When 20 years of the torture and murder of Matthew Shepard will be fulfilled for his gay status, an oratorio for choir is added to the list of tributes.
GAYLES.TV.- Matthew I had 21 years when he was subjected to torture and murder for being gay. On the night of the 6 to the 7 of October of 1998 Russell Arthur Henderson and Aaron James McKinney pretended to be homosexual and Matthew believed them and was taken by them to a secluded place where, after beating him on the head with a pistol, they tied him to a fence and continued to lash him while the poor boy prayed for his life. Then they left with their shoes and wallet.
The media of the time showed photographs of the lacerated skull that made evident the brutality with which Shepard was flogged. His entire face was bathed in blood, except the streaks that had streaked his tears.
Shepard was spotted 18 hours after her attack by a cyclist who at first thought it was a scarecrow. Shepard was still alive but unfortunately he had already fallen into a coma. He died 6 days later as a result of severe cranial lesions. The murder of the student made a strong impact at the national level when recognizing some witnesses in the trial that Shepard had been attacked for being homosexual. This opened the debate on the hate crimes and its state and federal legislation.
The perpetrators of the abominable crime currently serve two life sentences each without the possibility of obtaining parole, but Shepard's sacrifice did not fall into the void: the social debate that originated with his death led to a law that bears his name and which recognizes the crime of hate for sexual orientation. Matthew has become a symbol for the LGTBI community and has inspired songs, three films have been shot, a documentary and even a theatrical performance.
Today we remember Matthew because his martyrdom and death inspired the North American composer Craig Hella Johnson to create a modern oratory. After its premiere in the USA, it arrives in Europe in a show of fusion of classic, jazz, gospel and popular music that 250 voces put on scene under the baton of Simon Halsey in the Palau de la Música in Barcelona. Collaborators in the project singers like Big Mama Montse, theater companies like The Brutal with David Selvas and a very peculiar staging by the hand of the visual artist David Espinosa that from a world in miniature, plays the drama of Shepard with his figures projected in the room.
"Considering Matthew Shepard" is the name that will take this magnificent tribute to those who with their suffering contributed to take a giant step forward for the rights of everyone.
Sources: palaumúsica.cat, washingtonpost.com, wikipedia.org
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