The Sant Sebastià Q+ poster by Lluïsa Febrer returns to court

PalmaThe ultra-Catholic group Christian Lawyers applauded this Thursday that the Provincial Court of the Balearic Islands has reopened the case regarding the Saint Sebastian Q+ poster that artist Lluïsa Febrer created to promote a party organized by Unides Podem at the beginning of 2025. This ultra organization recalls that it filed a complaint against Podem, the party's coordinator in the Balearic Islands, Lucía Muñoz, and Febrer for a possible crime of mockery, since the poster "represented the saint in demonic sexual scenes". "It is a very important victory against those who intend to use freedom of expression as an excuse to humiliate Christians," stated the president of Christian Lawyers, Polonia Castellanos.

"If this has been reopened, it can also be closed again," stated Muñoz upon hearing the news. The coordinator of Podem Balears reaffirmed the party's commitment "to freedom of expression and artistic creation," and showed her support for Febrer. "The poster promoted a queer party and showed the most defiant side of the patron saint," added Muñoz, in addition to recalling that Saint Sebastian "has been a reference figure for the LGTBIQ+ community for centuries". "It seems they don't know that," she said. In fact, the representation of the patron saint of Palma as a queer icon has a long tradition in the history of art. Institutions such as the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, the National Gallery, and the Getty Museum have documented this connection, which has its roots in the representations of the martyr's body during the Renaissance. The figure of the saint, usually represented as an almost naked young man, pierced by arrows, has been reinterpreted by numerous artists and writers as a symbol of homosexual desire. The list includes names such as Oscar Wilde, Gustave Moreau, Aubrey Beardsley, Salvador Dalí, Federico García Lorca, and Derek Jarman.

In contrast, the Court considers that there are "relevant" aspects of the February poster that "must be clarified before ruling out possible criminal liability for the reported facts," points out Christian Lawyers. "The poster showed two sexualized representations of Saint Sebastian accompanied by demons, one, as a female figure being masturbated, in addition to an image of Jesus Christ characterized as a DJ," criticizes this ultra group, which considers that "one cannot turn the mockery of the Christian faith into a tool for ideological propaganda and pretend that there is no responsibility."

The mayor of Palma described the poster as "vomitous"

The poster by Lluïsa Febrer generated controversy from the moment it was made public. The mayor of Palma, Jaime Martínez, considered it "nauseating" and Vox and Christian Lawyers did not take long to file a complaint. "They mock and deride these popular Christian beliefs and traditions," stated the far-right deputy in Congress Jorge Campos.

The author of the poster, Lluïsa Febrer, assured ARA Balears that she "did not expect" the controversy that the poster generated, and lamented a new display of the "censorship and loss of rights that the collective suffers every time the right governs". Febrer added that with the poster she was trying to reflect the diversity that currently exists in Balearic society and that "many do not want to see".