Call it La Marcha de la Diversidad Sexual Mérida, la Marcha del Orgullo, the Mérida Pride March of 2023. Just don’t call it dull.
Under the oppressive heat of the late afternoon, an estimated 25,000 people showed up to express themselves with color, music and fierce attitude.
Shouting “my identity, my right” in Spanish, they paraded from the Monumento a la Patría down the grand Paseo de Montejo. The march led to the Plaza Grande, where drag performers and various singers let loose on concert stages in the shadows of the Cathedral.
Pride celebrations in Mérida have become the city’s largest annual event. In this conservative, mid-size city in southeast Mexico, Pride has surpassed the traditional Carnaval — somehow banished to remote fairgrounds — as the most joyous, boisterous, and fascinating celebration.
Even the city’s Plaza Grande, Mérida’s main square, was crowded out on Saturday night. One suggestion from a participant was to allow the route to culminate at the much roomier Parque La Plancha, which should be ready in time for Pride 2024.
Acceptance and participation from people outside the LGBTQ+ community have fueled the Pride celebration’s growth. The march, which was led by a protective contingent of municipal police on motorcycles, with state police bringing up the rear, went peacefully.
After two decades on secondary streets, the march graduated to the Paseo do Montejo — the city’s iconic boulevard — last year. This year, observers on social media said the event was even more joyous and exuberant.
Groups such as Repavih (a network of people affected by HIV), Accenture, the Episcopal Church of San Lucas de Mérida and various floats and tour buses also participated. Representing pageants from other towns, Miss Progreso, Miss Muna and Miss Ticul also greeted the throngs.
An LGBTQ+ ally remarked that the parade offered “a colorful hour-long river of humanity that refused to be canceled, denied or closeted. We were both moved and astonished by the turnout!”
“It was the best ever and such a positive life-affirming experience,” said another man who attended the march.
The events were absent the far-right threats that menaced similar celebrations in the United States. Politicians in Yucatán stayed largely silent, neither condemning nor participating in the march.
Later this month, smaller Pride events are set to pop up in other communities, such as Piste de Chichén Itzá, Izamal, Uman and Rio Lagartos.
More information: The LGBTQ+ Mérida organizing committee
