By María Sanz, from Asunción. Photos: Fernanda Rivas. The Asunción LGBT Pride Parade, organized by Somosgay and Lesvos , called for greater visibility of sexual diversity this Saturday in Asunción to confront fundamentalist groups. “With this march, by taking to the streets, we have just given a lesson in citizenship. Insults will no longer force us back into the closet. Sooner rather than later, oppression will end,” said Simón Cazal, director of Somosgay, from the stage. The march through the streets of downtown Asunción and the subsequent celebration in Plaza de la Libertad saw a large turnout of young people and teenagers. Rainbow flags, drag queens , and banners against intolerance and hate speech were on display. The atmosphere blended the colorful celebration with the demand for rights such as marriage equality, recognition of gender identity, non-discrimination towards different family structures, and respect for the civil, social, economic, and cultural rights of LGBTI people.

More visibility for lesbians and bisexuals

At the head of the march, carrying the Parade banner, were activists from Lesvos, who demanded greater visibility for lesbians. Many of them wore pink scarves around their necks, similar to the green ones used in the campaign for legal abortion in Argentina, but with scissor designs, ironically alluding to sex between women. Victoria Wolfgang, 24, a graphic designer and lesbian, told Presentes that she participated in the march to express herself “against all forms of discrimination, in support of same-sex marriage, and for greater lesbian visibility.” “It’s time for people to stop seeing lesbians as something abnormal. Love and sex between women exist, they’re just hidden. It’s not a perversion, it’s not a mental illness. We’re loving each other, nothing more.” he emphasized. Bisexuals also embraced the demand for greater visibility of their sexual orientation. Wrapped in a fuchsia, purple, and blue flag—the colors that reflect bisexuality—Alejandra Chamorro, a 28-year-old publicist and art student, told Presentes that Rejection and invisibility towards bisexuals occurs even within the LGBTI community itself. “They tell you it’s just confusion, that you’ll figure out what you like eventually. And I’m almost 30, and I already know what I like: being bisexual. We exist, we’re here, and there’s a struggle and support behind us,” she declared.

More spaces to express oneself

Marcos Rojas, a 31-year-old industrial design student, and Martín Cuevas, a 29-year-old architect, celebrated their second anniversary on Friday, and on Saturday they decided to move the celebration to the Parade. “Our love story is very contemporary,” Marcos told Presentes. “We met on Grindr, an app that still carries a strong stigma among the gay community, as if its only purpose is to find sex,” he said.

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They walked the entire march hand in hand, and upon reaching Liberty Square, they remained embraced. “This march is a space where we feel safe to express our love openly in a public place. We came because we wanted to experience being together in public, because it’s something you can’t normally do. Many people maintain this hypocrisy, this double standard of saying they accept us, but don’t want us together. That’s why it’s sometimes impossible for us to be in a restaurant or a pub and behave openly as a couple,” said Marcos.

More organizations

In addition to Somosgay and Lesvos, the organizing groups, the march also included high school and university student groups. The event brought together groups advocating for apostasy from the Catholic Church with organizations like Inclusive Christians, which unites LGBTQ+ individuals who identify as Christian and practice the faith while also advocating for sexual diversity. Activists from Amnesty International were also present; the organization launched its campaign this week in support of sexual diversity, featuring testimonies from LGBTQ+ people. The campaign has the motto Ndeichagua“I am like you,” a Guarani word meaning “I am like you,” joins the calls that various Paraguayan civil society organizations have been making for years for a law against all forms of discrimination. According to Amnesty International, Paraguay is the only country in South America that lacks this type of legislation.

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The march was also attended by the ambassadors to Paraguay from the United States, Lee McClenny, and the United Kingdom, Matthew Hedges. Hedges gave several interviews to Paraguayan media outlets on May 17, the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, and in all of them he declared himself openly gay.

Attempt to ban the bus stop

On Friday, lawyers Agustín Olazar Villar and Gilberto Fabián Maldonado Piñánez, linked to pro-life organizations, filed a constitutional protection action against the Pride Parade. In their petition, they alleged that the event "involves the public display of sexual acts (kissing, touching, groping, and others) between people of the same sex (...) without due care regarding the presence of minors, who have even participated in and witnessed homosexual and lesbian acts, thus jeopardizing their harmonious and integral development," according to the document. Both lawyers had already filed another request for constitutional protection against the Kiss-In Festival, which took place on May 17, but the request was rejected outright. Following this event, the artist Bruno Almada Comas He was charged with alleged "exhibitionist acts"Meanwhile, the Supreme Court announced it would audit the judge who rejected the injunction. In the case of the Pride Parade, the appeal sought to prevent the celebration of an event that has had authorization from the Municipality of Asunción for the past nine years.