Orda Pride – Salento Intersectional Queer Pride

A grassroots Pride in the heart of Salento

Orda Pride – Salento Intersectional Queer Pride is the event that every year, during the week around June 28th, brings bodies, claims, and non-conforming identities back to the streets of the historic center of Lecce, the capital of the province of the same name in Puglia. The date is no coincidence: it coincides with the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots, considered one of the founding moments of the contemporary LGBTQIA+ liberation movement.

The march is organized by Officine M.A.I.+ (Officine Mai Più) together with a horizontal network of collectives and activist groups from Lecce and Brindisi, including Spazio Sociale ZEI, the Transfeminist Queer Collective, GAYA73100, Poliamore Salento, and many others. The choice of the word Orda (Horde) is a conscious reappropriation: from a derogatory term, it becomes an image of a horizontal human group, without leaders, where every person is important.

Not a parade, but a political path

Orda Pride defines itself as an anti-fascist and divisive Pride, in open opposition to so-called rainbow washing and commercial assimilation. The event refuses to separate the rights of LGBTQIA+ people from social, economic, environmental, and international issues: transfeminism, anti-speciesism, decoloniality, and solidarity with Palestine are at the heart of the manifesto, along with themes deeply felt in the Salento area such as the gentrification of the historic center, labor exploitation in the tourism sector, isolation in transport and healthcare, and the environmental wounds of the territory.

The community proudly defines itself as terronfrocə, reclaiming a Southern and queer identity against prejudices and colonialist narratives. The symbol of the Orda is Divine, the legendary drag queen and "queen of the outcasts," capable of transforming what was considered ugly and disgusting into art and joyful affirmation.

The march and the Queeresima

The heart of the event is the march that crosses the center of Lecce: in previous editions, it started from Porta Napoli in the late afternoon, then proceeded along Viale dell'Università, Viale Gallipoli, and Viale Otranto to Porta San Biagio, with music, speeches, and moments of celebration along the way.

The march is preceded by the Queeresima: about forty days of lead-up with talks, debates, workshops, screenings, and parties hosted in the city's social spaces. It is in this long community journey that the themes of the manifesto are discussed, designed not as a static document but as a "manifest festival," open to the contribution of anyone who wishes to participate.

Why it is worth attending

• One of the most political and radical Prides in Southern Italy, firmly anchored to the Salento territory.
• A walking route through the evocative Baroque historic center of Lecce, from Porta Napoli to Porta San Biagio.
• A widespread calendar of events (the Queeresima) that enlivens the city for weeks before the march.
• A free, participatory event attentive to the economic accessibility of spaces.

Orda Pride thus presents itself as an identity-defining appointment for the Salento queer community and for anyone who wants to experience the municipality of Lecce and Puglia in an activist, communal, and transfeminist key.