Thousands of Argentines waving rainbow flags marched in the annual Gay pride parade on the weekend of November 18th & 19th in Buenos Aires, where some said they still face discrimination in one of the most gay-friendly cities in Latin America.
Something of a gay Mecca, by Latin America standards at least, Buenos Aires hosts a thriving gay and lesbian community with many gay clubs, bars and social venues. The main Pride Parade is held in the streets of downtown Buenos Aires on the first Saturday of November, to celebrate the formation of the first-ever gay group in Buenos Aires in 1969. Thousands of gays and non-gays fro
m many different organisations join this popular, flamboyant event .
The Argentine capital became the first city in the region to pass same-sex civil union laws in 2002, and this year played host to soccer's ``gay world cup'' and saw the opening of the first five-star hotel catering to homosexuals.
But activists said more needs to be done to correct discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender people.
Dancing atop booming sound trucks and waving from rainbow-flag-draped cars, the revelers snaked through downtown Buenos Aires past the capital's Government House and the iconic Obelisk monument.
Argentina's first gay pride parade was held in 1992