Puerto Rico’s first LGBT monument also acts as a memorial to the victims and survivors of the Orlando shootings.
By: John Hollywood
Puerto Rico unveiled its first LGBT monument last week, which proclaims “Love is love, is love is love…” as a memorial to all who died in the shooting at Orlando's Pulse nightclub.
Located in San Juan's Third Millennium Park at the entrance of Escobar the Sixth Stadium, the memorial is made up of seven rectangular columns that are in the colors of the pride rainbow.
As Gay Pop Buzz reported, a majority of those killed at Pulse were Latino with a large segment being Puerto Rican. This is a particularly meaningful memorial for this U.S. Territory because of the impact the deaths had on the Puerto Rican community in Orlando and on the Caribbean island.
A plaque located at the base of the monument offers the names of the 23 Puerto Rican victims, with the additional 26 victims also listed below.
With each of the names, there is a phrase in Spanish that acts as a reference to Puerto Rican playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda’s touching speech from the 2016 Tony Awards – offered only hours after the shooting.
Here is what appears on the monument: “This tribute to life strengthens our commitment to fight hate — the product of homophobia — with love and respect. Our slogan resounds in all our hearts: Love is love, is love, is love…”
The memorial was unveiled during San Juan’s annual Pride celebration, where Mayor Carmen Yulín stated: “Today, we celebrate life. We must work together to eradicate discrimination and homophobia.”
As Pink News pointed out, this memorial was offered almost one year after same-sex marriage became legal in the United States and in Puerto Rico.
Sadly, there continues to be homophobia within various segments of this U.S. territory. An example of this can be seen in the case where a father refused to claim the body of his son (killed at Pulse) because he gay.
Gay Pop Buzz will continue to report on events related to the Orlando massacre.
Related: Gay Puerto Rico
