Hotels around Cúcuta
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About Cucuta
Cúcuta is the capital of Norte de Santander department and sits just a few kilometres from the Venezuelan border. Population projections from DANE, Colombia's statistics office, put the municipality at a little under 800,000 people. The border shapes the city, and its queer community too.
Like many Colombian cities, Cúcuta holds a Marcha del Orgullo. It falls within the national Pride season at the end of June or early July, when marches take place in many cities on the same Sunday. The meeting point and route change and are announced shortly beforehand by local groups and media. The march is much smaller than the big parades in Bogotá or Medellín.
Migration is a defining issue here. Many LGBTIQ people from Venezuela crossed the border and stayed in the city or the surrounding area. The organisation Caribe Afirmativo has published a report on their situation in Colombia's border regions. The pandemic made the work of local support groups even harder. Cúcuta is home to Fundación Censurados, an HIV and AIDS organisation that also supports Venezuelan migrants.
On paper, Colombia is one of the most progressive countries in Latin America. Same-sex couples can marry since the Constitutional Court opened marriage to them, and joint adoption is allowed. Trans people can change their name and gender marker on their ID, and besides F and M there is now a non-binary option. Homosexuality was decriminalised decades ago, gay and lesbian people may serve openly in the armed forces, and criminal law adds harsher penalties when a crime is motivated by the victim's sexual orientation.
Daily life does not always match the law. Organisations continue to report discrimination, especially against people who are vulnerable both as migrants and as queer people.
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