June 23 – The atmosphere was buzzing with festive energy.
Loud, thumping music made the hips sway. Smiles and animated conversations were on display under the banners of small rainbow flags at the grassy outdoor venue.
But one noticeable thing was missing from much of the dancing meant to kick off Santa Fe’s Pride Week: dancing.
Then, about 90 minutes later, to the exuberant strains of Madonna’s “Get into the Groove,” a dozen people started dancing, several jumping onto the small floor.
The party had started.
Guests said they came to this Sunday event at The Mystic Santa Fe on Cerrillos Road to celebrate life in a city where members of the LGBTQ+ community feel free to express themselves, love who they want and be safe .
“In Santa Fe it doesn’t matter,” says Scott Palmer, 56, a recent transplant to Washington, D.C., speaking of the city’s acceptance.
None of those interviewed said they had fled intolerant red states or cities. They came from liberal cities where diversity is embraced, but enjoyed experiencing an LGBTQ+ community on a smaller scale.
“It’s easier to get to know people here,” said Palmer, who moved to Santa Fe six weeks ago with his partner Mark Abe, 62.
There have been several events leading up to Pride Week, culminating on Saturday with Pride on the Plaza, a parade and community celebration. This dance, which brought together about 60 people of different ages, was the official starting signal.
It’s all part of the larger Pride Month, which commemorates the Stonewall uprising in New York in June 1969 after police raided a prominent gay bar in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. Six days of protests are said to have galvanized the modern gay rights movement, which later grew into full-blown LGBTQ+ activism.
Despite Santa Fe being historically rooted in Catholic teachings, which condemn homosexuality and non-binary identities, partygoers said they had never encountered the slightest hostility in the city.
Here you don’t have to hide in the shadows, as many people now have to do in some states, said Lisa, 66, who did not want to give her last name.
“You can gather and celebrate safely and joyfully,” she said.
Renewed attacks on LGBTQ+ people in many states make it more important to unite during Pride Month, even if Santa Fe is freed from such hostility, said Kevin Bowen, executive director of the Santa Fe Human Rights Alliance, which sponsors the events.
New Mexico as a whole may seem insulated from such politicized hatred, but people tend not to become complacent, Bowen said.
“As a community in this state, we have to be vigilant to make sure we don’t sit back and say, ‘Oh, it’s safe, we don’t have to worry about anything,’” Bowen said. ‘That is not true. “Something could change at any moment.”
The most dramatic change – and a terrible scenario for LGBTQ+ people – would be that Donald Trump return to the White House, he said.
Palmer and Abe recalled a time when homophobia was commonplace in the US, so much so that in the 1990s President Bill Clinton had to withdraw his proposal to allow openly gay people to serve in the military, and instead adopted the watered-down “don’t ask” , don’t tell policy.
Then in 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, making LGBTQ+ advocates hopeful that America was becoming more accepting.
But these achievements sparked a backlash, which became increasingly widespread as ultraconservative political leaders and right-wing activist groups like Moms for Liberty sought to ban books with LGBTQ+ themes from public and school libraries. They have also pushed to ban children from using pronouns other than the ones they were born with.
A number of Supreme Court justices have also raised rumors about reversing the court’s previous gay ruling.
“We’ve made so much progress and now the fascists are trying to take over again,” Lisa said.
Abe, an Asian American, said he is not surprised that bigotry of any kind has soared under Trump, given the former president’s hateful rhetoric.
Palmer agreed, saying Trump didn’t create bigotry, he mainstreamed it.
In Santa Fe, some people have noticed a divide between younger and older members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Bowen said there are some generational differences, but overall they all have more in common than they may realize.
Yes, younger people can be more free and open about their sexuality than older generations, but now many children are being aggressively targeted depending on where they live, he said. They are vilified and some have been physically attacked.
“We’re going backwards,” Bowen said.
He said he hopes events like this dance will bring people of different ages together so they can connect over shared experiences.
Hayley Gajewski, 29, who moved from San Diego a year ago, said she thinks the generation gap is wide and not limited to the LGBTQ+ community.
Young people are frustrated by the lack of nightclubs and other entertainment in Santa Fe and blame the elderly because everything here seems to revolve around them, she said.
However, that doesn’t mean different age groups can’t hang out at events like these and talk about what it’s like to be gay or transgender, she said.
“As long as there is some level of respect,” she said. “Then everyone can have fun.”
