Panama Old Town (Casco Viejo)

Old Town (Casco Viejo) Panama is a small section of the much larger Panama City. Located on a rocky peninsula it was the hub of life a hundred years ago during the construcion of the Panama Canal with elegant buildings, churches and hotels and many common residences. But the area was too small to hold

Panama City, Railroad and Canal

Panama City is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 813,097, with a total metro population of 1,206,792, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal. Panama City is the political and administrative center of the country. The Panama Canal Railway Company is

Libertad City and Beach

La Libertad,  city and port, southwestern El Salvador. Its open port as well as its location south of San Salvador encouraged La Libertad’s development in the 19th century as a shipping outlet for “balsam of Peru”—a variety of balsam yielded from El Salvador’s coastal forests. During the early 20th century La Libertad was one of

San Salvador City

San Slavador is the capital and largest city of the nation of El Salvador. It is the third most populous city in Central America after Guatemala City and Managua. The city has a long history, with origins dating back to the Spanish conquest of the Pipil tribes. The name of the capital city is the

Belize City Images

Belize City is the largest city in Belize. Unofficial estimates place the population of Belize City at 79,600 or more. It is located at the mouth of the Belize River on the coast of the Caribbean. The city is the country’s principal port and its financial and industrial hub. Several cruise ships drop anchor outside

Images of San Pedro

San Pedro is a town on the southern part of the island of Ambergris Caye in the Belize District of the nation of Belize, in Central America. According to 2005 mid-year estimates, the town has a population of about 12,400. It is the second largest city in the Belize District and largest city in the

Gay Mexico: a Three-Part Journey

From three Mexican cities come three different stories about gay life. Part one reveals a subdued LGBT community in the provincial capital of Morelia in the state of Michoacan, a hundred miles west of Mexico City. Part two derives from the big city itself–Mexico City, an enormous megopolis of twenty million where, expectantly, the LGBT

Gay Panama Life 2010

Intro: The view of modern Panama depends on where you stand: in a luxury high-rise city condo or a tiny jungle village or a small working class town. All three will present a different face of homosexuality in this famous canal country. Homophobia runs high but gay life carries on openly, hidden or appreciated in

Gay Nicaragua – New Life and New Hope 2010

Intro: Nicaragua is a scenic mountain-and-lake country with a variety of social and ethnic groups, including a sizeable LGBT population. Unfortunately most live behind closet doors as the dominant macho/catholic culture has a major influence on sexual lifestyles. But surprisingly, there are several bold and vigorous human rights organizations that are unafraid, especially since homosexuality

Gay Life in Modern Guatemala 2010

Introduction This small ambitious country is one of Central America’s more prosperous nations but it doesn’t appear that way even to a casual visitor. Under the glaze of business and industry are serious human rights abuses, especially against LGBT people. Here is a small portrait of life when one is gay, poor, and disenfranchised. However,

Gay Honduras: Hidden, But Busy and Present 2010

Intro: Honduras does not come up as a gay mecca on any scale and I expected as much. But to my pleasant surprise I found the capital, Tegucigalpa, to be home to a bustling community of LGBT groups and activists. All it took was connecting with the right person who knew just about everything and everyone. So I was escorted to the half dozen beehives where LGBT life is alive and well–despite the political chaos.

Gay Life in El Salvador 2010

Intro: The small country of El Salvador has seen it share of politcal, economic and social troubles, like other Central American nations. But for the past fifteen years, undaunted by threats, hackers and preachers, the single LGBT organization in El Salvador, Entre Amigos (Among Friends), has endured with determination and compassion thanks to help from benefactors such as Elton John. Today Entre Amigos is a beacon of light for many gay souls in this homophobic culture. But gay life can also feel good, as testified by a young lover called Ricky.

Gay Life and Work in Belize 2010

This story starts in Belize City, the largest and former capital city of Belize where I spoke to a leading activist, Caleb Oroczo, about LGBT and HIV organizations in Belize. From there I went to San Pedro, a small town on the island cay of Ambergris off the east coast of Belize to talk with

Letter from Gay Honduras

February 5, 2010 Richard Ammon, GlobalGayz Honduras It’s February 5 and the temperature is 100 degrees (F) in the village of Copan Ruines, Honduras where ancient Mayan ruins have baked under the hot sun for over 1500 years. Honduras is one of those ‘throw-away countries that hardly registers on any international scale of influence, enterprise

Gay Rights Activist Murdered in Honduras

Richard Ammon, GlobalGayz.com December 17, 2009 Once again we are humbled and infuriated that yet another courageous gay activist has been gunned down for his human rights work. In a previous blog we considered the irrational persecution and killing of LGBT (gay) people across the world and how human fear and hatred make us inhumane.

Gay Life in Belize 2009

Intro: In a conservative corner of the Caribbean/Central American lies quiet Belize, passed up by most of the world. But for some wise expats and knowing natives, this patch of earth offers a mellow life not found elsewhere. Despite some poverty and violence of Belize City–40 kms across the bay– the modest town of San Pedro offers a place of calm and natural beauty for a community of LGBT residents.

Mexico – Patzcuaro and Rural Area

Pátzcuaro is a charming colonial city high in the Sierra Madre mountains (altitude 7200 feet) about fifty miles west of Morelia. It’s filled with historical architecture and shops with local colorful handicrafts . Around the two town squares are classic arched facades. The Pátzcuaro area is well known for it’s rustic, carved wooden furniture and

Mexico – Mexico City Gay Marriage Rally

On Valentines’ Day 2005 a public pro-gay marriage rally was held in central Mexico City at Alameda Park. Hundreds of LGBT couples showed up amid speeches, music and dancing to sign their names on a "Registro de Sociedades de Convivencia" form. The ‘officials’, dressed in academic caps and gowns were members of PFLAG (Parents and

Mexico – Rio Lagartos

On the north coast of Yucatan is Rio Lagartos (alligator river), a small town within a 118,00 acre nature preserve – the Biosphere Special Reserve – that’s home to more than 200 species of native and migratory birds and other wildlike, including flamingos cormorants, gigantic white pelicans, seagulls, herons, egrets, maybe a few spoonbills and

Mexico – Morelia City

Morelia is the capital of the state of Michoacan, about 100 miles west of Mexico City. It’s a historic city with more than 1000 colonial buildings and churches and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. Morelia was officially founded on May 18, 1541 by the first viceroy of New Spain Antonio de Mendoza,

Mexico – Cancun

Cancun is divided into two distinct areas: the upscale grand hotels along the beach for foreign tourists, and the working class downtown Centro district, (2 miles from the beach – final 15 photos below) where the hotel workers live and shop (at Sears and Wal-Mart, etc.). In the Centro are Cancun’s three gay bars (and