The annual LGBTI diversity parade – Pride Costa Rica 2018 will take place July 1 in its ninth consecutive year.

The event will start at noon leaving from the Leon Cortes statue in La Sabana and will go through Paseo Colon, 2nd Avenue and will finish at the Plaza de la Democracia.

Javier Umaña, coordinator of the event commented that the public will enjoy a colorful event with the participation of 25 floats and vehicles, music, shows, and international guests from Central America. This year the event is dedicated to Ana Vega, activist; Jimena Franco, transsexual actress, and a group of people who presented the advisory opinion to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

“We have a lot to celebrate this year, love won”, said Umaña, who also mentioned they will continue to fight for same sex marriage to become a reality in Costa Rica. This year the LGBTI community in Costa Rica also celebrated the decision of the Costa Rica Supreme Electoral Court (TSE in Spanish) to give citizens the possibility to change the name in their national ID according to their gender identity. The Costa Rican government also named for the first time, a Commissioner for Matters Relating the LGBTI population.

As it is tradition, the organization will also be hosting the Pride Awards on June 19, at the Magaly movie theater in Barrio La California starting at 7 p.m., tickets have a cost of 8 thousand colones, additional information can be found in the Facebook page @MarchadelaDIversidad.