Date: Sun, 6 Jul 1997 23:51:34 -0700 (PDT) From: Rex Wockner Subject: WOCKNER/CROWDS CHEER TIJUANA PRIDE MARCH Copyright (c) 1997 Rex Wockner. All rights reserved. Do not publish or broadcast without permission. [acute accents: 1st e in Jimenez, e in Mexico, e in Jose, i in Garcia, e in Que. Also, the phrase ?Y Que? takes an UPSIDE-DOWN question mark before the Y] CROWDS CHEER MARCH ON TIJUANA STRIP Organizers Receive Death Threats by Rex Wockner TIJUANA, Mexico -- About 225 gays and lesbians, half from Mexico and half from the U.S., walked the length of Tijuana's glitzy and rowdy Revolution Avenue Saturday afternoon, June 14, to loud cheers from both supporters and hundreds of surprised shoppers and partiers. It was Tijuana's third annual gay/lesbian pride march down the city's busiest street. Another 200 or so people walked the entire route on the sidewalk, likely avoiding the street due to the presence of TV news crews. Other supporters, many wearing gay T-shirts or waving rainbow flags, cheered from the balconies of the large discotheques that line Revolution Avenue. "The reception from the people is very good. I feel great," said Grand Marshal Patria Jimenez, a lesbian activist from Mexico City who is expected to win election to Mexico's Congress in the July 6 election. (Two hundred of the 500 members of Mexico's Chamber of Deputies are selected by political parties rather than by direct voting under a system of proportional representation. Jiminez's election via this process is essentially guaranteed due to her position on the party list.) Marching contingents included the organizers, Grupo ?Y Que? (And So What? Group), the Mobilization in Memory of the Victims of AIDS, AIDS Project Mexicali (Mexicali, a desert city of 1 million people, located 120 miles east of Tijuana, is the capital of Baja California), Mexicali Pride (which will be held Sept. 20), Gay & Lesbian Latinos con Orgullo, the Imperial Court of San Diego County, the Metropolitan Community Church and Long Beach Pride. "I think it's about time for this kind of movement because this is a community that everybody should respect for their courage to be recognized," said Adriana Cortez who was driving the Televisa- Channel 12 news van. "There's a lot of people in Mexican society that hide their homosexuality. I don't share [their sexuality] at all but I think they're citizens like any other Mexican person." As in previous years, a 10-piece mariachi band followed behind the lead banner. The half-hour march ended with a rally in a park followed by a dance at Mike's, Tijuana's most popular gay disco. Although there were no anti-gay incidents during the parade, organizers Jose Navarro and Alejandro Garcia received six telephoned death threats at their home in the days leading up to the march. "They called after we advertised the march and put our phone number in the media," said Navarro "The threats came in early in the morning -- different voices. They said they were going to shoot us and kill us all because we had no right to be marching. It was annoying." This year's march was dedicated to Garcia -- one of the two founding fathers of Tijuana gay activism. Navarro said Garcia has been very ill for the past three months. Last year, about 300 people marched. The first march, in 1995, attracted 85 pioneers. Tijuana's population is not known but estimates go as high as 2 million, making it the second-largest city on the West Coast. -end- Photos available. Ask and you shall receive.