Washington is tinged with rainbows and protests against Trump: "Our rights are not to be touched"

Washington.- Thousands of people with flags, banners, and music flooded the streets of Washington this Saturday to celebrate one of the most vindictive editions of Pride, marked by the cuts in LGTBIQ+ rights that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, is ordering.

Within a few meters of the White House, from where Trump has taken actions up to four times aimed at eliminating the rights of people in the collective, a rainbow march has strongly defended that their rights "are not to be touched."

"We have to be here. We are who we are, and that cannot be denied. I don't care about the rules they approve. We are still here, and we are going to be here no matter what," stated to EFE Judy Eckhart, a 64-year-old woman residing in Delaware who has traveled this weekend to the capital to participate in the event.

The fact that he is defending rights on practically the same street as the presidential mansion is something that he says makes him feel good: "I hope everyone waves to him as they pass by," he jokes.

The attendees took the city under a radiant sun adorned with the collective's flags, t-shirts with protest messages and banners in favor of queer people and accompanied by more than a dozen floats from television stations and companies.

"We cannot afford to go backwards," "You will not make us invisible, more visible than ever" or "Rights for trans people, now!" were some of the messages that could be read on the banners carried by those attending the march.

But above all, the claims had a clear recipient: Trump.

"This is a big 'fuck you' to Donald Trump. Here we are showing that they are not going to win," said James Smith, who traveled from Maryland. "That man is attacking us, but we are going to keep fighting here for our rights because we are going to exist anyway," said Mark Mateo, a resident of the capital, wearing leggings and a long vest of the rainbow flag.

Her husband, who was accompanying her, was clad in a silver jumpsuit accompanied by a cowboy hat and earrings of disco balls. "The look today is almost the most important thing," she says with a laugh as she says goodbye.

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And the truth is that at times the center of the capital seemed to have become a fashion runway where neon colors, furs, feathers, fur scarves and a lot of glitter prevailed.

Music was also present throughout the day, but especially during the parade. Songs that are already considered anthems of the LGTBIQ+ community such as 'I will survive' by Gloria Gaynor, 'I’m coming now' by Diana Ross and 'It's raining men' by The Weather Girls were mixed with some of the latest songs by Lady Gaga, Chali XCX or Troye Sivan, candidates for anthems in a few years.

Sivan was, in fact, one of the headliners of a festival that took place in the city this weekend, in which Jennifer Lopez and Paris Hilton, among others, also performed.

The city embraced the celebration. In addition to hosting World Pride, the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQ+ parade in the capital was also commemorated.

However, the country's government tried to boycott the event, or at least to disturb it. The National Park Service decided to close Dupont Circle, one of the city's LGBTQ+ icons.

Neither this nor Trump's ordered rollbacks managed to change the atmosphere of this day. Families, couples, friends, and people of all ages came together to celebrate and defend a very festive day, but one that did not neglect the claim.