No official numbers have been released yet, but early estimates are that 3 to 3.5 million attended the Gay Pride parade at Avenida Paulista yesterday. Some websites, however, report that there were less people at the parade this year than at the previous two.
I did not attend the parade this year again for several reasons which I have listed in the past (1,200 police officers for 3 million people being one of them), but I went through every news site and Brazilian blog this morning to put together a list of links to pictures and articles about the parade you should check out.
- At a press conference before the parade yesterday, São Paulo Governor José Serra confirmed his support for civil unions for homosexual couples. (Folha Online)
- Nineteen floats were on the schedule, but not a single São Paulo nightclub was involved in the parade this year.
- Gay Pride weekend brought in 400 thousand tourists and R$200 million to the city São Paulo this year. Only 5% of the tourists came from abroad. Fyi, the only other event that brings in more tourists to the city is the F-1 Grand Prix. (G1)
- Model Edilson Nascimento showed up at the parade yesterday, along with Têtu's editor Gilles Wullus.
- 392 was the number of medical emergencies at Avenida Paulista yesterday, 99% of them being caused by alcohol abuse. (Folha Online)
- The police is investigating the explosion of a homemade bomb in downtown São Paulo last night. The explosion injured 21 people who had just left the parade. On another sad note, a 35-year-old man was attacked last night by a group of men at prominently gay street Frei Caneca. The man was taken to the hospital with severe brain damage, and is in a comma. Other serious incidents last night involved a young man being attacked and robbed, a man being stabbed in the leg, and a journalist and cameraman being beat by a group of three men. (G1)
- Not a surprise there: the police has already filed dozens of reports of stolen wallets, cameras, and cellphones. (G1)
View pictures of the 2009 São Paulo Gay Pride parade at:
13ª Parada Gay de São Paulo. (Videocast Folha Online)
- Parada Gay 2009. (UOL Entretenimento)
- Veja fotos da Parada Gay de São Paulo. (G1 Fotos)
- Confira as primeiras imagens da Parada de SP. (ParouTudo)
- Mais imagens de quem esteve na Avenida Paulista. (ParouTudo)
- Parada do Orgulho Gay reúne milhares em São Paulo. (Terra Fotos)
- Álbum de beldades. (MixBrasil)
- 13ª Parada Gay. (Galeria Estadão)
Comments
The comments to this entry are closed.
What is the population of the city of Sao Paulo? 3 to 3.5 million people attending the parade must be a significant fraction of the population. This seems to be an encouraging sign of the increasing acceptance of the gay lifestyle among the general populace. Too bad for the few bad apples who have to spoil everything with violent acts.
Posted by: Steve | 06/16/2009 at 12:46 AM
THANK YOU! I quoted and shared your story with my friends on my blog. In the US, I think we need to remember that the fight isn't only here, but everywhere, and the violence and such that occurs is something we ALL need to try to stop! I've been a fan of your blog for some time now, and although I love Brazil and would love to visit, I know that there is a lot of violence towards the gay community there. Thank you again for doing such a great job and sharing!
Posted by: Gosoter | 06/16/2009 at 10:47 AM