Boquerón Pride (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

: ''Orgullo Boquerón'') is an annual

pride parade A pride parade (also known as pride march, pride event, or pride festival) is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture, queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...

and

street party A block party or street party is a party in which many members of a single community congregate, either to observe an event of some importance or simply for mutual solidarity and enjoyment. The name comes from the form of the party, which ofte ...

held during the month of June (usually the week after Pride Puerto Rico in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

) in the

beach town A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shells ...

of Boquerón in

Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico Cabo Rojo (, ) is a Cabo Rojo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality situated on the southwest coast of Puerto Rico and forms part of the San Germán – Cabo Rojo metropolitan area, San Germán–Cabo Rojo metropoli ...

. Along with Pride Puerto Rico (also known as San Juan Pride), this is the largest LGBT pride-related event in Puerto Rico. The festival features a pride parade, street food, live music and

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part o ...

performances, and with up to 40,000 attendees, it is one of the largest pride celebrations in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

region. ''Orgullo Boquerón'' is celebrated in and around the main street of ''

El Poblado de Boquerón El Poblado de Boquerón (Spanish language, Spanish for ''the settlement of Boquerón, Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, Boquerón'') is a coastal village which represents the downtown or main urban nucleus of the ''Barrios of Puerto Rico, barrio'' (district ...

'', a small fishing village that attracts visitors from all over Puerto Rico due to its seafood, nightlife, beaches, boating opportunities and its proximity to a number of nature reserves. Although there are no exclusively

gay clubs A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT communities. Gay bars once served as ...

or bars in ''El Poblado'', this small village is considered the second most popular gay destination in Puerto Rico for its drag queen events and gay-friendly bars, restaurants and hotels.

History

Boquerón Pride was founded by Rosalina "Talin" Ramos Padró in 2003. The pride event has been celebrated yearly ever since during

Pride Month LGBT Pride Month is a month, typically in June, dedicated to celebration and commemoration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) pride. Pride Month began after the Stonewall riots, a series of gay liberation protests in 1969, and ha ...

, usually the weekend after the celebration of Pride Puerto Rico, also known as San Juan Pride, and it draws attendees from all over Puerto Rico. In 2016, after the tragic events at

Pulse nightclub Pulse was a gay bar, dance club, and nightclub in Orlando, Florida, founded in 2004 by Barbara Poma and Ron Legler. On June 12, 2016, the club was the scene of the second worst mass shooting by a single gunman in U.S. history, and the second ...

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

were many of the victims were Puerto Rican members of the LGBT community, a march and memorial rather than a parade and street party were held instead. Puerto Rican singer and actress

Yolandita Monge Yolanda Rosa Monge Betancourt (born September 16, 1955), known professionally as Yolandita Monge, is a Puerto Rican singer, actress, and television personality. She has been active in the music business since her teen years and has recorded 27 ...

was the godmother of the event that year. The event was cancelled in 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and was celebrated once again in 2021 during the month of October (during the weekend of

National Coming Out Day National Coming Out Day (NCOD) is an annual LGBT awareness day observed on October 11, to support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people ( the LGBT community, sometimes also called the queer community) in "coming out of the closet". First ...

). Puerto Rican model and

Miss Universe 2001 Miss Universe 2001, the 50th anniversary of the Miss Universe pageant, was held on May 11, 2001, at the Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Denise Quiñones of Puerto Rico was crowned by Lara Dutta of India as her successor at ...

winner

Denise Quiñones Denise Marie Quiñones August (born 9 September 1980) is a Puerto Rican actress, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 2001. Prior to winning the Miss Universe pageant, she represented her hometown of Lares in the Miss Puerto Ric ...

was proclaimed godmother of the parade that year. According to

Pedro Julio Serrano Pedro Julio Serrano (born October 2, 1974, in Ponce, Puerto Rico) is an openly gay and HIV+ human rights activist and president of Puerto Rico Para Todes, a non-profit LGBTQ+ and social justice advocacy organization founded in 2003. He is a form ...

, spokesperson of the event, Boquerón Pride will once again be celebrated in the month of June in 2022.

References

Parades in Puerto Rico LGBT in Puerto Rico Pride parades in the United States Recurring events established in 2003 2003 establishments in Puerto Rico Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico {{LGBT-event-stub

History

See also

References