Clutching a sash and crown alongside a paper-winged friend, Maliyah Heaven Espinoza jogged down Hollywood Boulevard on Sunday morning. She had to get a float.
The 32-year-old trans woman and human resources business partner, who was named Ms. LA Pride several weeks ago, joined a crowd of protesters and revelers in Hollywood on Sunday for the 54th annual Los Angeles Pride Parade, one of the oldest celebrations of LGBTQ+ Culture in the US.
“I was inspired by the trans women I saw growing up,” Espinoza said. “So I'm glad I'm the person I admired and aspired to be. I hope to inspire the younger generation as well.”
Rainbow colors shone along Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue despite the June gloom, and parade-goers claimed prime real estate as early as 8 a.m., three hours before the parade's expected start.
Businesses were adorned with banners representing various LGBTQ+ groups, including rainbow, transgender and pansexual flags. The dinosaur on top of Ripley's Believe It or Not! He was wrapped in a colorful scarf, oversized heart-shaped glasses and a sign that read “Power in Pride,” as anthems from queer icons like Donna Summer and Madonna played.
Parade director Mariela Spirelli said about 5,000 people would march in the parade this year, including LGBTQ+ icon and former “Star Trek” actor George Takei and Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, the first woman and first leader of the city's fire department. The parade was expected to draw about 100,000 attendees, Spirelli said.
Espinoza said Karina Kendrick, her friend with angelic tissue paper wings and white fur-covered boots, is her “trans mother,” who helped her transition when she was 18.
Kendrick, a 37-year-old hairdresser, pointed to the wings and said she was dressed like a “trans angel.”
“I felt biblically that angels were neither male nor female, so I'm going to include that in my outfit,” she said.
This year's Pride celebrations, which began last weekend in West Hollywood, come in the shadow of political battles over the rights of transgender youth in California schools. Last month, an effort to force schools to require teachers to notify parents about changes in their children's gender identity and limit access to gender-affirming care failed to qualify for the November vote. .
Supporters have promised to try again in the future, although Democrats in Sacramento have introduced a bill to ban such policies and the California attorney general. Gen. Rob Bonta sued a conservative school district that instituted a similar measure in 2023.
While a national LA Times poll recently found a significant increase in support for same-sex marriage, same-sex couples raising children, and efforts to protect queer people from employment discrimination, the poll found that Americans were less supportive of transgender and non-binary people.
Spirelli said that while Sunday's march through Hollywood was always a celebration, organizers and participants never forgot the focus on civil rights.
“As much as it is a celebration, the origin of the parade began as a protest. We definitely never lose that essence, while keeping it festive and making it a safe place for the community,” he said. “We definitely encourage our groups to make it clear that it is a First Amendment parade, so they can express what matters most to them each year.”
A crowd of spectators erupted as the parade began around 11 a.m. with a group of motorcyclists called the Equality Motorcycle Contingent revving their engines and honking their horns, while waving rainbow flags as they rode.
Passengers atop the TransLatina Coalition float, decorated with light blue, light pink and white flowers and balloons, with the trans flag emblazoned on the side, wore quinceañera dresses to celebrate the organization's 15th anniversary.
Bubbles filled the air as pop rock group Pinktastic Plastixx sped by in a bright pink Volkswagen Beetle, wearing matching outfits. Mel's Diner workers ran out, booing and whistling, as a float carrying a group of men in Speedos passed by.
Gina Campa, 56, had arrived early from Palm Springs to ensure she got a prime spot. Pairing rainbow socks with a Progressive Pride flag and matching sunglasses, Campa evoked Taylor Swift with a custom T-shirt reminiscent of the one the singer wore in her “22” video.
Campa, a Pride parade regular since 2006, emphasized that the event is about celebrating the freedom of coming out and remembering the fight for LGBTQ+ rights that dates back to the Stonewall riots.
Campa said he grew up in a strict Christian home. When she was 18 and she told her mother that she was a lesbian, her mother accused her of being “possessed by a demon.” She did not come out completely until she was 34, after the death of her mother.
Kendrick, who medically transitioned at age 18, recalled a more difficult time when resources for transitioning were scarce and medical care was often obtained through the black market. While he believes that acceptance of trans people will eventually increase, he expects the backlash and scaremongering to continue for the time being.
Until then, Espinoza said he has a message for the haters: “We are going to continue fighting, being proud, being visible, and showing up and paving the way.”
