Mexico
Published on June 28th, 2015 |
by Mark Chesnut
Orgullo Gay: Big-time Celebration at Mexico City Gay Pride (PHOTOS)

Men, women and children of all ages enjoyed the Mexico City gay pride parade and festival.

Punk rockers, in full force at Mexico City gay pride festival.

Mexican cowboys at the Mexico City gay pride festival.

A real angel poses in front of the cathedral at Mexico City gay pride festival.

Impromptu kiss-in at Mexico City gay pride festival, in front of the cathedral.

Marchers dressed as Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera at Mexico City gay pride festival.

Many businesses opened early to welcome revelers from Mexico City gay pride.

Carrying the rainbow flag at Mexico City gay pride parade.

Go-go boy on a float at Mexico City gay pride parade.

Traditional Mexican style meets gay pride in Mexico City.

Elaborate face and body painting at Mexico City gay pride parade.

A rainbow flag makes a perfect fashion statement at Mexico City gay pride.

Floats and marchers headed toward the Centro Historico during Mexico City gay pride.

Festive float at Mexico City gay pride parade.

One group at Mexico City gay pride addressed the diversity of the LGBT community.

Colorful drag queen at Mexico City gay pride.

Day of the Dead inspired this colorful float at Mexico City gay pride.

Beautiful face painting at Mexico City gay pride.


Mimes at Mexico City gay pride march 2015.

Some marchers at Mexico City gay pride protested the disappearance of Mexican students.

Families were among participants at Mexico City gay pride.

"Love is Love: I Respect and Love My Daughter" — Mexico City gay pride

Good weather at Mexico City gay pride made for a carnival-like atmosphere.

"I'm gay and proud to be so" — Mexico City gay pride.

Women over age 30 made up one of many groups at Mexico City gay pride.

Showing musle at Mexico City gay pride.

A Mexico City gay pride participant dressed as Chapulin, a Mexican TV character.

Impressive face painting at Mexico City gay pride.

Rainbow suspenders made a fashion statement at Mexico City gay pride.

Lucha libre: a Mexican wrestler at Mexico City gay pride.

Cowboys and cowgirls at Mexico City gay pride.

Drag queens made colorful fashion statements at Mexico City gay pride.

Sailor costume at Mexico City gay pride.

Google was among the big-name corporate participants at Mexico City gay pride.

Banamex, a leading bank, had a big presence at Mexico City gay pride.

Love: Face painting on a participant at Mexico City gay pride.

Some Mexico City gay pride attendees criticized the church's anti-gay stance.

A couple celebrating four years of marriage during Mexico City gay pride.

This guy made his own extravagant costume for Mexico City gay pride.

Smiling faces & colorful costumes at Mexico City gay pride.

Colorful costumes graced the Mexico City gay pride parade.

Drag queen bedecked in traditional Mexican clothing at Mexico City gay pride.

Meow! Cat-like performer at Mexico City gay pride 2015.

Impressive costume at Mexico City gay pride parade 2015.

Dancers at pre-parade show during Mexico City gay pride celebration.

Some participants in Mexico City's gay pride had messages to share.

Rainbow interpretation of Mexican costume at Gay Pride Mexico City.
It was colorful. It was political. It was flamboyant. It was touching. And I wouldn’t have expected anything less when about 100,000 people converged in the center of Mexico City for the 37th edition of the Marcha por el Orgullo Gay, the annual Mexico City gay pride march and festival that grows in scope every year.
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As one of the world’s largest cities and Mexico’s cultural, political and creative hub, Mexico City is good at making bold statements. And this is especially true when it comes to public events — including protests, parades, festivals and celebrations. A couple weeks ago I shared my photos from the Mexican edition of the World Naked Bike Ride, which attracted a few hundred participants who shed their clothing and cycled to protest vehicular traffic. But the Mexico City LGBT pride parade and festival is even bigger. It’s yet another example of Mexico City’s creative, progressive spirit. And this year, there was even more reason to celebrate: On June 3, the Supreme Court of Justice in Mexico ruled that the norms that used to ban same-sex marriages in Mexico are unconstitutional in all states across Mexico (Mexico City had already allowed same-sex marriages, but most other states in Mexico didn’t).
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The Mexico City gay pride parade starts every year at the Angel de la Independencia, an iconic monument, with a show and lots of socializing among the participants. Some marchers wear extravagant costumes that range from drag queen to carnival finery. Others go for the sexy route, with minimal clothing possible. Still others carry signs with important messages — including criticism of the Catholic church’s stance against LGBT rights. Organized groups this year included employees of Banamex (one of Mexico’s largest banks) and Google, as well as Madres Lesbianas en Mexico (Lesbian Mothers in Mexico) and the first-ever participation of a group of LGBT deaf people. Ages ranged from kids with their families to teenagers to senior citizens (one especially energetic drag queen, dressed in traditional Mexican garb, proudly announced that he was 75 years old as we snapped his photograph).
The parade runs from Angel de la Independencia down the grand boulevard called Paseo de la Reforma to the Zócalo, one of the world’s largest city squares, located in the heart of Mexico City’s historic heart. Live music and festivities continued there throughout the afternoon, after which many revelers moved on to local bars and restaurants (it was super easy to find gay pride flags at gay-friendly establishments on a day like this).
If you’re thinking of attending and want to plan a Mexico vacation around it, keep in mind that it may be hard to nail down the exact date ahead of time via the organizers’ Facebook site, but the Mexico City gay pride march usually takes place on the last Saturday of June.
Tags: gay Mexico City, gay pride Mexico, gay pride parade, gay travel Mexico, LGBT pride Mexico, LGBT travel, orgullo gay Mexico
About the Author
Mark Chesnut The founder and editor of LatinFlyer.com, Mark has more than 15 years of experience as a writer, editor and manager. He's worked with some of the biggest consumer, in-flight and travel trade publishers that cover Latin America.