The incredible transformation of the São Paulo Pride Parade

Sunday afternoon in São Paulo and the walls of the subway stations of Paulista Avenue reverberated with the noise of protest chants. A clear instruction was being given to President Jair Bolsonaro—and it wasn’t a pleasant one. As soon as the crowd saw the light of day, however, music and chatter overwhelmed any political noise. It is São Paulo’s annual LGBT pride parade, and while the street holds some scattered signs reading “resist” and “democracy,” the most present visual is the ever-present rainbow flag. Outside of the subway doors, street vendors sell them for BRL 5 a piece.

This year marks the 23rd pride parade in São Paulo. 2019’s theme commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, which sparked the beginning of pride parades in the U.S. and around the world. While the history of São Paulo’s Pride is much younger than the American parades that inspired it, it is by no means less impressive. 

Enormous growth

The first gay pride event, held in 1996, is described not as a parade, but a rally. Numbers are cited anywhere between five hundred and two thousand, but the fact remains that it seems small compared with the three million participants that the event now attracts every year. 

Less than a decade after its inception, São Paulo’s parade was...