Despite its sordid history with the drugs cartels, Colombia has undergone a huge transformation to not only become one of the most gay friendly countries in Latin America, but in the world.
Catholicism is still strong here and society largely conservative, but despite this, same sex marriage was legalised in April 2016, with the first gay wedding taking place in Cali on 24 May 2016. In addition, Congress passed a law banning discrimination on sexual orientation in 2011, adoption was legalised in 2012 and the right to change legal gender has been in place since 1993.
Bogota and Medellin each have a thriving fun gay neighbourhood, especially Chapinero in Bogota where you can find the mega-club Theatron – the largest gay club in Latin America. As a gay couple travelling in Colombia, we were so pleasantly surprised by how gay friendly Colombia is. We felt extremely welcome and never had any problems anywhere.
In Cartagena, we met Jesus, who is an artist and a guide, who told us more about his gay life in Colombia and what it’s like growing up by the coast in Barranquilla.
By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys