World
Bogotá councilwoman stresses gay rights movement is “unstoppable”
Voters elected Angélica Lozano to the council in 2011
Bogotá City Councilwoman Angélica Lozano (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
“I am optimistic, but cultural changes are slow,” she told the Washington Blade during an interview at her office. “Civil rights fights take time, [but] there is a global movement towards equality.”
Voters elected Lozano, 37, to the Bogotá City Council in 2011.
She was mayor of Bogotá’s Chapinero district, which has a large gay population, from 2005-2008. Lozano has also advised Colombian lawmakers Antonio Navarro Wolff and Íngrid Betancourt Pulecio, whom members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) kidnapped in 2002 while she was campaigning for president. Colombian soldiers in 2008 rescued Betancourt along with three American contractors and 11 others.
Lozano, who also co-founded the left-wing Independent Democratic Pole Party in 2003, told the Blade she experienced some negative reaction over her election. She said the majority of Chapinero residents, however, welcomed it.
“I think that in many areas of the community they saw a professional like anyone who does good work,” she said.
Lozano noted the Bogotá City Council, which has 45 members from 10 political parties, has a “radical” opposition led by two homophobic Christian pastors. She described the political climate as one of “constant confrontation” over LGBT-specific issues.
“I respect that you have rights to your opinion, but this is about the rights of societal inclusion and I think for my colleagues it is very interesting to see the contrast,” Lozano said. “Hate goes against equality, and that for which we work towards equality is not against anyone or their rights.”
Lozano spoke to the Blade less than a week after fellow Bogotá City Councilman Jorge Durán Silva referred to lesbians as “mujerzuelas” or “sluts” during a debate on a transportation bill.
Durán apologized for his comments during an interview with the Colombian radio station Blu Radio, saying he used the word as a joke. LGBT rights advocates on Tuesday gathered outside the Bogotá City Council building to protest the councilman who is now facing charges in connection with the incident.
“You have the right to say that you don’t like lesbians,” Lozano said. “You have every right and it will not offend us. It is your opinion, but you are responsible when it becomes degradation that legitimizes hate.”
Colombia’s Constitutional Court in 2011 ruled same-sex couples can legally register their relationships in two years if the country’s lawmakers don’t pass a bill that would extend to them the same benefits heterosexuals receive through marriage. The tribunal’s deadline is June 20, but the Colombian Senate last month overwhelmingly rejected a measure that would have allowed gays and lesbians to tie the knot.
Lozano noted there have been nine LGBT-specific bills introduced over the last decade, but the country’s lawmakers have not acted upon any of them.
“We don’t expect anything from Congress, but we still introduced the bills that are here today,” she said.
Lozano also spoke to the Blade amid the ongoing peace talks between the Colombian government and the FARC that are taking place in Cuba.
She noted members of the FARC, paramilitaries and the Colombian army itself targeted, displaced or even killed LGBT people during the conflict that began in the 1960s. She described a gay man from the countryside who had the word “maricón” or “faggot” carved into his stomach as she discussed the need to include LGBT Colombians in any eventual peace agreement.
“We hope that the peace process holds those responsible for committing these atrocities and recognizes the victims of forced displacement and torture,” she said.
Lozano conceded one of the challenges LGBT Colombians continue to face is day-to-day social inequalities in spite of recent legal advances. She remains hopeful the situation will continue to improve.
“We have moved forward relatively quickly,” Lozano said. “I am hopeful that in these next 10 years the movement towards inclusion and respect will have accelerated.”
Celebrity News
My evening with Madonna
Gay icon headlined the World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam
Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Photo Editor Michael Key will be on assignment in the Netherlands through Aug. 10. They will be covering World Pride in Amsterdam.
AMSTERDAM — Madonna and 6,000 of her closest friends celebrated World Pride at Amsterdam’s AFAS Live concert hall early Sunday morning. I was fortunate enough to be one of them.
Madonna last Wednesday nearly broke the internet when she said on social media in Dutch that “I got somethin’ I wanna talk about,” referring to an opening line in “Danceteria,” one of the tracks on her “Confessions II” album that has received rave reviews since its July 2 release. The track has been on near constant replay on my playlist since I first heard it.
— Madonna (@Madonna) July 28, 2026
MISTR — a telehealth platform that offers free access to PrEP, Doxy PEP, STI testing, and long-term care that has organized Madonna’s Club Confessions shows in the U.S. and the U.K. — later confirmed the rampant speculation. I woke up on July 30 to an email in my inbox from MISTR and the World Pride Music Festival PR team that said I was on the press list.
