The Long Beach Gay Pride Parade, which is turning 40, will take place this weekend.
The event will be family-friendly and will feature the participation of renowned Latino artists, and for the first time there will be a section designated for “drag” shows.
The first event on Friday is for teenagers from 13 to 17 years old, and is currently being held at the “Rainbow Lagoon” park. Minors must be accompanied by an adult and have a school ID. Admission is free until nine tonight.
In its fortieth anniversary, the colorful Gay Pride parade in Long Beach will feature a series of shows for adults and children, and the participation of renowned Latino singers.
“We’re going to have Laura León and Edith Márquez and also Lucia Méndez,” said Elsa Martínez, co-chair of the Long Beach Gay Pride parade.
The concerts of the Mexican singers will be this Sunday after the Gay Pride parade that begins at 10:30 am between Ocean Street and Lindero Avenue.
“We have the ‘Family Zone’ activities that support families that have activities for children so as not to exclude the family,” said Alexis Garcia, organizer of the parade.
Also for the first time, the festival, which brings together thousands of people every year and is one of the largest in Los Angeles County, will have a designated dome for drag shows.
“Two or three artists from Hamburger Mary’s restaurant come for the drag race, but there are many artists who are going to come,” said Martínez.
The Gay Pride parade in Long Beach was one of the first in California, and it is as old as the music of the eighties.
Bob Crow is one of the three founders of a group of friends who decided to start the festival, which in 1983 lasted 30 minutes.
“The city tried to stop us from starting the parade,” said Bob Crow, founder of the Long Beach Gay Parade, now 77 and battling cancer.
Crow claims that he convinced the boss of the bar where he worked to sponsor the event. Long Beach and Los Angeles, at the time, had anti-gay laws that were passed in the 1920s.
“Two people dressed alike couldn’t dance. If they were two men they could be arrested,” Crow said.
Even though laws condemning homosexuality no longer exist in California, for Martinez, co-chair of the parade, and the LGBTQ+ community continue to face obstacles.
“The same is happening now, we still have to protest and support our community because they are also attacking us in other places,” added Martínez.
Telemundo 52 and our sister station NBC4 are sponsors of this parade. This coming Sunday the event will also have the presence of Enrique Chiabra and Luis Treto from Telemundo 52 and Annabelle Sedano and Mekhalo Medina from sister network NBC4.
