This Sunday one of the largest human mobilizations in the country and the world is celebrated: the 55th anniversary of the LGBTQIA+ Pride Parade in the streets of Manhattan, an event whose motto this year is “Reflect, Empower, Unite.” This massive event marks the end of Pride Month.
“We are encouraging individuals, advocates, community leaders and allies to reflect on the challenges we have overcome together and allow us to take action to shape our collective future,” event organizers said in a press release.
In this rainbow spectrum of sexual diversity, the Hispanic migrant communities of the Big Apple have their own colors and their own reflections.
As some activists who connect with Spanish-speaking communities observe, we now have in 2024, a new wave of migrants who naturally brought their own history, their fears, their patterns “tattooed” by their religions, who continue to interpret this celebration as a “depravity.”
There are others who are still very afraid to express themselves, after carrying the heavy weight of coming from countries where even their own family made it clear that they “hated” their sexual identity or gender expression.
The truth is that today, in the epicenter of Hispanic neighborhoods in the Big Apple, the city that was the cradle of civil rights for this community, it is not at all a zone free of rejection or misinformation regarding the entire dynamic and meaning of the celebration of Pride Month, both publicly and veiled.
And at the center of this moment of reflection, new data also emerges that show that Hispanic youth have the highest rates of HIV infection in the entire country, in addition to the fact that government resources for prevention and financing of treatments tend to be decrease.
“Hate and deep rejection”
For example, Mexican construction worker Roberto Valencia, 50, wonders out loud at the New York Subway why the LGBTQIA+ community has to have a party to celebrate “what they are,” because “Machos” never celebrate that they like women.
“The truth is that God created men and women. And this is a country of great opportunities where I have raised my family. But I don’t want my grandchildren to see these things as normal,” Vicente López, a resident of Manhattan for 20 years, from Ecuador, tells El Diario in the same tone.
In this sense, Gustavo Morales, who leads the initiative “Love makes family” devised by the Oasis Latino Wellness Center, which since 2019 has helped Hispanic families address the sexual identity and gender expression of some of its members, observes with pain how, in an ascending manner, recently arrived groups from Latin America and others with a long presence, view with marked “hatred and deep rejection” that their children want to talk about or recognize their sexuality, if it escapes the heteronormative pattern.
“Homophobia and transphobia are deeply rooted in our Hispanic communities. We see families who, despite having gone through difficult circumstances to get to a place with more freedom, maintain prejudices that seem to remain unchanged. This Pride Month is obviously to celebrate, to make our achievements visible. But also, in our case, as Hispanics, it should be to renew the idea that there is a lot to do,” Morales said.
“No heterosexual has been discriminated against”
For his part, Venezuelan Wendell Oviedo, founder of América Diversa, an organization that works to defend the Human Rights of the Hispanic LGBTQIA+ community in NY, emphasizes that this celebration that allows us to “make ourselves visible and celebrate our progress,” is also a time to overcome misinformation, which still persists mainly in Hispanic families, who continue to maintain terrible stigmas.
“It’s very interesting to see how even here in New York, there are people who are upset that we simply exist. We celebrate in this space of freedom, because there have been years of discrimination, hatred and ridicule. Historically no heterosexual has been rejected, killed or hated because of her sexual preferences. In our case, and even more so if you come from Latin American countries, there are stories of great pain,” she said.
Wendell even reports that there are young newcomers who wonder “if it is safe to march without being attacked,” taking into consideration the history of criminalization and persecution that LGBTQIA people still suffer in countries in Central America, the Caribbean and South America.
The advance of HIV in Hispanic youth
The leaders of this Manhattan march have considered that at a time of deep divisions in the country, this year there is a call for unity within and across the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as a call to action for all allies, especially those in government and the private sector.
This parade first took place in 1970, a year after the Stonewall uprising, and has since become an annual civil rights demonstration.
Its purpose has expanded over time to raise awareness about the fight against HIV-AIDS and to honor those who have died from this infection, violence and family abandonment.
This 55th edition of the march coincides with some findings, not at all encouraging for Hispanic communities: an increase in new infections in young Latinos and a reduction in government budgets to confront the infection.
In general, as shared this week in an analysis by the publication KFF Health News and the AP agency, the estimated rates of new HIV infections in the country have decreased by 23% from 2012 to 2022, but the “infection rate remains very high among Latino groups.”
Overall, African Americans have the highest rates of HIV, although Latinos accounted for the majority of new HIV diagnoses and infections among gay and bisexual men based on data analyzed in 2022, compared to other racial and ethnic groups.
“Latinos, who make up approximately 19% of the United States population, accounted for about 33% of new HIV infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),” this report highlights.
The analysis found that Latinos are experiencing a disproportionate number of new infections and diagnoses across the country, with the highest rates in states located in the Southeast.
Given this panorama, Guillermo Chacón, president and founder of the Hispanic Health Network, draws his attention to the fact that the federal government and local and state administrations are contradictorily making cuts to community-based organizations, which are dedicated to speaking Spanish to our communities. , to take preventive measures or to adequately address their diagnosis.
“Without health, there is no future. This is unacceptable. In all health indicators, Latinos are the most affected by new diagnoses. And yet, we are seeing the threat that funding for educational and care plans tends to be greatly cut,” he stressed.
Details of the march
- The Pride March begins this Sunday, June 30 at noon at 25th Street and Fifth Avenue, then moves south on Fifth Avenue before heading west on 8th Street. After crossing Sixth Avenue, continue along Christopher Street past the Stonewall National Monument.
- It then turns north on Seventh Avenue, passing the New York City AIDS Memorial, before ending at 16th Street and Seventh Avenue.
- One of the main protest themes will be that rights have been lost around the world, including harsh prison sentences for gay and transgender people in Iraq and the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” in Uganda. More than 60 countries have anti-LGBTQ+ laws.
- Another of this year’s flags is that 25 states in the United States now have laws that prohibit gender-affirming care for transgender minors. Some states have taken other steps, with laws or policies that primarily keep transgender girls and women out of bathrooms and sports competitions that align with their gender.