Playa del Carmen to Host Second Lesbian Visibility March, Expecting Up to 300 Participants

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — A second Lesbian Visibility March is scheduled for April 25 in Playa del Carmen, with organizers expecting between 200 and 300 participants. The event, called by the collective Les Voces, aims to create a space for recognition, remembrance, and demands against persistent discrimination in the city.

During a press conference, Evelyn Virgilio, director of Les Voces and the Les Voces Fest festival, said the activity aligns with the commemoration of Lesbian Visibility Day, internationally observed on April 26. In Playa del Carmen, the march was scheduled for the day before.

Virgilio explained that the march seeks to highlight the diversity of experiences within lesbian identities and emphasized it is a trans-inclusive exercise, also recognizing the participation of trans lesbian women, non-binary people, and other sex-gender dissidents within the community.

She noted that one focus of the event is building safe, political, and cultural spaces free from exclusion, while calling on media, civil society, and authorities to participate with respect and effective recognition of rights. Since its creation, activities by the collective have maintained an open stance toward all trans identities as a response to contexts of transphobia that, she said, continue in Playa del Carmen.

Regarding the route, Silvia, a member of the organizing collective, detailed that the march will begin at 4 p.m. at Parque Fundadores. The contingent will proceed along Quinta Avenida to Avenida Constituyentes, continue on 15 Avenida Norte, follow Calle 10 Norte, and conclude at Plaza 28 de Julio, where an artistic and cultural program will start at 6 p.m.

Organizers clarified that this mobilization does not represent a separation from the LGBTQI+ movement but a specific action to highlight particular issues faced by lesbian women and related identities, which they said have historically been marginalized even within sexual diversity spaces.

Virgilio stressed that lesbian women face dual discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation, justifying the need for a dedicated event within the sexual diversity calendar. She also clarified that the collective will participate in June during Pride Month activities.

This will be the second edition of the Lesbian Visibility March in Playa del Carmen. The first was held last year and, according to organizers, achieved higher attendance than expected despite being an initial call.

They indicated that this time they started promotion earlier and structured a broader program, so they consider increased participation possible.

Regarding the local context, they noted that expressions of discrimination continue in workplace and social settings in Playa del Carmen. During the press conference, cases of aggression against lesbian couples in recent years were recalled, including acid attacks and harassment at private homes during dates related to sexual diversity.

Organizers insisted the march’s intention is not to divide but to set a precedent so future generations or any other collective can keep this mobilization alive as part of the public rights agenda in the municipality.