The world's focus for most of the last decade when it came to the struggle for LGBT rights was largely centered on North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
The fight over same-sex marriage in the West, LGBT refugees fleeing persecution in Muslim countries, HIV prevention throughout the Asian continent, and the growing influence of anti-gay American evangelicals in sub-Saharan Africa have long dominated headlines and non-governmental organizations' attention.
Largely forgotten was Latin America. Apart from the influence of anti-gay reggae stars in Jamaica, the countries comprising Central and South America, along with the Caribbean and Mexico, made up a lost hemisphere in terms of global awareness of their LGBT communities.
The oversight is illustrated in the yearly ranking of top destinations for LGBT travelers compiled by San Francisco-based Community Marketing Inc. Only Mexican gay-friendly beach resorts Cancun and Puerto Vallarta make the list of locales that attracted at least 4 percent of LGBT travelers in the U.S. last year.
In recent months Latin America has emerged from the shadows as a region on the cutting edge for LGBT rights. Same-sex couples can now marry in parts of Mexico; Argentina is a leader not only on marriage equality but also on transgender rights; and the communist-controlled island of Cuba has a growing reputation as being gay-friendly.
The world, in turn, is taking greater notice of LGBT Latin Americans' successes.
In late May the media site Gay Star News ran a story exploring how gay rights are changing Latin America. The region's LGBT communities "have always existed, albeit quietly," noted the article, but are now "making themselves known to their neighbors, politicians and the world."
A team of Associated Press reporters throughout Latin America recently penned an article detailing the various LGBT rights gains in the region as well as how out LGBT officials are now winning elected office or are serving in high government posts in a number of Latin American countries.
The list includes Ecuador's new health minister, Carina Vance, an out lesbian who earned a master's degree in public health from UC Berkeley; Tatiana Pineros, a transgender woman who leads Bogota's social welfare agency; Brazil's first openly gay national lawmaker, Representative Jean Wyllys; and Osvaldo Lopez, the only openly gay member of Argentina's Congress who was appointed to fill a vacancy last July.
"There is no question there have been substantial advances from Latin America over the past year to year and a half," Jessica Stern, the acting executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, told the Bay Area Reporter during a phone interview this week. "I think, in part, the increased attention is the result of years of successful and strategic activism by activists around Latin America and the Caribbean. No question people have worked very hard to realize the accomplishments we are seeing today."
It is not just positive achievements that have garnered global notice. International press coverage is increasingly documenting incidents of hate crimes and violence against LGBT Latin Americans.
The death in March of Daniel Zamudio, a gay 24-year-old Chilean attacked by a group of neo-Nazis, received worldwide headlines and galvanized gay and straight Chileans to action. It led to the passage in May of a sweeping hate crimes law that had languished in the capital of Santiago for seven years due to opposition from evangelical Christian groups.
One reason for the sudden spotlight on gay Latin America is the mainstream media devoting resources and providing more coverage to LGBT issues in the region, said gay New York-based blogger Andres Duque.
"For some of us who have been paying attention, we have noticed in the last decade all these tremendous changes taking place. Media like the AP or [Agence France-Presse] and other media have not really paid attention to the region until recently," said Duque, who grew up in Medellin, Columbia and now covers gay rights advancements and setbacks in Latin America on his Blabbeando blog. "U.S. media is much more attuned to Europe and Africa in terms of advancement of LGBT rights."
San Jose resident Marta Donayre, a Brazilian who was born in Panama and raised in Ecuador, credits the Internet and the growth of social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, with helping to bring LGBT stories from Latin America to a larger audience.
"I think the major reason of why we are hearing more about this, as well as LGBT news from around the world (like say, the King of Nepal being okay with LGBT marriage) has to do with the web. The Internet has enabled many small and micro organizations with no funds to have a site," said Donayre, an out lesbian who works with LGBT asylum seekers. "Many of them have simple free blogs. All you need to operate one of these is a computer. We not only hear more about LGBT news from Latina America, but hear more about Latin America altogether."
Gay rights advancements cover a wide gamut
Adding to the allure of Mexico as a top gay vacation destination was a court ruling in 2010 that declared same-sex marriages performed in Mexico City would be recognized throughout the country. Last month the state of Quintana Roo, on the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula and home to Cancun, declared that it would marry LGBT couples.
Looking to capitalize on wedding tourism, the Mexico Tourism Board touted the country's gay-friendly nuptials at "Love Mexico" events it held in late May in Dallas and New York. The burgeoning LGBT marriage market could net the country's wedding industry $9.5 billion per year, Forbes recently estimated.
