Share

Share

Share on Facebook Share on Facebook Tweet Share on Twitter Share on WhatsApp Share on WhatsApp

SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER

The 19th annual LGBT Pride march painted Asunción's historic center with color. The LGBTQ+ community gathered yesterday at the Antequera Steps, waving rainbow flags and sporting glitter and slogans. The LGBTI+ Coalition, comprised of organizations and independent individuals, called for the march at 5:00 p.m.

Music provided the soundtrack to the protesters' preparations on the steps. Some were screen-printing the number 108 on their t-shirts. Others were applying makeup and unfolding banners and flags. Friends met and hugged, as if the Covid-19 pandemic were a distant memory. 

What and why is he leaving?

This year's mobilizations demand a state that is present for all people, given that it is dominated by fundamentalist sectors that deny their rights. These sectors arbitrarily refuse to provide answers to all citizens, leading to exclusion, violence, and discrimination against non-heterosexual and cisgender people.

By 6 p.m. everything was ready. The march departed from Antequera Street, passed through Eligio Ayala skirting Plaza Uruguaya, went up México, Palma and, finally, Nuestra Señora de la Asunción towards Plaza de la Democracia. 

“On that balcony, there’s a faggot, in that window there’s a lesbian,” they chanted, and the buildings seemed to tremble. Cars joined the celebration, honking their horns, and students, workers, and children applauded as the parade passed by the traditional businesses on Palma Street.

Artivism and memory

At one of the stops, on Palma and Yegros streets, an artistic intervention by Lía Benítez Flecha from La Posdramatica stood out. The image of Feliciana “Chana” Coronel was displayed on an old building. “Chana was a lesbian, a mother, and Black,” was written beneath it, and on a stage, “Chana and all the others.” The band of Bianca Orqueda, Lucero Sarambi, and Anahi Ríos paid tribute by playing guitar, just as she liked. She was the first lesbian to demand access to conjugal visits for lesbians incarcerated at the Buen Pastor Women’s Prison .

The march culminated in Democracy Square, where a diverse artistic program unfolded. The first segment opened with performances by Heels, the Casa Diversa theater group, poetry by Ana Banks, and Trepatrape – Circus. This was followed by a stand-up comedy routine by Manni Delvalle, poetry by Edu Barreto, and dance by Amira Larissa García and Icy B. Finally, the iconic drag tribute acts to Usha, Bianca Orqueda, poetry by Inocencia Fernández, Kuña Afro, Chaquelarre, and the closing act was singer and DJ Missil.

Images of Usha on the big screen moved those present. Usha dressed in ao po'i, Usha with carnival frills, Usha with incredibly long eyelashes and elaborate hairstyles. The iconic drag queens presented some of the great numbers that Usha used to perform. With folk music, Rata Inmunda and others brought to life a figure who became an icon.

Every September, Paraguay commemorates the “108 Memories.” It recalls the “Letter of an Immoral Man,” published in the newspaper El País on September 30, 1959, as a protest against the arrests of homosexuals following the murder of Bernardo Aranda during the Stroessner dictatorship. The “Letter of an Immoral Man” is claimed by LGBTI organizations as the first known public demonstration for sexual freedom in the country. The persecutions during the Stroessner regime did not end with Aranda. They continued with the case of Mario Luis Palmieri in 1982. 

Comprehensive trans law and other demands

The Coalition demanded the passage of a comprehensive trans law that guarantees the rights of transgender people, including recognition of their identity and employment quotas. They also called for the approval of the Julio Fretes Law against all forms of discrimination.

They also demanded an end to discrimination in education , referring to the neo-fundamentalist groups that successfully lobbied for the rejection of the Paraguay 2040 National Educational Transformation Plan . They called for healthcare free from prejudice and stigma for LGBTI people, but above all, they emphasized that the State must guarantee rights and implement the necessary laws to ensure that LGBTI rights are recognized and guaranteed.