Gay Friendly Places to Travel in Mexico
April 27th, 2009 by Ricardo daryans, under Travel and Leisure. No Comments
When you think about Mexican culture, what do you think of? More than likely, you think of a culture of machismo and the traditional values of the Catholic Church. While all of this is also true, Mexico is a modern society and as in the US and other Western countries, homosexuality is accepted in Mexican society.
Mexico City and the state of Coahuila already provide civil unions to same sex couples, while the states of Jalisco, Colima, Guerrero, Veracruz, Puebla and Michoacan are close to doing the same.
It seems Mexico is a more progressive country than you may have thought! This is not to say that many gays and lesbians are not in the closet in Mexico. Despite broad acceptance, many homosexuals still prefer to keep their preferences a secret.
One cultural difference between the US and Mexico is that Mexicans generally keep their private lives a little more private than we tend to in our country. However, Mexico is a very welcoming place for gay travelers, which led Planetout out to name Mexico as their 2007 travel destination of the year.
Mexico offers a lot of wonderful places for gay tourists to visit. The following cities are the top gay travel destinations in the country.
Cancun. This is the number one spot, having wrested the title from Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco. While you commonly think of college kids on spring break when you think of Cancun, it’s also a great place for gay and lesbian vacationers.
Cancun is located in the state of Quintana Roo in the Yucatan Peninsula. This means that Cancun has a subtropical climate. The average temperatures range 81 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. The best places for gays to go to for a bit of night life is downtown which is about fifteen minutes from the Hotel Zone.
Cancun’s oldest and most popular gay club is the Karamba. For more than 30 years, this club has been packing its dance floor with a lively throng which includes many international tourists as well as locals. The Picante is also worth a visit. A little smaller than the Karamba, this club draws a mixed crowd of gays and straights, tourists and locals, transvestites and really, everyone.
Unofficially the gay beach is the Playa Delfines. It has the longest and widest beach. The Villas Tacul is geared towards homosexuals. There appears to be about hundreds of gay-friendly hotels to choose from.
Mexico City. This city has large population of gays and lesbian. Recently Mexico City made history by making same sex civil unions legal. For entertainment there are gay plays, and about two dozen gay clubs located mostly in the Zona Rosa. And then there is the Annual Gay Pride Parade.
Guadalajara. The second largest Mexican city also has a large homosexual population, including a large lesbian community. The city has a gay cultural center and a widely popular gay radio show. Guadalajara has really large population of lesbians. For entertainment there are gay bars, and about two dozen gay clubs located mostly in the Zona Rosa. And then there is the Annual Gay Pride Parade.
This city also has many gay clubs and bars, but the Angel’s Bar is popular with tourists and features mostly electronic music. Monica’s Disco is another popular club which plays Latin dance music. There are quite a few clubs to choose from La Guia Rosa and Zona Gay are good places to start your search.
