Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Gay Friendly Places to Travel in Mexico

By Ricardo d Argence

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.

Civil unions between gays have been legalized in the northern border state of Coahuila and Mexico City. The states of Veracruz and Michoacan are on the verge of passing the same measures just like Jalisco, Colima, Puebla and Guerrero.

Still homosexual is still in the closet, many gays still maintain a macho facade and the lesbian's are still mostly underground. This is even though Mexico is very liberal in attitude towards homosexuality.

In general, Mexicans are more private about their personal lives than are Americans. Mexico is a country which gladly welcomes vacationers gay and straight alike. Mexico is such a gay friendly country that Planetout named it the top destination for gay travel in 2007.

There are a lot of great places to visit in Mexico. These are the Mexico's top gay destinations.

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 subtropical climes of Quintana Roo on the Yucatan Peninsula. The temperature in Cancun averages 81 to 95 degrees, perfect weather for beach going and relaxing all year. Cancun has an active gay scene and a lot of nightlife going on downtown, a mere 15 minutes from the Zona Hotelera.

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.

Villas Tacul is Cancun's gay-oriented beach, but the Playa Delfines is more popular, being the city's largest beach. Most of Cancun's more than 100 hotels are gay friendly, so there's always a great place to stay.

Mexico City. As Mexico's largest city (and in fact, Mexico City is even larger than New York City), Mexico City has a large gay and lesbian community and has even legalized same sex civil unions. Mexico City offers a lot of gay nightlife and culture, with many gay clubs, including a few dozen in the Zona Rosa alone. There are gay theater groups and an 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.

There is a long list of gay bars and clubs. But here is just a couple. The Angel's bar that plays electronica. Monica's Disco plays Latin rhythm disco. To locate other clubs and bars for a bit of nightlife look for La Guia Rosa or Zona Gay.

About the Author:

No comments: