Guadalajara Gay Pride
| Guadalajara Gay Pride | |
|---|---|
| File:Logotipodelamarchadeladiversidadguadalajara.png Guadalajara Pride 2009 logo | |
| Genre | LGBT Parades |
| Location(s) | Guadalajara Jalisco,Mexico |
| Years active | 13 |
| Founded | June 1996 |
| Website | MarchaGayGdl.com |
The Guadalajara Gay Pride known in spanish as Marcha de la diversidad translated as "Parade of the diversity" is an event that celebrates diversity in general and seeks equal rights for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people, is celebtared in the city of Guadalajara, Mexico in 2009 meets its thirteenth edition.
The parade was founded in 1996, after years of fighting for it and after several moves against homophobia in the city of Guadalajara, this city was the first city in the country after the Mexico City in which the movement openly gay gushed as well as demonstrations and marches demanding equal rights for the LGBT community. While the first demonstrations in Guadalajara and gay organizations were heavily consolidating in the 80´s severely harassed by then ultra-conservative government, currently the event is a well known and respectable gay parade in the world and every year dissemination and quality are observed during every edition.
This gay parade in Guadalajara, is one of the most leading prides in Latin America along with cities such as Mexico City, São Paulo and Buenos Aires.
The Guadalajara Pride celebrations are usually preluded by a week of cultural events focused on the LGBT community to promote human rights and practice the right of freedom of speech, this week is called Semana de la diversidad (week of the diversity) and host the famous MIX Festival which is the International LGBT Film Festival of Guadalajara (MIX Festival de Diversidad Sexual en Cine y Video), also several art expositions, conferences, AIDS marathons, concerts and several artistic and cultural activities which are a well known characteristic of Guadalajara city.
History
In Mexico the firs openly gay movement was in 1978 when a gay contingent participated in the solidarity march commemorating the tenth anniversary of government repression of the October 2, the first gay pride march was held in Mexico City in 1979 organized by the Homosexual Front of Revolutionary Action, the autonomous group Oikabeth Lesbian and the Gay Liberation group LAMBDA.
In 1983 was born in Guadalajara the Gay Pride group (GOHL) led by Pedro Preciado a tapatio activist who decided to create this group after the discriminatory and arbitrary arrests, illegal actions and harassment of homosexuals by the Metropolitan Police during the Flavio Romero de Velasco government period, which was characterized by the repression to the gay community in the 80's. The first movement was organized by GOHL the same year in summer of 1983 in protest of the atmosphere of hostility and repression that violated the civil rights and guarantees of thousands of homosexuals in the cityof Guadalajara, both this and the rest of the movements and events that GOHL tried to organize were back by the government of Romero de Velasco and for almost fifteen years public demonstrations in support of homosexual groups were repressed by the government, though some cultural days and events were held during those years.
Years later in 1991 the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA), which is a global partnership that works with along with the UNO and the EU to promote the rights of homosexuals, bisexuals and transgender people in the world, proposed to the city of Guadalajara to host the international conference for lesbian and gays this event takes place yearly in major world capitals, but the propposal was truncated by strong opposition from the groups in power at that time headed by State government and the four municipalities of the metropolitan area ruled by the PRI and the conservative church in the hands of Archbishop Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo.
In 2000, the progress gained momentum and by the organization of activists with expertise in movement and demonstrations, organized the publication called "The wick is not extinguished,still smokes" with it yet, despite the conservative politicians in the city was performed successfully and breaking record of attendance, as well as to capture the attention of all media in the city becoming the first flat and spreading up to the current edition. In the current 2009 issue the topic is: "Rights, Democracy and Secularism
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