Madonna was indeed going to headline the World Pride Music Festival that Jake Resnicow and Insomniac produced, and I was going to be there. OMFG!!!!
The gay icon had one more surprise in store.
The Dutch internet on Saturday once again broke over speculation that Kylie Minogue was going to appear alongside Madonna. I was getting ready to leave our hotel in Amsterdam on Saturday night when I saw a video of the two of them together.
“Madonna is now teasing Kylie Minogue on her social media … she may be one of her ‘special guests’ tonight,” I wrote in a text to Washington Blade Editor Kevin Naff at 8:46 p.m.
“Have fun! This is turning into the gayest concert ever,” he responded.
I arrived at AFAS Live shortly before 11 p.m. My press contact walked me and two other Dutch journalists into the venue’s cavernous main room known as the Black Box. We made small talk for a few minutes before I started to walk around and listen to Josh Harrison who was on the decks.
Madonna was scheduled to take the stage at 1:30 a.m., but she is known for being late — she is Madonna and she does what she wants. Hayla, a British singer, and Bebe Rexha are among those who performed ahead of Madonna. Thousands of sweaty men — including a group of Australians next to me who were eagerly awaiting Kylie’s anticipated appearance — packed the Black Box and were dancing, anticipating what was to come.
MISTR CEO Tristan Schukraft at one point came on stage and declared Madonna was indeed in the building. The moment for which we were all eagerly waiting finally came shortly before 2:30 a.m.
“Mother is here and this is gay heaven,” said Madonna when she took the stage.
Stuart Price, who produced her “Confessions on a Dance Floor” album in 2005, manned the decks during Madonna’s set.
She opened it with “I Feel So Free” from “Confessions II.” Madonna then sang “Bring Your Love” and “Danceteria” to which this reporter — and everyone else — sang along.
Madonna then teased a surprise before she began to perform “Love Sensation.” Kylie soon appeared on stage. It was nearly too much for my fellow partygoers from Australia. It was indeed the gayest concert ever!
Madonna and Kylie performed “Love Sensation” together. They then sang “Hung Up” and “Sorry” from “Confessions on a Dance Floor” to round out the set that ended shortly after 3 a.m.
Madonna and I share the same birthday — Aug. 16 — and I would like to think she and Kylie gave me an early birthday present. In all seriousness though, it was an amazing night for me and for everyone else who was fortunate enough to be there.
“On the dance floor I feel so free,” says Madonna in the opening of “I Feel So Free.”
For those few precious hours at AFAS Live I did not think about the Trump-Vance administration and the myriad ways it is destroying the U.S. I did not think about the National Guard troops deployed to D.C. I did not think about the pointless wars that continue to ravage Ukraine and other countries around the world. I simply lost myself on the dance floor and celebrated an icon who has always stood with my community.
Thank you, Madonna.
Netherlands
Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade draws hundreds of thousands
Gay Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten among participants
Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Photo Editor Michael Key are on assignment in the Netherlands through Aug. 10.
AMSTERDAM — Hundreds of thousands of people lined Amsterdam’s canals on Saturday for the city’s annual Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade.
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, who is openly gay, is among those who participated in the parade that featured more than 80 boats. Participants held signs and posters that, among other things, read “proud to be intersex” and “lesbians love you and a free Palestine.”
The Washington Blade saw at least two attendees holding fans that read “fuck Trump.” One of the boats also compared President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin as “the kissing couple.”
(Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)
(Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)
The parade took place a week after a terrorist attack at Berlin’s Christopher Street Day left one person dead and more than two dozen others injured.
It passed the Homomonument, a memorial to gays and lesbians who have suffered persecution. The Homomonument has been transformed into a makeshift memorial to the victims of the July 25 terrorist attack in the German capital.
View on Threads
The Canal Parade took place during World Pride, which will end in Amsterdam on Aug. 9.
European Union
Poland’s top court rejects recognition of same-sex marriages from other EU countries
Ruling sets up potential clash with bloc
Poland’s top court this week rejected the recognition of same-sex marriages legally performed in other EU countries.
The EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg last November ruled in favor of a same-sex couple who challenged Poland’s refusal to recognize their German marriage. Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court in March reaffirmed the decision.
The couple, who lives in Poland, brought their case to Polish courts in 2019. The Supreme Administrative Court referred it to the EU Court of Justice.
The Polish government in May announced it will recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other EU countries. Polish President Karol Nawrocki on July 17 vetoed bills that would have extended rights to same-sex couples.
The Constitutional Tribunal ruling, which it issued on July 28, was unanimous and final. It also sets up a potential clash between it and the EU Court of Justice.
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