Dallasites Victor Alonzo, Omar Cordero, Dustin Hutchesen, Cid Tajon,
Ramiro Rodriguez, JP Navaro, Jodie Bates
JESÚS CHAÍREZ | Contributing Writer
Facebook.com/JesusChairez
(Photos courtesy of Jesús Chaírez,)
MÉXICO CITY — The theme of the 47th annual Marcha de Orgullo — México City’s Pride March — held Saturday, June 28, was Diversity without Borders: Justice, Resistance and Unity, and it drew the largest crowd ever, with more than 1 million LGBTQ+ people and their supporters gathering to support Pride and the community.
The parade started at the Angel of Independence in the gay neighborhood, La Zona Rosa, and traveled down Avenue Paseo de la Reforma to México City’s Zocalo which holds the Presidential Palace and various government offices. The Zocalo is an important site for not only today’s Mexicans because of presidential speeches and political rallies, it was also a site of importance during age of the Aztecs as the site of the city Tenochtitlan, the heart of Aztec society.
Red de Madres — Lesbianas en Mexico (Network of Mothers — Lesbians in México) led this year’s march, and the crowd cheered wildly for the 70 or so mothers in the group, pleased to see so many lesbian mothers marching together.
The parade, as always, was full of people in vibrant color and costumes, including some young men who appeared to be wearing makeup and dresses for the first time. No one cared though, because everyone was having a great time.
Russell May and Arturo Rivas, partners from Fort Worth, made their fifth trip to México City for Pride, bringing with them John Paul Tovar, who has been to México City Pride one other time. They all said they will be back.
Also attending were Dallasites Victor Alonso, his boyfriend Ramiro Rodriguez and five of their friends, all there to celebrate México City Pride and to celebrate Ramiro’s birthday. They all wore matching t-shirts designed by Ramiro through his company, Ramrodd.
México City’s Marcha de Orgullo isn’t a traditional parade where people sit and watch the parade pass by; everyone moves along the march route. The group from Dallas was awed by the sight of so many people at a LGBTQ+ parade, and they especially enjoyed the revealing outfits worn by some of the young men, some of whom were actually nude.
“It was amazing,” Ramiro said of the Marcha. “I loved it because there so much love and unity. Everybody came together.
“It was breathtaking.”
Victor Alonso said he enjoyed the parade and people watching, noting that “everyone was super nice.” But it was “very crowded,” he said.
Zac Campbell and John Rogers, two former Dallasites who moved to México City, (Dallas Voice: “Finding home,” Aug. 19, 2022), had a party in their new condo, located just a block from the Angel of Independence. Their fifth-floor balcony offered a wonderful view of the parade, and there were lots of delightful people there, as well as plenty of booze and food to snack before everyone headed down to street level to participate in the march.
It started to sprinkle as the March was ending; the parade is held during México City’s rainy season, after all. But that did not diminish the crowd’s fire for Pride.
Many people chose to head to one of the many bars in La Zona Rosa and México City’s second LGBTQ+ entertainment district located in the city center. Facing the long lines to get into the bars, some chose to just party in the streets, creating a scene that looked like the crowds on Cedar Springs during the Halloween Block Party.
The parade was the final highlight of Pride events held around the city, and it was evident that the Mexican government does not, shy away from showcasing its diversity, equity and inclusion. The Mexico City government actived a huge rainbow-colored laser beam that shot out of the Monument to the Revolution a mile-and-a-half down to the National Palace at the Zocalo. It looked like gay superhero was being summoned to the city to seek justice, like in Batman in the Gotham city.
Before heading back to Dallas Ramiro and Victor visited the black-and-white Pride photography exhibit at the Museo Archivo de la Fotografía (Photography Archive Museum) called En Mi Cama Mando Yo (In My Bed I Rule), a collection of photographs by gay activist Armando Cristeto at the first Pride parade in June1978. Those first marches were not known as GLBTQ+ but simply as Marcha del Orgullo Homosexual de la CDMX (Mexico City Homosexual Pride March). They said they enjoyed how the old photographs compared to today’s Pride activities.
Jesús Chairez is a México City-based freelance writer formerly from Dallas. He can be reached at Facebook.com/JesusChairez.
