Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Gay Hot Spots 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.

In fact, the state of Coahuila and Mexico City itself have legalized civil unions for gay and lesbian couples, with Michoacan, Veracruz, Puebla, Guerrero, Colima and Jalisco being well on their way to doing the same.

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.

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.

The Karamba is the most popular club with a 30 year history of drawing a young crowd including a lot of international tourists. The Picante is another one not to miss, with its friendly mixed crowd. This club is popular with gay and straight, transvestites and everyone else.

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. Mexico's second city also has a large gay and lesbian population and is a great place for gay tourists to visit. Cultural amenities here include a popular gay radio show, a gay cultural center and a more atmosphere about homosexuality than seen in many other Mexican cities. Guadalajara has a particularly large lesbian population.

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.

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