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The 13th annual Vallarta Pride served as the stage for a historic milestone: for the first time, Puerto Vallarta’s organized LGBTIQ+ movement paid a formal, mass tribute to Juan Jacobo Hernández Chávez. Hernández Chávez is the founder of the LGBT movement in Mexico, a driving force behind the Homosexual Liberation Front (Frente de Liberación Homosexual) and the Homosexual Front for Revolutionary Action (Frente Homosexual de Acción Revolucionaria), and the organizer of the country’s first pride march, held in June 1979.
The series of tribute events took place between May 20 and May 22, with activities spearheaded by the collectives that make up the Red Diversidad Vallarta (Vallarta Diversity Network) in collaboration with Vallarta Pride.
On Wednesday, May 20, Hernández Chávez delivered a lecture titled “The Beginning of a Struggle” at the Vallarta Gay+ Community Center to local and national media, activists, and community members. During the event, Pedro López, the center’s director, unveiled a plaque officially naming the institution’s boardroom and training space the Juan Jacobo Hernández Chávez Room—a space that will bear his name as a permanent memorial to the struggle that paved the way for the rights defended today. That evening, during the Pink Dinner, Vallarta Pride President Javier Jiménez presented him with a formal award in front of business owners, community groups, and international visitors.
On Thursday, May 21, Juan Jacobo Hernández Chávez marched as Marshal, leading the Red Diversidad Vallarta contingent in the Vallarta Pride parade. He walked the route from the Lighthouse to City Hall (Presidencia Municipal) in a deeply political statement, accompanied by Alfonso Dávalos, President of Puerto Vallarta’s Second Diversity Council (Segundo Cabildo de la Diversidad).
Along the route, Hernández Chávez was cheered by hundreds of onlookers taking photos and videos as he rallied the contingent with the slogan that has defined his activism since the 1970s: “There is no political freedom without sexual freedom.” At the main stage on Lázaro Cárdenas Street, Víctor Espíndola, President of MOVii and Coordinator of Red Diversidad Vallarta, introduced him to a crowd of over 40,000 people who chanted his name.
On Friday, May 22, during the Diversity Gala held at the Río Cuale Cultural Center, Espíndola once again introduced Hernández Chávez to the more than fifteen member collectives of Red Diversidad Vallarta. He publicly commended his bravery and commitment during an era marked by authoritarianism and the repression of sexual dissidence—a time when speaking out carried a heavy personal toll that few were willing to pay. All the collectives in attendance honored him with a massive round of applause.
Hernández Chávez, born on January 20, 1942, announced his intention to make regular visits to Puerto Vallarta to develop activist training workshops for the next generation of the local movement. The focus will be practical: passing down skills for protesting, fighting for rights, and reclaiming them, alongside tools for institutional advocacy tailored to today’s context. Red Diversidad Vallarta will support and accompany this ongoing process. For more updates about these activities, follow the Red Diversidad Vallarta Facebook page.
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