Hundreds of Puerto Ricans from the LGBT community, joined by their allies, marched through the historic streets of the capital, San Juan, to mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia 2014.

“The parade is held to educate our reality as LGBT communities and to show that we are not alone” noted David Román Efe spokesman for All Puerto Rico organization, which is directed by Pedro Julio Serrano.

LGBTI activists and allies at the San Juan city legislature on IDAHOT 2014.

Román was one of the hundreds of people who attended the activity under the slogan “For what is needed”, which started in the Totem Plaza del Quinto Centenario, San Juan, to finish at the city’s principal legislative building.

Serrano, meanwhile, noted in a statement that the purpose of the parade was to encourage broader society to end discrimination against people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. “Puerto Rico has to pay off its debt to human rights, so that no one is above anyone,” Serrano said.

The organizers asked participants to use the hashtags #‎porquenosdeben‬ ‪#‎IDAHOT‬ ‪#‎prlibredeodio and‬ ‪#‎todossomoslgbttiq‬.

You can watch a video from the event here:

“La marcha sirve para educar sobre nuestra realidad como comunidades LGBT y mejor aún para demostrar que no estamos solos”, resaltó a Efe David Román, portavoz de la organización Puerto Rico para Todos, dirigida por Pedro Julio Serrano.

Román fue uno de los cientos de personas que acudieron a la actividad bajo la consigna “¡Porque nos deben!” y que arrancó en el Tótem de la Plaza del Quinto Centenario del Viejo San Juan para terminar en el Capitolio, sede del Legislativo.

Serrano, por su parte, resaltó en un comunicado que el propósito de la marcha fue pedir a la sociedad que no se discrimine a las personas por su orientación sexual o identidad de género.”Puerto Rico tiene que saldar la deuda que tiene pendiente con nuestros derechos humanos para que nadie esté por encima de nadie”, dijo Serrano.

Los organizadores llamaron a los participantes a utilizar los hashtag #‎porquenosdeben‬ ‪#‎IDAHOT‬ ‪#‎prlibredeodio‬ ‪#‎todossomoslgbttiq‬

Report also available in Spanish.

Photos of events:

Media Reports:

http://pedrojulioserrano.com/2011/05/18/marchan-en-contra-de-la-homofobia-y-la-transfobia/
http://puertorico.univision.com/ultima-hora/puerto-rico/video/2013-05-17/celebran-dia-contra-homofobia

The Education Department has just approved and put into practice a new framework for sexual education, which includes in the curricula the teaching of concepts such as abstinence and contraception, and such values as respect, trust and responsibility. The document does not mention sexual orientation or gender identity and does not differentiate between sex and gender.