"With its combination of natural beauty, rich culture, world class hotels and resorts and outstanding service Mexico is the ultimate destination for weddings, honeymoons and romantic getaways. As the destination weddings market grows and changes Mexico will continue to develop its offering," stated Eduardo Chaillo, the tourism board's executive meetings unit director.
The city of Buenos Aires, Argentina is following suit and last month authorized marriage equality for LGBT tourists. It came in response to a request made by la Federacion Argentina de Lesbianas, Gays, Bisexuales, y Trans (FALGBT).
The provinces of Santa Fe, Tierra del Fuego, and Buenos Aires had already authorized the marriages of foreign same-sex couples. Argentina decided to recognize same-sex marriage among its own citizens two years ago.
More recently FALGBT launched its "Marriage Equality in Argentina for Every Couple in the World" campaign, aimed at extending the benefits of the Argentine marriage equality law worldwide.
"With the marriage between tourists in the City of Buenos Aires, a new phase begins. More and more will come to Argentina to enjoy the rights that are not recognized in their countries, and they will then be able to seek the recognition of their unions by judicial means," stated FALGBT President Esteban Paulon. "We welcome the decision by the municipality of Buenos Aires to guarantee the recognition of these rights and promote equality from the capital of our country to the rest of the world."
Not only was it the first South American country to legalize same-sex marriage, Argentina made history again last month by passing the most lenient gender change laws in the world and agreeing to cover gender reassignment surgery. Citizens wishing to change their gender on official forms no longer need to first undergo surgery or have a doctor's note.
In May 2011 Brazil's Supreme Court legalized same-sex civil unions, granting the same rights as those given to heterosexual partners. Lower courts have since ruled that couples could turn their unions into legally recognized marriages.
How these legal gains impact the day-to-day affairs of LGBT people in the various countries remains to be seen. LGBT rights activists stress that the judicial and legislative victories may take time to impact societal bias against LGBTs.
"Latin America has a well-documented history of not going by the laws in the books, or their constitutions �" not that this is any different in the U.S.," noted Donayre, whose asylum clients come mostly from Central America and Brazil. "Pro-LGBT crime laws are simply not observed at all."
One of the more homophobic places is Honduras, where the police have been implicated in a number of transgender women's deaths since 2010. Human Rights Watch noted in a 2012 report on the country that the anti-LGBT crimes are "rarely followed by rigorous investigations, let alone criminal convictions."
Last year the Honduran minister of justice and human rights did condemn hate crimes perpetrated against the LGBT community, noted the agency's report, and both the attorney general's office and the city of San Pedro Sula created special units to investigate the killings of transgender women.
"Honduras lacks anti-discrimination legislation, and current criminal laws expose LGBT community members to arbitrary arrest for vaguely defined conduct such as 'offenses against decency,'" stated the Human Rights Watch report.
"Honduras is a country where there are not only pervasive hate crimes against LGBT Hondurans but also a strong and savvy LGBT movement," said IGLHRC's Stern. "One reason why Honduras comes to our attention is not only the extent of the violence but also because activists there are really savvy about documenting human rights violations."
IGLHRC publishes what it calls "Shadow Reports" that examine how countries treat their LGBT citizens. In March it released one examining Guatemala that it jointly authored with a number of organizations, including Organizacion Trans Reinas de la Noche (OTRANS) and Red Latinoamericana y del Caribe de Personas Trans (RED LACTRANS).
The 26-page report found that Guatemalans are routinely discriminated against based on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity "by both state and non-state actors, including in access to healthcare and education services."
It also documented how the Guatemalan government bears responsibility for "the extrajudicial killings of LGBT individuals" and has "failed to adequately prevent, to investigate and/or to prosecute incidents of gender-based violence and killings, including against LGBT individuals."
Similar problems exist in countries throughout the region. Last year IGLHRC released a 23-page report emphasizing that, "the human rights situation of (LGBT) people in Jamaica is dire."
Not only does Jamaica retain colonial legislation criminalizing same-sex sexual conduct, noted the report, the country's politicians "publically engage in homophobic speech, which fosters an atmosphere of intolerance toward LGBT people within the Jamaican population."
The violence and anti-LGBT discrimination is not only "common and widespread," stated the report, but is often exacerbated by the Jamaican Constabulary Force, which is often "complicit in these crimes."
