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It wasn’t raining Saturday morning, but rainbows were everywhere.
Thousands gathered along Central Avenue on Saturday to celebrate the city’s annual PrideFest. The event consisted of a parade along Central Avenue and musical performances in the afternoon by Kat DeLuna at Expo New Mexico, and was organized by Albuquerque Pride.
Miranda Sedillo, vice president of public relations for Albuquerque Pride, said the festival has been running for 37 years, and that it celebrates the city’s LGBTIQ (Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Intersex/Questioning) community.
Sedillo said she expected this year’s event to be bigger than last year’s, especially because of the Supreme Court’s recent overturning of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a federal prohibition of same-sex marriage.
“It’s an absolutely great timing,” she said. “I’m glad that it was the outcome. We’re really proud of California, but we have a lot to change here in New Mexico, and we anticipate that happening in the future.”
Last year, 40,000 people participated in the parade, and about 10,000 people attended the event at Expo New Mexico, Sedillo said. She said she estimated there were similar numbers for this year’s turnout.
Sedillo said the event encourages Albuquerque residents to embrace who they are.
“Pride is more than just gender and sexual identity,” she said. “It’s celebrating who you are without those social norms. We come together as a family to celebrate our community.”
UNM LGBTQ Resource Center Director Alma Rosa Silva-Banuelos said her organization joined the parade to celebrate the ruling against DOMA.
“We are in a historic time,” she said. “The U.S. Supreme Court has defended our community and DOMA is dead. It is not constitutional, so we are celebrating a historic moment. We couldn’t be more excited and happier and more honored.”
Silva-Banuelos said the UNM community has been accepting of LGBTIQ people in the past. But she said the center is still striving to make LGBTIQ students more comfortable on campus.
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“We need to make a home for all LGBT and questioning students at UNM,” she said. “We are a place for progressive thought, and that’s what we’re supposed to be doing. We want to let the community know that UNM exists and we have pride. We’re not going anywhere and we’re here to serve the community.”
Amber Royster, executive director of Equality New Mexico, which also participated in the event, said she feels “fabulous” about the event’s turnout.
“People often have a misconception about how loved we are in this state,” she said. “New Mexico loves its LGBT community and all the allies, and that’s really evident here today.”
Royster said the ruling against DOMA might lead to New Mexico’s legalizing same-sex marriage. She said Equality New Mexico is working on a campaign called “Why Marriage Matters New Mexico” to make gay marriage possible in the state.
“We’re ready for marriage here in New Mexico, and that DOMA ruling is only going to pave the way for us,” she said. “The momentum is very strong here in New Mexico, and I know we’re going to win it soon.”
Royster said she advises students and other young people who are having troubles with their sexuality to be true to themselves and to come out.
“It’s important that we start talking about our lives and our loves and our families,” she said. “Live out and proud.”
Albuquerque resident Melissa Calhoun said she attended the event to express her support to the LGBTIQ community. She said she brought her 3-year-old daughter because she “doesn’t think she needs to be sheltered.”
Calhoun said although she is not lesbian, she hopes the DOMA ruling will encourage lawmakers to approve same-sex marriage in the state.
“I am straight, not narrow,” she said. “Hopefully they’ll keep going and everybody would have equal rights. Everybody should be able to do what they want with who they love.”
Sedillo said she is optimistic that same-sex marriage will be approved in the state soon.
“It should be anywhere and everywhere,” she said. “And we have our fingers crossed.”
