'Helping us find our way': Latin Lovers group chooses Mexican creature as Mardi Gras float figurehead

Members of the Latin American community will participate in the 2023 Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras with a float inspired by a mythological Mexican animal, an “alebrije”. SBS Spanish spoke with the float's organisers, David Rojas and Marco Romero, about the meaning behind the creature.

Members of the group, LGBTI Latinos in Sydney, have chosen a Mexican theme for their Mardi Gras float this year.

Highlights:

• The LGBTIQ+ Latin American community will once again participate in the Sydney Mardi Gras, which takes place on Saturday, February 25 starting at 6pm on Oxford Street.
• The “Latin Lovers” float explores the Mexican theme of the alebrije, which became famous through the Disney movie "Coco" and represents a mystical symbol that helps to light the way.
• The float organisers, LGBTI Latinos in Sydney, plan to highlight the culture of a different Latin American country each year and increase the visibility of the community in Australia.

At the 45th edition of the world-famous Mardi Gras on Saturday, February 25, iconic floats such as Dykes on Bikes and Australian Lifesavers With Pride will be joined by the relatively new LGBTI Latinos in Sydney, founded four years ago.

The group made its debut at Mardi Gras in 2019, just before the event was suspended for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

An alebrijes from Oaxaca, Mexico. Source: Moment RF / Gabriel Perez/Getty Images

One of the organisers of this year's LGBTI Latinos in Sydney float, Marco Romero, said the group had chosen the alebrije as its theme and figurehead due to its popularity in the Disney film "Coco" and its message of helping people to find their way.

A lot of people watched (the movie) and the alebrijes became very famous. (The alebrijes) are those mythological creatures that help people find their way. That's why we chose the alebrije as the theme for our float.

Marco Romero

Marco Romero

"(The Mardi Gras is so important because) we are very far from home and sometimes the fact of speaking the same language yourself, understanding the same jokes... it's necessary, it's like (having) a little piece of home,” Mr Romero told SBS Spanish.

Organisers of this year's Latin American float say they are thrilled to have been chosen to take part in the world-famous Mardi Gras in Sydney.

Fellow float organiser, David Rojas, said preparations for the Mardi Gras had been extensive.

“...not only because of the theme of designing the costumes, which took months, (but) because we had to find suppliers who could commit to making 80 costumes and masks representative of the alebrijes (a Mexican papier-mâché figure painted in bright colours that represents an imaginary animal),” Mr Rojas said.

“I think it's worth it, and (we're happy) with what we have to parade and how we're going to represent Latin America in general."

Eighty members of the group Latinos in Sydney LGTBI will parade as part of the Latin Lovers float. While they mainly hail from Latin American countries, Australian, French, Italian and people from various parts of the world who “are very close to the Latino community” will also participate.

David Rojas

“The theme we have every year is inspired by a different country in Latin America, (because it is) a continent that has a lot of colours, history, cultures and flavours,” Mr Rojas, originally from Colombia himself, said.

“We come here (Australia) with a dream for a better life, to be at peace, to feel safe and most importantly, to be who we are... and the alebrije is here to help us amplify our strength, our virtues and that Latin momentum that we have,” Mr Romero said.

“(The Mardi Gras committee) liked our concept, we were selected and now here we are.”

Mardi Gras in Australia

Source: Facebook / Facebook-78ers First Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras can be traced back to June 24, 1978, when a small group of people who identified as gay and lesbian (called the Gay Solidarity Group) organised a day of activism in Sydney.

Its main objective was to raise its voice against the oppression and discrimination perpetrated upon people of diverse sexualities.

The group staged a protest march at night, followed by a march at dawn and a public meeting in the morning.

But the police intervened with a violent response that resulted in the arrest of dozens of people. The event attracted the attention of the media and Australian society and has since become a central topic for the country.

Today, Mardi Gras in Sydney is known around the world after becoming one of the most important festivals in the calendar for the LGBTIQ+ community internationally.

To listen to the full report, click the arrow on the play button below the title of this article.