lifestyle

This year's June 28 Gay Pride celebration was all but washed out by a cloudburst that took place about an hour before the scheduled starting time. Only a couple of dozen people showed up, and the march up Via Argentina and gathering at Parque Andres Bello were called off.

The response from passersby, however, was more often supportive than hostile, despite what gay activist José Ramón Castillero of the Association of New Men and Women of Panama (AHMNP) described as grim political times for gay men, lesbians and the transgendered in Panama. The National Assembly was in the process of passing a ban on gay people adopting children, but Castillero said that with so many other priorities the AHMNP wasn't putting up a fight on that issue. Not only is there a PRD majority caucus intent on scoring political points by bashing gay people, but he said that a vocal Evangelical caucus in the legislature thrives on anti-gay hatred and that the Catholic Church has been given a de facto veto power over what may be taught about sexuality in the schools.

As in previous years, the AHMNP awarded the Pink Egg award to the most homophobic person in Panama. This year it went to Evangelical rap musician Nando Boom (Fernando Brown), who is noted for his anti-gay lyrics and strident statements made in television interviews.