Sexual Diversity Festival Canceled in Oaxaca; for the second time in 45 years

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Juchitán, Oaxaca. La Vela de las Auténticas Intrépidas Buscadoras del Peligro, considered one of the largest festivals of sexual diversity in Mexico, will be suspended for the second time in 45 years that it has been held, due to the Covid-19 pandemic; The first time it was not carried out was in 2017 due to the 8.2 earthquake that affected Juchitán.

This celebration of “true inclusion”, as defined by the muxe organizers (members of the LGTB + community in this region of Oaxaca), generally takes place in November and annually brings together between 8,000 to 10,000 people at the local, national and international levels.

Attendees enjoy a walk by the Muxe community through the streets of Juchitán and a nightly evening where the Queen of each year is crowned.

La comunidad muxe celebrará cuatro décadas de la vela de Las Intrépidas en  Juchitán

It is the only celebration of its kind that also receives the blessing of the Catholic Church through a mass and concludes with a party called Lavada de ollas.

Felina Santiago, president of the Autenticas Intrépidas, emphasized that the suspension was made in a coordinated way to avoid coronavirus infections, but explained that this does not mean that they stop demanding justice for the murder of its founder, Oscar Cazorla, which occurred in February 2018.

She indicated that in an organized manner, the more than 40 members decided to cancel due to the risk it implies for the health of the attendees at this time.

Celebran la vida y la tolerancia en la vela Muxe en Juchitán

“We thought that the pandemic was something that would not take long, but we see that the day is approaching and the health contingency continues, so we cannot carry it out, we know that our event moves a large part of the Juchitecan economy, but for this year it will be canceled,” she reiterated.

Fiestas de Juchitán de Zaragoza

She also stressed that the demand for justice by Oscar Cazorla, founder, and partner of this group remains in force because his murder continues with impunity.

Encuentran muerto al activista muxe Óscar Cazorla en Juchitán
Oscar Cazorla

“Violence is unstoppable every time and affects us all, every day we see how they murder women and also members of sexual diversity, and despite the fact that this year there is no party, we continue to demand justice for our Dear Oscar Cazorla, he, along with other muxes, founded this festival, and we keep it because we believe it is our party of inclusion, ”she said.

Source: jornada.com.mx

The Oaxaca Post