18 Photos Mark Las Vegas, New Mexico's Inaugural Pride Parade

“The event started with a group of Prism members. I (Mr. King of Las Vegas NM, Pride 2019), along with Angelica Montoya, and Star Ford jumped aboard after January to combine foreces to create the event. With their help and my experience with fundraising and parade skills, we had a parade of up to 3000 people. That included the pageant and the all-ages dance that were part of the Pride festivities. The community was stellar in helping us create this beautiful moment. We learned of many stories that were not all of great moments in our community. There were stories of bullying and being closeted. And then even more stories of bullying and being closeted. You never want to be a target in this town. Because they make it hard for you to live here still. There is retaliation and bullying; people who have money still seem to make the rules. This beautiful parade had major challenges too, because people knew there was going to be a large gathering of LGBTQ people. Many did support us, but there were some who did make it hard. With true ally support we made it through with love and hope for the future.”

— Words from Mr. Las Vegas, NM, 2019, Jay Quilez