reach them personally or through any other member of NotOnlyLarp’s team. We will also provide contact information for on-staff Safety members at the start of the event in case of emergency.

After the event: You may choose to wait until after the event to report a violation, in which case, please email notonlylarp@gmail.com.

Possible Disciplinary Steps for Violations

Disciplinary steps are organized into two levels based upon the severity of the violation.

Level 1: Monitoring the individual in question, pulling the individual aside to discuss the violation, and/or issuing verbal warnings.

Level 2: Removing the individual from the game and, potentially, from future NotOnlyLarp events.

This document is inspired by the safety documents from Living Games Conference, New World Magischola, and Just a Little Lovin’.

Rules


Play to flow

This game is designed to offer you the chance to experience life as your character, albeit during a short period of time and in a controlled environment. It will be a successful experience if you flow with what happens to your character and lift the play of your coplayers. There are no objectives that will cause you to win or lose. The only thing we ask of you is to be in your character’s shoes, to connect with what they feel, to think the way they would think, and behave in the way they would behave, all the while allowing your character to make their own decisions. That’s what we call «flow» or “letting go».

You are your own game master

Of course, you are your own game master within the limitations of the game and safety rules. We trust our players to be involved in the whole process, from the character creation phase to the end of the event. That’s why, once the game starts, you don’t need to ask us permission to do something or to decide if your character would think or do something.

Your character sheet is yours.

We are happy with players changing their character sheets following some rules: calibrate changes with your coplayers, don’t change the sign of the relationship that you want to change (positive or negative), don’t change events from the past, and if you are not going to play or you want to change a plot, please let us know before doing so.

What you see is what there is to see

All you see will be part of the game and you will have to deal with the consequences. Respect other people’s experiences and safety: avoid any behavior or attitude that can hurt the immersion or the experience of other players but also keep in mind that safety comes first.

There might be coplayers that want to play with secrets and know them in-game, as there are different cultures. Please ask the players about this when you calibrate with them.

Off-game

«Off-game» has also some meanings that are not related to safety:

  • When organizers need you to do something: «Off-game: please move, we need to move a van”.
  • “Off-game: this is the best speech you’ve ever listened to”. When you, as a player, don’t have some skills that your character has.

Team


Espe Montero

PRODUCER AND DESIGNER
(SHE/THEM)

Owned by three cats, day job spent selling SaaS. Currently located in Madrid, Spain.


Espe is a feminist, LGBTQ+ activist, and a firm believer in larptivism, i.e. larp’s potential to raise awareness and inspire social change.

They started NotOnlyLarp with Enrique and other friends, and is usually the project manager and producer of NOL’s larps. She finds that running a larp requires similar abilities as organizing a human rights demonstration.

Enrique Esturillo

DESIGNER
(HE/HIM)
Owner of two cats, day job spent fighting with lights and sound in a theater. Currently located in Cáceres, Spain


Enrique worked for 15 years in television, is a quite skilled photographer and thinks that role-play games take the place of organized religion in his life. He hates deadlines but can pull an all nighter as a pro, if motivated properly.

He has been playing larps since 2000, and working as writer and designer with an informal work group of larpers from the Canary Islands. He is interested in the academic and formal studies of larp as an art, education and communication form, and the concept of larptivism as a tool for social change. He is part of NotOnlyLARP as a one-man think tank, writer and on-site director. 

Juantxi Rodríguez

PLOT
(HE/HIM)

Lives in Salamanca, Spain. He takes a masochistic kind of pleasure in organising and running larps.


Musician, performer, maths and computers teacher, and he is now a software developer in a fintech. A person of science, arts, and procrastination. 

Likes good food, beer (red Ale the BEST), cats, dogs, and metal. Of course, Juantxi is your fellow metalhead. \m/


You can recognise his lovely face from other stories like Conscience, No Middle Ground and Mission Together. If you have a problem, maybe you can hire him!

Germán Del Toro

DESIGNER
(HE/HIM)

The kind of crazy person that´ll always say yes to a project and will always react with the enthusiasm of a child.


He is in love with the island where he lives, and will always bring that «Canarian joy» anywhere he goes.

If given an evil carácter, he will be the kind of narcissistic, manipulative, torturer, evil piece of sh** that you´ll hate, but in real life, while shy at first, he will always help you out, care about you and try strive for you to have the best experience in our LARPS, so don´t hesitate to approach.

Passionate about board games, roleplaying, videogames, movies, computers… so yes, he is a proper nerd, just like us!

Mia Polední

PHOTOGRAPHER
(SHE/HER)

Larp photographer and organizer, currently working professionally as a happiness manager at a tech company. Born and raised in Prague, Czech Republic.


Mia picked up a camera as a hobby during the COVID pandemic and hasn’t put it down since. She loves capturing moments, telling visual stories and transforming fleeting instants into lasting memories. Photography allows her to practice mindfulness and discover beauty in the smallest things.

Dan

GRAPHIC DESIGNER
(HE/HIM)

Art director, graphic designer and LARP player/organizer from Asturias, north of Spain, south of Europe.


Dan has an unusual skill to easily get involved in a multitude of really cool projects, done by awesome people like the NotOnlyLarp family.

In the RealWorld®, he is usually in charge of directing the departments of cool and pretty things, with the invaluable help of black coffee, sleepless nights and role-playing games with friends. He started rolling dice at the time of the dinosaurs and has not yet abandoned this fabulous hobby of telling and living stories around the table.

Graphic design is his passion (insert kitten meme here and a lot of lorem ipsum).

NotOnlyLarp

LARP ORGANISATION

We dream awake


Not Only Larp is a Spanish organisation with the aim of creating larps, edularps and changing society with larping.

We have organized larps as Conscience, Mission Together, Blue Flame, Red Center or Thyself for over a thousand players during the last 6 years.

More info at: www.notonlylarp.com

WE ARE NOT AFRAID, WE ARE