Why the "Iberian Las Vegas" is afraid of a Rajoy victory {spain}

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http://www.elpais.com/articulo/english/Why/the/Iberian/Vegas/is/afraid/of/Rajoy/victory/elpepueng/20111114elpeng_6/Ten

If you were to get together all of the residents of Campillo de Ranas in Guadalajara, they would fit inside a single building. They are 50 in all, and most are "self-exiled" from the large cities or, as they like to call themselves, "neo-rural residents."

Campillo is unusual because it holds the record of being the Spanish town where the highest number of gay weddings has been held. The hamlet, along with its Socialist Mayor Francisco Maroto, has been profiled in The New York Times and Time magazine, which described the town as "the Iberian Las Vegas." But now the mayor and Campillo's residents fear that the Popular Party (PP) and its candidate Mariano Rajoy will abolish the 2005 law that legalized gay marriage.

"I get the feeling that there is a lot of concern," says Maroto. "I am performing marriages every weekend. I haven't stopped. Sometimes I preside over three weddings in one day.

"A lot of people tell me they fear that Mariano Rajoy will revoke the law, so they prefer to go ahead with their weddings before it is too late," he says.


Julián Corral and his partner Alberto in Campillo.