The first same-sex marriage in Spain occurred on 8 June Their matrimonial union took place more than years before same-sex couples were permitted to be married in Spain. The two worked as teachers at a time when the vast majority of the Galician population was illiterate. News of their wedding was spread to all Spain and to various European countries. The couple escaped to Argentina. Marcela's parents, seeing that the friendship was growing beyond what was socially permitted and fearing a possible scandal, sent their daughter to Madrid.
In , Elisa adopted a masculine appearance with which she appeared in the Teaching College to apply for a certificate of study , fabricated a past, and was transformed into Mario.
Finally, the neighbours could not remain indifferent as before, with what was at the moment known as "a marriage without a man". When the doctor issued his verdict, Mario attempted to pass for a hermaphrodite whose condition had been diagnosed in London.
There is evidence that they passed for Vigo and Oporto in their escape. The wedding, according to the Diocesan Archive, is still valid, as neither the Church nor the civil registry annulled the marriage certificates, so this is the first recorded same-sex marriage in Spain. It narrates the events in Porto , Portugal, where they were imprisoned, tried, and later released. They fled to Argentina after the Spanish government demanded their extradition from Portugal.
Before leaving Porto for the Americas, Marcela gave birth to a girl. After they landed in Buenos Aires, Elisa under the alias of Maria married Christian Jensen, a wealthy immigrant from Denmark 24 years her senior, in Elisa refused to consummate the marriage with Jensen.
