Vallarta Pride 2017 is the time of the year when progress against discrimination and violence towards Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transvestite, Transsexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTTTI) people is celebrated.
This year the gay pride parade that marks the official start of the Festival will be held on Wednesday, May 24 at 7:00 pm, beginning at the Sheraton Hotel with the route extended all the way to the end of Lázaro Cárdenas street. The event will have the honor of having the participation of the Municipal President of Puerto Vallarta, Arturo Dávalos Peña, who along with his family, will lead the parade “Together with Pride”.
The fame of Puerto Vallarta as a Gay Friendly destination, has placed the city as the second most popular beach destination in Latin America, after Rio de Janeiro, for the LGBTTTI traveler. This is why the Pride festival, unites the area with the world and has become an event representative not only of the LGBTTTTI community but of the destination.
This year’s pride festival will have a significant increase of visitors, more than 20% in relation to last year, with an expectation of 16,000 people from Canada, the United States, England and Mexico, mainly, although a yearly increase of travelers from Europe and Australia has been experienced.
There will be events all week, starting with the welcome parties on the weekend of May 20 and 21, every day there will be “Pool Parties” with different themes in Mantamar Beach Club. The traditional and famous “Drag Derby” will be held. For the first time, there will be a party on Lázaro Cárdenas Street between Vallarta and Constitución, where 7 of the main gay clubs in the Romantic Zone will come together to produce an unprecedented party. There are 4 exclusive events for women. The parade will be held on Wednesday to kick-off Vallarta Pride, historically the parade has been scheduled toward the end of the festival week.
The Vallarta Pride 2017 international ambassador will be New York singer Johnathan Celestin, who composed the song “Be-You-Tiful”, a song that talks about equality and that will be the musical theme in this edition of the festival.
This year will include the participation of renowned Venezuelan artist and activist Daniel Arzola, creator of the campaign “I am not your joke” founded to tell the world that being part of the LGBTTTI community is not a question of mockery, insults , nor of course of jokes. The artist designed 5 exclusive t-shirts for the festival, one representing each letter of “LGBTQ”.
The Festival is not only fun, beach, music, art and culture, it also supports causes of social responsibility such as AC SETAC, an organization that supports men and women for HIV prevention and treatment, with information, treatments and psychological support.
