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About Caracas
The Marcha del Orgullo in Caracas is Venezuela's main queer public event. It is held once a year, usually in late June or early July, and works as both a protest and a street celebration. The first march went through Sabana Grande in the late nineties, organised by the Movimiento Ambiente de Venezuela. A few years later a coalition of groups, among them the Alianza Lambda de Venezuela and Unión Afirmativa, took over, and the march has taken place every year since.
The route has changed several times. It used to start at Plaza Brión in Chacaíto, follow the Bulevar de Sabana Grande and end at Plaza Morelos in Los Caobos. In recent editions marchers gathered in the morning on Avenida Francisco de Miranda near Parque Miranda and walked west to the Zona Rental at Plaza Venezuela. Date and meeting point are announced anew each year.
The demands have stayed the same for years: equal rights, legal recognition of gender identity and an end to hate crimes. The Observatorio Venezolano de Violencias LGBTIQ+ records violence against queer people and has supplied the march's slogan. Other groups active in the debate include Caleidoscopio Humano, Movimiento SOMOS and País Plural. Representatives of the European Union and British diplomatic missions have also joined the march.
Venezuelan law gives a mixed picture. Sex between men is legal, with an equal age of consent of sixteen. The constitution defines marriage as a union of a man and a woman, and there is no civil partnership. Same-sex couples cannot adopt jointly, although children of lesbian couples can be registered with both mothers' surnames. Trans people cannot change their legal gender. Employment law bans discrimination based on sexual orientation, and after a Supreme Court ruling gay and lesbian people may serve openly in the armed forces.
Caracas Pride – frequently asked questions
From the magazine
Magnus Hirschfeld and His Institute: What Was Lost on 6 May 1933
Long before Stonewall, Berlin had a place where homosexual people found advice and recognition. How the Institute for Sexual Science began and why it was destroyed in 1933.
Harvey Milk and Proposition 6: The November 1978 Victory
In 1978 a California ballot measure would have forced queer teachers out of public schools. Harvey Milk fought it, and voters rejected it. What happened and what it has to do with Pride.
Brenda Howard and the Pride Week: Who Turned a Memorial March into a Tradition
After Stonewall, a march marked the anniversary in 1970, and later a whole week. Brenda Howard is named as one of the people behind it. What is documented and where the title Mother of Pride stays disputed.