A New Gay-Pride Organization Has Emerged in Puerto Vallarta The Yucatan Times
go to original June 1, 2021

A new pride organization has emerged in Puerto Vallarta. Nuestro Orgullo Vallarta (Our Vallarta Pride), is an LGBTQ+ festival developed by and for the local community that is separate from Vallarta Pride, which has been organized since 2013 by ACT LGBT, a non-profit organization representing the various interests of LGBT owned and managed businesses.

So, this year, there were more Pride events for locals and visitors to enjoy. Pink & Proud Puerto Vallarta partnered with both organizations for their pride week. Check out pinkandproudpvr.com.

In celebrating Gay Pride in Puerto Vallarta, Nuestro Orgullo went beyond typical circuit parties. Cultural, artistic and recreational events outside of the club scene were part of this first edition. These events, which support SETAC – a non-profit community and wellness center whose mission is to reduce HIV and other STDs in the Banderas Bay region through education, detection and prevention – range from camping experiences to a Red Dress Party, and everything in between.

The global COVID-19 Pandemic hit SETAC particularly hard, like so many other nonprofits around the world, because they have relied so much on financial support from Vallarta’s LGBT business community since they began more than 11 years ago.

This community saw its revenues dry up virtually overnight when the tourist trade shut down completely in Spring 2020. Since then, with so many in the businesses struggling not to go bankrupt, SETAC has had to rely on occasional donations from international supporters just to keep the doors open. They’re predicting that it will be well into 2022 before the local economy recovers enough for businesses to be able to start supporting them again in the ways they traditionally have.

So, while tourism is now picking up and is expected to continue expanding this year, they are not yet out of the woods by any means, and are still counting on donations from U.S. and Canadian friends and supporters to help them provide HIV medication, PrEP, counseling services, lab work, and transgender support to the over 2,500 locals that make use of SETAC services.

Read the originnal at The Yucatan Times.

  Learn about ACT LGBT Association