LGBT pride in Ecuador

LGBT pride in Ecuador is celebrated annually in various cities across the country with a series of events, festivals, and marches that seek to vindicate sexual diversity, the rights of LGBT people, and the respect they deserve. These celebrations, which mostly take place during the month of June, usually unfold in a festive atmosphere where participants attend wearing colorful clothing, masks, and rainbow flags. The presence of floats is also common as part of the marches.

The events in honor of LGBT pride have their origin in the Stonewall riots, a confrontation between police and activists from the sexual diversity community that occurred on June 28, 1969, in New York (United States) and marked a milestone in the struggle for LGBT rights internationally. In Ecuador, the first pride march took place on June 28, 1998, in the city of Quito and brought together about twenty people who started from El Arbolito Park and traveled through several streets and avenues of the capital.

During the first years of the 21st century, pride celebrations spread to cities such as Guayaquil, Manta, and Loja. In the following decades, pride marches began to be held annually in more than a dozen Ecuadorian cities, including, in addition to those already mentioned, localities such as Ambato, Cuenca, Portoviejo, Santo Domingo, Durán, and Babahoyo. These manifestations gather from hundreds of people to tens of thousands of attendees, as is the case of the marches in Quito and Guayaquil.