With thousands of participants, the São Paulo LGBT+ Pride Parade placed the elderly LGBTQIA+ population at the center of the celebration and public debate for the first time in its 29-year history. On a completely packed Avenida Paulista, organizers estimated a crowd of 4 million people and featured 17 sound trucks.
The theme was presented by activist Norivaldo Júnior, a member of the National Council for the Rights of the Elderly at the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship, who attended the event accompanied by his husband, the advertiser Rodrigo Souza.
“When the parade board announced aging as the theme, it brought us great joy. The LGBTQIA+ community suffered immense losses during the 1980s and lost many of its references. Today, we have managed — or at least we try — to ensure that this generation has a better old age than mine,” said Norivaldo Júnior, 62, married to Rodrigo Souza, 27 years his junior.
“Unfortunately, we have a generation growing up very concerned with body image, and that pushes us back into the closet because they can’t see us — older people — as part of the movement. In a way, they don’t accept that one day they will reach my 62 years. This makes us invisible again and forces us to relive many of the struggles we faced in our youth — being kicked out of home, not being accepted at school, fighting to find work. When you reach old age — LGBT old age — you go through this whole cycle again. That’s why it’s so important for this year’s parade to be centered on aging,” he added.
To the sound of electronic music and the fans of most participants, the parade brought together friends, couples of all ages, and families in a festive atmosphere. One of the first groups to march was that of families of transgender children — Trans Children and Adolescents Exist — which has participated in the event for four years. Thamirys Nunes, 35, president of the NGO Minha Criança Trans, is the mother of a 10-year-old trans child and an activist for the rights of children and adolescents.
“We are here on the streets to say that we are families, like any other families. And we will always be here fighting for our trans children and adolescents, because if they need a future, that future starts with recognition,” she said.
In his debut at the event, Argentine German Rocha, also dressed in character, paraded cheerfully. In his later years, he believes it is important to experience São Paulo and support the fight for rights beyond his hometown of Buenos Aires, from where he came with his husband and a friend to take part in the parade.
“We came to participate in the parade to show that in Argentina, Brazil, and many other places, we share the same ideology: defending our rights and achievements and seeking more revolution and struggle. Latin America will not be defeated,” he declared.
Source: Agência Brasil