Gay pride in Brazil's biggest city
Crowd estimated at 2 million
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) -- Almost 2 million gay men, lesbians, transvestites and their supporters -- many in lavish Carnival costumes and waving rainbow-colored flags -- paraded in Brazil's biggest city on Sunday to celebrate gay pride and call for the legalization of civil unions between homosexuals.
More than 20 sound trucks blasting music and carrying go-go boys and drag queens, rolled down the skyscraper-lined Avenida Paulista for the Ninth Annual Sao Paulo Gay Parade -- a parade that organizers said was one of the world's largest gay pride events ever.
Police and organizers said almost 2 million people, including 700,000 tourists from other cities and countries, attended. Last year police said that about 1.5 million people participated.
By comparison, San Francisco's gay pride parade typically attracts tens of thousands of people and last year's world gay pride day celebrations in Berlin attracted between 200,000 and 500,000 participants.
"With these many people showing up, the parade is a major step to strike people's prejudice against gays everywhere," said Pedro Almeida, a spokesman with the Brazilian Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans-gender Pride Parade Association.
"What a great way to increase visibility for gays across the country," said 22-year-old Joao Paulo da Silva, who was parading with a large feathered ornament around his neck.
The parade's main theme was the legalization of civil unions in the South American country of 182 million. Civil unions between same-sex couples are permitted only in Brazil's southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul.
Sao Paulo Mayor Jose Serra and former mayor Marta Suplicy -- an avid supporter of gay rights -- spoke to the crowd in between live concerts with some of Brazil's most popular singers.
The parade was part of several other gay pride events that will take place throughout Brazil in June.
Brazil is the largest Roman Catholic nation in the world, and the Catholic Church has steadfastly opposed allowing gays to marry.
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