On Saturday, thousands of New Mexican citizens came together on Central Avenue between Girard Boulevard and San Pedro Drive to usher in a new year of LGBTQ activism and acknowledgement.
Men, women, children, motorcyclists, police officers, high heels, platform boots and rainbow tutus were all warmly welcomed, as the local LGBTQ community and its supporters paraded eastward through Nob Hill, to the final PrideFest destination at Expo New Mexico.
Albuquerque PrideFest is presented by Albuquerque Pride, an organization that traces its origins to a 1976 community march up Route 66 (Central Avenue). Only about 30 people attended that first march, which itself had its roots in the famous Stonewall Rebellion in New York City in 1969.
Since 1997, Albuquerque Pride has helped organize the Pride Parade, and each year the parade and attendee activities grow, with today’s crowds reaching the thousands.
PrideFest 2016 displayed the strength of the LGBTQ community. On Saturday hundreds of UNM students marched up Central Avenue, in support of Albuquerque’s Pride Parade. Hundreds more watched as the community exercised its freedom of expression.
Gabriel Arango, a recent UNM graduate who studies strategic communications, said his favorite aspect of pride is the encouragement for people to get as open and cheerful as they are on this day.
“It almost feels like Christmas or some special holiday to celebrate happiness and community. And it is important because it brings awareness to the gay community and the people who sponsor and stand for equality and peace,” he said.
UNM students continually show interest in LGBTQ equality, and many have made it a goal to have their voices heard.
Pride parades across the countryare gaining support and enthusiasm. This June is especially important to LGBTQ groups, as June 26 will represent the one-year anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges, guaranteeing the fundamental right of same-sex marriage.
Sara Wiedmaier, a senior biology and Portuguese double major, said the Albuquerque Pride Parade is an integral part of freedom of expression.
“Even if we are ‘legally’ free to express ourselves, often times societal norms and expectations hinder us from truly feeling comfortable wearing what we want, acting how we want, loving who we want,” she said. “Pride parade reaffirms that each and every expression of character is right and acceptable because it’s who we are. Our individuality and differences should be embraced, not shamed.”
Jonathan Natvig is a reporter at the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo.
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