Out the Archives is a recurring feature diving into the Windy City Times collection, offering a look back at the rich history of LGBTQ+ Chicago. In this edition, we look back at the July 2000 issue of En La Vida.
In most issues of En La Vida, ‘Tierras Distantes’ chronicled the happenings in LGBTQ+ news around the world. For Pride Month 2000, they had boots on the ground.
Over two pages of photos and text—not to mention the cover of the July 2000 issue—Rex Wockner covered Pride festivities in both Bogota, Colombia and Tijuana, Mexico.
On May 21, 800 people gathered at a Bogota Pride festival hosted by the Colombian Gay and Lesbian Community Agenda Project to raise funds for its parade. There was music, dancing, organizational booths and a performance by Two Seated Queens Talking Shit.
Colombia wouldn’t yet legalize same-sex marriage until 2016, though Bogota Pride began in 1983. Additionally, same-sex individuals were allowed to serve in the military as of 1999.
Mexico, like the U.S., legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015. However, it had been hosting LGBTQ+ Pride marches in Mexico City since 1979. In 1999, Mexico City had just passed an ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexuality in the capital.
Around 150 people marched in the Tijuana parade June 17, the sixth in Mexico that month, chanting “Los putos unidos jamás será vencido,” a take on a popular revolutionary slogan. Hundreds more reportedly cheered from nearby streets. The parade was followed by political speeches and eventually parties at the city’s eight gay bars.
Later that month, Mexico City hosted its 22nd annual Pride march.
