Q COSTA RICA – San Jose was filled with color this Sunday to celebrate sexual diversity and demand equal rights for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex (LGBT) population in Costa Rica.
The march started in La Sabana, on the west of San Jose, by the Leon Cortes statue, moving east through Paseo Colon and Avenida Segunda, terminating in the Plaza de la Democracia.
Thousands took part in the day’s activity to raise their voices to demand equal marriage, a secular state, an antidiscrimination law and recognition of gender identity. that included a number of government officials, such as Vice-President Ana Helena Chacon and the deputy minister of Youth, José Ricardo Sánchez.
Participating in the event were also a number of government officials, such as Vice-President Ana Helena Chacon, the deputy minister of Youth, José Ricardo Sánchez; the president of Inamu, Alejandra Mora; Ombudswoman, Monserrat Solano; and the president of the IMAS, Emilio Arias.
This year, Jazmín Elizondo and Laura Flórez-Estrada, the same-sex couple that was able to marry due to a civil registry error in the personal information of one of them, were the LGBT march marshals, along with the ministra de Justicia y Paz (Justice and Peace), Cecilia Sánchez.
Since 2010, the LGBT community in Costa Rica has made important advances such as:
- Death benefits that include a pension
- University of Costa Rica (UCR) and National University students (UNA) can have the name of their choice on all identity badges
- A gender and photo on the Cedula (official identification issued by the Civil Registry) can be of the gender the person identifies with
- Same-sex couples can insure each other in the social security (CCSS) plan
