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PRIDE 2024 in San José is preparing to celebrate the LGBTIQ+ community, and will hold a parade next Sunday, August 25 at 10:30 a.m. from Julian St. and Market Street to Plaza de César Chávez Park in the city center, to then give way to an afternoon of music, food, cultural and recreational activities.
In addition to the parade, there will be various activities that will touch on issues of equality, inclusion, community and a series of resources on health insurance, employment, housing, education, health care and much more.
In addition, support will be sought for immigrants who have arrived in San Jose and identify as members of the LGBTIQ+ community, said Kimberly Ramírez, leader of the Monarcas collective in San José, a meeting space in Spanish for the transgender community, in an interview during the radio program Península 360 Press and Hecho en California with Marcos Gutiérrez.
Monarchs It is part of a group of programs that is aimed primarily at the Hispanic, Latino, gay, transsexual and transgender community. It seeks to break down society's taboos and involve transgender people in the community, who are the most forgotten in education, employment and housing, mainly, said Kimberly.
"Community work is voluntary, no one pays us and we do it from the heart, we do it because we believe we need that space to be able to express ourselves freely."
In addition to the PRIDE celebration, the community is invited to a name and gender marker change celebration on Wednesday, August 28 at the old Palace of Justice, 161 N. 1st Street, San Jose.
Free information will be provided on how to use the court to change identity documents, in addition to this the association provides consular support for those who need to change their name and gender on their passport and birth certificate.
"It's like the court is acknowledging what you've already done or are about to do in changing your name so that you feel more comfortable and secure with your identity and don't suffer discrimination," Kimberly said.
The activist added that it is very important for the family to keep an eye on the boys and girls, because they experience bullying, rejection, beatings and can fall into depression, drugs and that is when they need the right people to approach, talk to, open their hearts and express who they are in a safe space. "That is what we need, safe spaces to be able to grow as a society," she concluded.
Regarding Donald Trump's racist comments about the immigrant community, Kimberly thinks that what is happening is worrying, since the immigrant community does not have a status and is the one that contributes a lot to the United States.
"It is worrying because the Hispanic community contributes a lot to this country and it would be good if we all came together to demonstrate the power that the Hispanic community and the LGBTQ+ community have for the common good," he said.
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