HUNDREDS PARTY AT PRIDE PARADE
Hundreds gather to celebrate ABQ’s 42nd annual Pride Parade
Albuquerque’s 42nd annual Pride Parade and PrideFest on Central Avenue was all about celebrating.
In the words of legendary drag queen RuPaul, “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?”
But for many in the gay community, the journey toward self-love and acceptance can be a difficult one.
At Saturday’s 42nd annual Albuquerque Pride Parade and PrideFest, though, it was all about celebrating.
Hundreds of spectators, many swathed in every color of the rainbow and covered in glitter, lined Central Avenue as parade participants walked, marched and danced their way down the route.
Around 100 groups registered for the parade.
Political candidates, corporations, dance troupes, the state’s national labs, veterans, Native Americans and dozens of other groups were represented.
And every person there had their own story.
For Janet Kramer, Saturday marked the first time she brought her children with her to the parade.
She first attended at age 40, the same year she came out, nine years ago.
“I was married, and I had three kids,” Kramer said, as the Albuquerque Roller Derby skated past. “I realized when I was 40 that I had not been my true self up until that point.”
That realization played into her decision to bring her children this year, along with her wife, Sonya Garcia.
“I want them to feel like whatever they are is OK,” she said.
Farther east on Central, Ryan Chavez watched the spectacle with her aunt, Denise Chavez.
Ryan Chavez, 15, stood draped in a rainbow-striped flag with the statement, “Make America Gay Again,” a play on President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan.
She wore the flag in protest of President Trump’s efforts to ban transgender people from serving in the military.
She is a lesbian, and she said her family and peers are largely accepting of that.
“She’s ours no matter what,” her aunt said. “We love her the way she is. That’s how God made her.”
Ryan Chavez said events like the Pride Parade and being surrounded by others like her helps to ease a feeling of isolation.
“It feels like I’m not all alone,” she said.
Martha Zapata, 20, spoke of the same feeling, and said the support of her friends has helped her become more comfortable in her own skin.
“I remember coming out to my mom when I was 18, and she basically just shoved me back in the closet,” Zapata said.
She encouraged youth in similar situations to reach out and to surround themselves with an accepting and supportive group.
“Don’t let all the negativity push you down,” she said. “If the people around you don’t accept you as who you are, then they aren’t the right people for your life.”