image from www.infobae.com

Gay marriage in Latin America? It must be the End of the World.

Not quite, but almost!

We blogged about gay marriage in Argentina a while back, and we were so excited that Buenos Aires had stepped up and was being the trailblazer in the Latin American marriage equality movement.

…and then they backpedaled and said, “Just kidding–had you going for awhile there!” Okay, maybe not a direct quote, but essentially they said it was no longer an option after citing conflicting judicial rulings.

The couple didn’t lose hope, however.

Yesterday, Jose Maria Di Bello and Alex Freyre were married in Ushuaia, the capital of Tierra del Fuego, a province in the very south of Argentina. Here’s an excerpt from the San Francisco Examiner that chronicles their journey to becoming the first same-sex marriage in Latin America:

Jose Maria Di Bello and Alex Freyre were married on Monday in Ushuaia, the capital of Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego state. Their ceremony was witnessed by both state and federal officials.
“My knees didn’t stop shaking,” said 41-year-old Di Bello. “We are the first gay couple in Latin America to marry.”
Di Bello and Freyre are both gay rights activists who met at an HIV awareness conference. Both men are HIV positive. On the day of their ceremony, the couple wore large red ribbons around their necks in solidarity with other people who are living with HIV.
Argentina’s Constitution does not specify on whether marriage must be between a man and a woman, which leaves the matter open to the jurisdiction of provincial officials. However, when the couple tried to marry in Buenos Aires, city officials prevented the union, citing conflicting judicial rulings. That is when the couple decided to travel to the southernmost city in the world, far from Buenos Aires.
Tierra del Fuego Governor Fabiana Rios said in a statement that gay marriage “is an important advance in human rights and social inclusion and we are very happy that this has happened in our state.” The wedding was also called “historic” by an official representative of the federal government’s antidiscrimination agency.

Pretty f*cking rad if you ask us.

So, this post is dedicated to all of the same-sex couples out there. Get your wedding and honeymoon done in the same trip! Learn Spanish, plan your trip to Argentina, and follow in Jose and Alex’s footsteps. We’d be glad to have you.

Felicidades Jose y Alex!