Madrid celebrates gay pride

Madrid celebrates gay pride
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By h.b. - Jul 4, 2009 - 8:41 PM
Organisers say a million people were on the streets of the capital on Saturday

One of the many parties in the Plaza de Chueca - EFE

The Chueca district of Madrid this weekend celebrated the capital’s Gay Pride celebrations, which this year called for more freedom for gay youngsters at school.

Thousands of people turned out on to the streets of Madrid on Saturday to see the parade of 31 floats this year running from Puerta de Alcalá and closing central streets. Organisers said the numbers reached a million as police were recommending local citizens to use the metro. The Gay Pride manifesto was read this year in the Plaza de España. Minister for Equality, Bibiana Aído, attended the event and lamented the fact that 50% of gay adolescents in Spanish schools stil suffer violence.

However the Chueca celebrations could be limited in future years as some residents of the district say the noise of the fiesta is deafening and they demand the right to sleep soundly. A new agreement with the organisers of the gay fiesta and the City Hall will see more control on times in future.

Meanwhile the first gay church has opened in Spain. ‘La iglesia de gays y transexuales’ has Split from evanvelists in Valencia, but the exact location of the church is being kept secret to avoid possible reprisals.
They say they want to train priests to celebrate gay and lesbian weddings.

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