Hundreds of thousands attend Madrid Gay Pride parade

4 hours ago

MADRID (AFP) — Hundreds of thousands of gays, lesbians and their
supporters on Saturday took part in a colourful parade across Madrid,
the capital of a country that has become a world leader in gay rights.

Equality
Minister Bibiano Aido led the parade of more than 30 floats, mostly
related to gay bars and other businesses, but also one devoted to the
Abba-themed musical "Mamma Mia", under a hot sun and to the beat of
techno and Brazilian music.

"It is a day of joy, to demand the rights of people and all citizens," said Aido.

The
minister, 31, appears on the cover of the latest edition of Spanish gay
monthly magazine Zero in a bright purple dress alongside a lesbian, a
gay man and a transsexual as characters from the 1939 film "Wizard of
Oz" which is popular with gays.

Behind her in the parade were hundreds of lesbians in keeping with this year's theme of "Lesbian Visibility."

One
large banner read "Lesbian, because I like it and because I want to
be." Others said "Stop homophobia" and "No More Persecution."

"It's
beautiful, there is no other party like this in Madrid," David Ruiz,
33, from Mexico, said as a float passed behind him with a giant
inflatable condom.

"It's great not to feel like a minority for
one day," said Ligia Fernandez, 47, a rainbow-coloured Gay Pride flag
tied around her waist.

Serge Castro, 42, from France, said the parade was much better than those in his own country.

"It's much bigger, more colourful, the people are having more fun."

Prime
Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialist Party float, a
multi-coloured double-decker bus, had the slogan "Building Equality"
splashed across it.

Spain became only the third member of
European Union, after the Netherlands and Belgium, to allow same-sex
marriages in July 2005 with a law that also legalized adoptions by gays
and lesbians.

On the eve of the march, Zapatero defended his
government's decision to allow same-sex marriages, telling a Socialist
party congress that it had provided "private happiness and public
dignity" to thousands of Spaniards.

But the measure has drawn the
ire of the Roman Catholic Church in Spain and a section of the
conservative opposition Popular Party.

At Saturday's parade, many carried signs reading "Secular State."

Homosexuality
was legalized in Spain in 1979 shortly after the death of dictator
Francisco Franco whose regime shipped off gays to institutions that
some activists have likened to concentration camps.