Mérida Pride 2024: Colorful March Will Retake the Paseo
The march for Mérida Pride 2024 festival has a slightly modified route.
For the third consecutive year, the march, a highlight of Yucatán’s LGBTQ+ festivities, will parade down the Paseo de Montejo on Saturday, June 15.
But this time, it will conclude somewhere other than the Plaza Grande, or main square.
Organizers see this as poignant.
Why it’s historic
“It fills us with emotion to share the map of the Yucatán Grand March for Sexual Diversity,” organizers posted on social media. “This year, the march will end in the most emblematic place for our LGBTTIQ+ community: Parque Mejorada, where our history of pride and struggle began 22 years ago.”
Indeed, Parque Mejorada is where gay, lesbian, bisexual and self-identifying queer people began marking Pride month with festive rallies and a march. (We first covered Mérida Pride in 2017.)
Over time, participation grew exponentially, at times doubling year to year. Seven years ago, 1,200 people took part in the march. Compare that to 2023, when over 20,000 were estimated to take part. The march also means that onlookers can secure a table at Hennessy’s or Zinc to view in comfort.
By 2022, it had moved to the Paseo de Montejo and became the grand boulevard’s biggest annual event.
“This is a time to remember and celebrate our roots in the state, our history, and our fight for an inclusive and loving future. Get ready to live an unforgettable day!” organizers stated in Spanish on social media.
Lee Steele is the founding director of Mérida-based Roof Cat Media S de RL de CV and has published Yucatán Magazine and other titles since 2012. He was Hearst Connecticut’s Sunday Magazine creative director and worked in New York City for various magazine publishers, including Condé Nast and Primedia, for over 20 years.
