In 1978, inspired by the international gay and lesbian movement, a group of gay writers and intellectuals began publishing a monthly journal entitled Lampião da Esquina, a name that means literally "corner street lamp." The title of the tabloid played on the double meaning of the work Lampião, which as street light referred to cruising, but in a tongue-in-cheek manner also referred to the person Lampião, a hyper-masculine Robin Hood-like bandit figure from the Brazilian Northeast.

Based in Rio de Janeiro, Lampião served as a clearinghouse for the emerging politicized glbtq movement. It also promoted the idea of building alliances with Black groups, feminists, the indigenous movement, and ecologists. During its three-year run, Lampião solidified in Brazil the idea of coming out as a political act.

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When gay groups in Rio de Janeiro decided to host the International Lesbian and Gay Association's Seventeenth International Conference in 1995, the movement in Rio de Janeiro was still quite fragile. However, the participation of several hundred international guests as well as the enthusiastic logistic support offered by Brazilians from across the country helped consolidate a national movement in Brazil.

At the end of the Conference, two thousand people marched down Atlantic Avenue with a hundred meter-long rainbow flag in the largest Pride Parade in Brazil up until that time. In 2003, a quarter of a million people retraced those steps for the June Pride Celebration.

In spite of the violence that has plagued the city and the stark social differences between the privileged and the poor, Rio de Janeiro continues to be a fun-filled gay and lesbian mecca.

A notably diverse country, Brazil is also home to one of the world's most dynamic glbtq political movements.

Both parades and marches have served to render the glbtq community visible; whereas marches typically attempt to effect political change, parades and pride events affirm identity and community.

The International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) is a worldwide federation of local and national groups dedicated to achieving equal rights for glbtq people.

Mardi Gras, or Carnival, as it is often called, is a festival known for wild abandon, sexual promiscuity, feasting, drinking, dancing, parading, and elaborate masquerade.

Designed by Gilbert Baker in 1978, the rainbow flag has become a popular (and sometimes controversial), internationally recognized symbol of gay and lesbian pride.

Transgender people--more specifically, people who were born male but present themselves as female--are Brazil's single most marginalized group.