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SANTIAGO, Chile. “We never thought this moment would come.” With those words, Javier Silva celebrated his marriage to Jaime Nazar, the father of his two children, on Thursday, March 10, 2022, in Santiago. They are the first couple to marry after the Equal Marriage Law came into effect in Chile.

Before 7:00 a.m. this morning, Diana and her husband arrived at the Civil Registry in Providencia, Santiago. Each carried a baby in their arms. On a historic day for the country, the media witnessed the couple's first steps through the routine paperwork required for all civil marriages. Afterward, they entered a room, accompanied by witnesses, family members, and authorities, to begin a brief and intimate ceremony, from which they emerged as husband and wife. 

“We are so proud to be the first to get married in Chile. We are incredibly excited and grateful to everyone who fought to make it possible for us to be here,” said Javier. 

“We decided to make our relationship public for the sake of our children.”

Javier and Jaime have been in a relationship for seven years. For the last three, they have been united by a Civil Union Agreement (AUC), which until now was the only legal instrument available to same-sex couples, but which does not recognize parental rights. Clemente and Lola, their children, were born in Colombia through surrogacy. Today, they begin the process of legally recognizing their children in the country, following the enactment of a law that does recognize children born to them. This law alsochanges the conceptual framework: the terms "father" and "mother" will no longer be used, but rather "parents." Nor will "husband" and "wife" be used, but rather "spouses."

“We decided to make our relationship public for our children. Because when we started thinking about starting a family, we were faced with the reality that the AUC wouldn't protect them. In fact, we considered leaving the country for one where the rights of the children we wanted to have would be recognized. And today, it's incredibly moving to know that they'll be able to grow up close to their grandparents and aunts and uncles, with the same rights as other children,” said Jaime. 

The first lesbians who managed to get married in Chile

When the ceremony ended, Consuelo Morales and Pabla Heuser arrived, the first lesbian couple to marry in Chile. They have been a couple for 17 years and have been raising Josefa together for the last two. The girl was conceived through in-vitro fertilization and had only one legal mother. They say that their entire journey to this day unfolded without the slightest hope of ever seeing this moment. Like Javier and Jaime, they were in a civil union.  

“We thought this day would never come, or that if it did, we wouldn’t live to see it. We’re fulfilling a dream. But what excites us most is that Josefa will no longer be an illegitimate child,” said Consuelo. Moved to tears, Pabla added, “Now our family life is what will matter most.” 

Seven thousand couples on the path to marriage equality

These historic ceremonies were also attended by the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Hernán Larraín; the Undersecretary of Human Rights, Lorena Recabarren; the Minister of Social Development, Karla Rubilar; and the National Director of the Civil Registry, Sergio Mierzejewski. Mierzejewski explained that ten same-sex marriages were scheduled for Thursday throughout the country and that, to date, 14,000 appointments have been reserved for same-sex couples to formalize the process. 

“Most marriages are concentrated in the Metropolitan Region and more than 60% are between women,” the official explained. 

Representatives from the organizations that promoted the law also attended, such as Rolando Jiménez, from the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation (Movilh), and Alessia Injoque and Isabel Amor, from the Iguales Foundation. 

Alongside them was Emma de Ramón, also a member of the Iguales board and known not only for her career as a historian, but also for two milestones in activism. In 2020, her name was inscribed in the history of Chilean justice when she became the first lesbian mother, along with her partner Gigliola Di Giammarino, to win a long battle so that Attilio, their 2-year-and-9-month-old son, could bear both of their surnames.

He was previously the partner of Judge Karen Atala, who in 2012 won a lawsuit against the Chilean State after the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a ruling proving that the Supreme Court had acted in a discriminatory manner by taking away her custody of her three daughters, based solely on her sexual orientation and her relationship with Emma. 

"A dream that cost blood, sweat, and tears"

Isabel Amor, from Iguales, recalled that 1973 marked the first public demonstration in Chile demanding marriage equality and praised the journey undertaken by historical activists to reach today's milestone. She believes that children are the greatest beneficiaries of this law: “They too are people with rights, but they didn't have them until now. And they are not just the future of Chile, they are the present.”

“This is a tremendously relevant cultural and political reality and a dream that cost blood, sweat and tears,” said Rolando Jiménez, from Movilh.