The state of Jalisco is Mexico’s go-to LGBTQ+ destination, and has made great efforts to develop inclusivity for all. This includes the appointment of Andrés Treviño, as Mexico’s first Sexual Diversity Director to guide the state on LGBTQ+ goals and issues through public policy and more.

  • Policy: Jalisco is the first and, at the moment, only state to recognize trans kids and youth rights to their legal identity. It is one of the few states that has legislation over hate crimes. And, it has a local law to promote equality that explicitly establishes the affirmative actions that must be taken to promote LGBT+ equality.
  • Jalisco is host to some of the largest Pride celebrations in Latin America – pre-pandemic (Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara Pride)
  • There’s been an evolution of mariachi performances with acceptance of all sexual orientations, including members of all-female and LGBTQ+ mariachi bands.
  • Guadalajara has the most LGBTQ+ bars and nightclubs of any city in Mexico. Tacos Gay is a favorite for late-night taco cravings. Local drag performers and the ballroom community in Guadalajara have positioned the city as a queer capital because of the talent. Hechizo is a local drag platform that celebrates the world of drag and established the “2020 Drag Yearbook” that documents all drag queens that created virtual content during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown.
  • Guadalajara’s International Book Fair, the world’s second largest book fair, highlights an LGBTQ+ literature section.
  • The city’s International Film Festival, Latin America’s most prestigious film festival, features the “Premio Maguey Award” for the best of LGBTQ+ cinema. Filmmakers to watch include Eduardo Esquivel and Omar Robles, the directors of “Las Flores de la Noche.”
  • There are 20 established Purple Roofs accommodation in Jalisco, including those located in Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara and Ajijic.
  • Puerto Vallarta as an LGBTQ+ destination has been part of its identity from the very beginning of its development as a touristic site. Some of the first gay visitors to arrive in Puerto Vallarta were part of the crew that filmed “La noche de la iguana,” the movie starring Elizabeth Taylor that gave Puerto Vallarta international visibility. They promoted the destination to other Californians in the LGBT+ community. Since then, gay Americans and Canadians started visiting Puerto Vallarta in the 70´s when bars with drag shows started opening and it has only developed and evolved since then.
  • Puerto Vallarta has held the International LGBT Business Expo in 2011 and 2014, and in 2016 became the first “Gay Travel Approved” city in Mexico, awarded by GayTravel.com.

Click here for more info on Jalisco, and here for info on Puerto Vallarta.

About the Author

Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist based in Toronto with a focus on tourism, lifestyle, entertainment and community issues. He has written several travel articles and has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors and other public personalities. He’s willing to take on any assignments of interest, attend parties with free booze, listen to rants, and travel the world in search of the great unknown. He’s eager to discover the new, remember the past, and look into the future.