In 2010 a 19-page report on El Salvador issued by IGLHRC and partner agencies in the country noted how its "penal norms do not explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression." It also documented a number of anti-LGBT crimes in the country, including the deaths of 27 people "of a non-conforming sexual orientation and/or gender identity."
Despite it currently looking to hire a new coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean, IGLHRC is preparing to release two new reports this year: on Guyana in July and Chile in October. The timing of their issuance has to do with both governments coming up for review under the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
"In both instances activists in those countries are doing an analysis of human rights violations experienced by lesbians, bisexual women, and transgender people," said Stern.
Looking at Latin America overall, said Stern, "without a doubt the region is on the vanguard" when it comes to advancing equality for all. At the same time, she said, "the decriminalization of sodomy and normal legal recognition for gay rights doesn't translate into safer lives for LGBT people. We need to see social change as well."
Gay travelers find warm welcome
LGBT travelers to the region, at least, say they have noticed societal shifts toward greater acceptance of LGBT people in various Latin American countries.
San Francisco resident Xavier Barrera, 45, grew up in Mexico City and has traveled extensively throughout the region since his 20s. Including visiting his parents and family who remain in Mexico, the financial consultant and LGBT rights activist has toured parts of Chile, Cuba, Panama, Honduras, Columbia, Peru, and Argentina.
"I have always felt safe. I think sometimes ignorance is bliss," he said. "Not like safe walking in San Francisco holding hands with your partner. At the same time I never felt threatened as I came out of a bar or club."
Barrera and his partner of 12 years, Kirk Hahn, were part of a gay entourage of friends who went to South America in 2010 to celebrate Hahn's 50th birthday.
"We never had any issues whatsoever," recalled Barrera. "It was very clear we were a bunch of gay men travelling around Peru and it was never an issue."
It came as no surprise, said Barrera, considering the largest Pride in the world is in South America in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which expects 4.3 million people to attend the June 3, 2013 celebration. He finds Argentina and Mexico particularly inviting to gay tourists.
Puerto Vallarta, where his parents now reside, "is the P-town for the West Coast of America and Canada," said Barrera. "Buenos Aires; Lima, Peru; and Mexico City are big draws for the gay traveler."
An American citizen for the last decade, Barrera marveled at the fact that his home country now offers more rights to gay couples than does the U.S.
"Who ever would have guessed Mexico City would have had civil marriage before California," he questioned. "As this country progresses, as far as rights, it either creates a spillover effect or opens your eyes to see what your neighbors are doing as you travel."
For nearly a decade gay San Francisco resident Jeff Cotter, the executive director and founder of Rainbow World Fund, has been leading groups of LGBT people to Guatemala on humanitarian trips. He has also visited Mexico and, earlier this year, organized a trip to Cuba, where he intends to return next March.
"We travel as an openly gay organization," said Cotter. "We go and often talk to groups about our lives as gay people in the states."
Last year, while in Guatemala, Cotter's group met with members of OTRANS, which is led by transgender women who mostly work as prostitutes.
"They are really brave and formed a network of transgender people throughout the country. It is sort of like an underground railroad to get them to the big cities where they can at least survive," said Cotter. "In Guatemala City they still face a lot of violence and are not protected."
During the Cuban trip Cotter and his fellow travelers met with Mariela Castro, the daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro who runs a sex center in Havana and has emerged as a vocal supporter for LGBT rights, not only in Cuba but also throughout Latin America. [Their meeting led to Castro agreeing to speak about LGBT issues at San Francisco's LGBT Community Center in late May while in town for a conference.]
Like with the Guatemalan visits, the Cuba trip brought the LGBT humanitarians in contact with faith leaders and church parishioners throughout the country.
"We visited all sorts of projects in Cuba. We also met with different church leaders throughout the trip to learn about where they were at with accepting gay people and where their level of consciousness is at," said Cotter. "We do the same thing in Guatemala. We want to build bridges with the religious communities there because they often have a lot of influence."
This year's Pride theme of "Global Equality" is also aimed at strengthening awareness of the worldwide LGBT community and fostering closer ties. IGLHRC's Stern hopes that attendees at San Francisco's LGBT parade and celebration will focus on what obligations Americans have toward contributing to the pursuit of global justice.
"What does that mean we should do and what does that mean we shouldn't do," asked Stern. "The second issue that comes to mind for me is how can we as concerned citizens of the world, who care about global equality, best understand that equality looks different depending on where you are and who you are."