No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeTopicsArts and CulturePHOTOS: Costa Rica waves its rainbow flag

PHOTOS: Costa Rica waves its rainbow flag

A historic World Cup football win wasn’t the only thing people in San José were celebrating Sunday. Hours before the big game, more than 10,000 supporters of the lesbian, gay and transgender movement marched down Paseo Colón for the annual Diversity March. This year’s pride parade follows two historic victories for the Costa Rican LGBT movement: the flying of the rainbow flag over Casa Presidencial and the extension of public health insurance benefits for same-sex couples.

Marching alongside the droves of shirtless men, drag queens and rainbow-clad supporters was the U.S. Embassy’s chargé d’affaires, Gonzalo Gallegos.

“U.S. Embassies around the world are participating in these diversity marches,” Gallegos told The Tico Times. “We think that it is really important that people speak out about their rights.”

Former presidential candidate José María Villalta also was at the event as one of the parade marshals. Villalta and his Broad Front Party have championed gay rights in Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly. With nine Broad Front lawmakers now in the Assembly, Villalta said he hopes they can continue pushing forward with reforms, but he also noted that his coalition faces obstacles.

“We are always working to get reforms passed to support members of the LGBT community,” Villalta told The Tico Times, “but there is also a strong socially conservative block in the Legislative Assembly right now that opposes these human rights advances. We still plan to continue the fight.”

 

Popular Articles

What Tourists Can Do: Disposing of Trailside Trash in Costa Rica

The first time I hiked into the dry tropical forest along the Tamarindo Estuary, I found a narrow trail and a sign warning of...

Netflix and Prime Video Revive Latin American Literature Boom with Big-Budget Adaptations

Decades after the Latin American literature "boom," which made magical realism the region's distinctive hallmark, several of its most notable books are gaining new...

Costa Rican Indigenous Community Mourns Death After Medical Neglect

The Indigenous populations of Costa Rica have suffered from the neglect of the government and its institutions. In this case, unfortunately, a 29-year-old woman...
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait

Latest Articles