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Pablo Dell'Oso (24) was dancing on Saturday the 5th with his friends at the Nabisco nightclub in Villa Rumipal (Cordoba), when he crossed paths with three boys who were looking at them.

"Be careful with the dwarf, he's going to try to grab you," one of them told Pablo, referring to...

"And let him do it," replied Pablo.

The immediate response was a homophobic slur: “Fucking faggot, asshole, you’re a faggot,” he said. When Pablo replied, “So what’s the problem with that?”, the aggressor, without another word, punched him, knocking him unconscious to the ground.

When he regained consciousness, Pablo was in shock. And the attacker had run away. Security at the bowling alley told him they couldn't do anything: they gave him a glass of water.

[READ ALSO: Pepper spray and beating of LGBT youth at a bowling alley in El Bolsón]

"I want to make it public because I'm tired"

Pablo's face was covered in blood. His weekend in the Calamuchita mountains ended with a complaint filed at the Villa Rumipal police station and with INADI (National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism). He has now returned to Córdoba, the capital city where he lives and works.

“I want to make this public because I’m fed up, tired of it, I can’t take this kind of thing anymore,” Pablo said in a Facebook post when he decided to go public. In an interview with Presentes, he added: “These kinds of attacks, maybe not physical blows, but insults and bullying, are constant. And it’s not just me, it’s everyone in the LGBTQ+ community. That’s why I’m always an activist for this, in the sense that I defend myself, I speak out, I raise awareness, I go to marches. But until now I’ve done it independently, and because of all this, I’m now thinking about doing it in a more organized way.”

Furthermore, the young man explained that he decided to take legal action and make it public because he believes it's the only way. "I receive messages from kids who suffered attacks and didn't dare to report them. There are many who remain silent, and I think we shouldn't stay silent anymore. I'm doing this for no other reason than to demand our rights."

Regarding the bowling alley, Nabisco, the young man had asked that they "implement security protocols so that these things don't happen." However, he clarified that the owners' supportive response was immediate: "They offered to accompany me and made themselves available right away. The problem is that many times in these small towns they aren't prepared to handle cases like this and react. But they gave me their full support."

Pablo is being supported by the Argentine LGBT Federation (FALGBT) and the Río Cuarto Diversity Roundtable. “He was deeply hurt by the situation. FALGBT will be monitoring all legal proceedings and will also be filing a complaint with the Municipality to demand action against discriminatory regulations and prevent violence in these spaces,” Walter Torres told Presentes.

[READ ALSO: 2018: an attack or murder every 3 days against LGBT people in Argentina]

The aggressor is from General Cabrera and the Diversity Committee of Río Cuarto will present a draft anti-discrimination ordinance, similar to the one they already presented at the provincial level.

“Institutional violence is very common in Córdoba, in addition to these types of attacks. We have a law on Equal Marriage, but we can't freely live our dating lives. These situations of violence happen constantly, especially in small towns where they're normalized. Now they're becoming more visible and being reported. Because we're never going back into the closet,” Torres added.