San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Pride is shining again
Festival ‘kind of like a very wide safe space’ is back for first time since 2019
Braving the heat, hundreds of San Antonians lined up Saturday afternoon outside Crockett Park to attend the first in-person Pride Bigger Than Texas Parade and Festival-San Antonio since 2019.
Vendors hawking chicken on a stick and other San Antonio delicacies were on hand to sate appetites of those who couldn’t wait until they were admitted to the park. Inside were hundreds more attendees checking out the festival — and even more vendors offering not only food but T-shirts, earrings and other knickknacks.
The turnout was bigger than usual, said David Uminski, 40, a professor at St. Philip’s College.
“Everyone’s just having a good time,” he said.
Phillip Barcena, president of Pride San Antonio, the host organization, expected that “definitely” more than 10,000 people would be attending the traditionally annual event that culminates in an evening parade down Main.
“It’s kind of just nice to be here, to be around people like you, and you’re not worried and you’re not scared and you feel comfortable in your own skin,” said Cat Haynes-Jones, 44, who was there with her wife, Andi, 43.
“And people can express themselves,” added Kari Cantwell, 15. “It’s kind of like a very wide safe space.”
Barcena said Pride San Antonio, mindful that COVID-19 was still circulating in the community, had taken steps to raise awareness of the virus. Representatives for Metro Health offered free testing for COVID-19 and sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV, syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea, as well as vaccinations against diseases such as HPV and meningitis B in one corner of Crockett Park.
“We really wanted to main
tain the responsibility of putting on an event, because of the fact that COVID has decimated our society. It really has,” Barcena said.
The park was full of bounce houses, booths staffed by representatives for sponsors such as Cricket Wireless, and food stands selling miniature tacos, fruit cups and other snacks.
The schedule of events included performances by Angel Bonilla, the first trans contestant on the show “The Voice,” and BeBe Zahara Benet and Cynthia Lee Fontaine, contestants on “RuPaul's Drag Race.”
“This shines a light on the city of San Antonio,” Barcena said. “It shines a light on the community that we have.”
Many of the kids, teenagers and adults milling around the park wore clothing items or carried accessories signifying their support for the LGBT community.
Barcena said that support was necessary in the current national
political climate. Dozens of states, including Texas, recently have passed or attempted to pass legislation that has been criticized by detractors as transphobic.
Referencing those political developments and the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that determined that women had a constitutional right to abortion, Barcena and others said they felt it was especially important to take a stand. Attending Pride events was a way for them to show support for the rights of certain minorities.
For some, the ruling was a call to action.
“I was planning on joining politics anyway, just to advocate for the rights of youth and children and women,” said Kayla Muzquiz, a 25-year-old college student.
But, Muzquiz said, “with Roe being overturned, I have to kind of kick-start that. I can't wait any more until I get my first college degree.”