Costa Rica celebrated its first same-sex marriage when two women, Alexandra Quiros and Dunia Araya, celebrated their wedding: an “extraordinary moment”.
Long dark hair, white gowns, two bouquets with red, white and pink flowers. And, above all, two great big smiles on the faces of Alexandra Quiros and Dunia Araya, the first gay women to be legally married in Central America.
The ceremony took place on Tuesday the 26th of May in Costa Rica, after a ruling by the Supreme Court allowed same-sex marriage to be performed starting from midnight the day before.
Many same-sex couples have waited a long time to walk down the aisle together and their time has come, even with the ban on celebrations due to the coronavirus. Alexandra and Dunia said their wedding vows in San Isidro de Heredia, a city not far from the capital San José.
Costa Rica has therefore become the eighth country in the Americas to legalise same-sex marriage, following in the footsteps of Canada, the United States, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador. It’s the 29th country in the world to do so. The news was widely shared nationally and through social media, and quickly made its way all over the world.
“It’s a change that will bring about a significant social and cultural transformation, allowing thousands of people to marry,” commented President Carlos Alvarado. In his 2018 election campaign, Alvarado of centre-left Citizens’ Action Party, had clashed with his opponent on the issue of same-sex marriage, showing he was strongly in favour of legalisation.
In August 2018, the Central American nation’s Supreme Court ruled that the law banning same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. The judges gave Parliament18 months to change it.
The International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) joyfully welcomed the Central American nation’s first same-sex marriage, tweeting their thanks to “all those who worked so hard to make it happen”. Similarly, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, an independent expert on protection against violence and sexual discrimination at the UN Human Rights Council, spoke of an “extraordinary moment”.
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