The full rainbow of Brazil's gay life was on display, from sequined drag queens to rainbow-colored angels.
"It is a great coming together, heterosexuals, gays, lesbian and all the mixes, all fighting for the same thing, which is equal rights," said Brazilian drag queen, Elo Pinheiro said.
The country recognized same-sex marriage in 2013 and hosts some of the world's largest gay pride festivals. This year's theme was "I am my gender identity" as parade-goers sought to boost visibility for the trans community in the form of allowing citizens to change their gender identity on identification documents and minimize red tape for getting sex reassignment surrey.
Brazil does have one of the world's highest rates of LGBT hate crimes, despite a reputation for sexual tolerance. Indeed, fighting broke out along the Copacabana Sunday.
"We are in this standing up for the right to marry, to walk freely with your partner without being bothered, pointed at, because for me, discrimination from people is a very important issue," pride participant, Fabiano Motta said.
Sao Paulo also hosts a very large gay pride parade every year.
