CLARO Hosts Hartford Pride and Concert Featuring Local Organizations, Trinity QRC

Rajsi Rana ’26

News Editor

On Saturday, Sept. 14, the Connecticut Latinos Achieving Rights and Opportunities (CLARO) hosted Hartford Pride and Concert on Church Street in downtown Hartford. CLARO is a Connecticut-based LGBTQ+ cultural organization that aims to “celebrate the achievements, foster inclusion, educate, and create awareness on issues impacting the LGBTQI+ community.” CLARO hosts this event annually on the second Saturday in September. Trinity’s Queer Resource Center (QRC) offered free shuttles to Hartford Pride from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. for all students.

By noon, Church Street was lined with booths from several Hartford and Connecticut-based organizations, including healthcare organizations, local coffee shops and restaurants, religious centers and churches, non-profit organizations, LGBTQ+ organizations and more. The QRC also hosted a booth, featuring pamphlets with information on queer life and resources at Trinity. “A lot [of pride attendees] are interested in learning about Trinity… I had a high school student come up and grab a pamphlet. They asked how LGBTQI+ life is on campus,” said Nelly Nyugen ’27, a Trinity student tabling at the QRC booth.

Another organization hosting a booth was Out Film Connecticut, a presenter of Connecticut’s longest-running film festival “committed to bringing outstanding gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer film to our New England community.” Marybeth Shay, a volunteer for Out Film CT who was tabling at the booth said, “We do a film festival that showcases films from around the world and from this country, and we are in our 38th year. This is my first year [at pride] as a volunteer, but [Out Film CT] has been coming for a long time. We do Queer Thursdays, which is what Trinity students might be most interested in.” They host monthly Queer Thursdays, a film series at Cinestudio, on the second Thursday of every month.

A group of anti-LGBTQ+ protesters arrived to protest the event with signs. Shortly after their arrival, a group of pride attendees and event volunteers formed a line, blocking their entry into the main event location. The protesters engaged in discourse with people in the line as well as people passing by on their way into or out of the event, discussing their religious beliefs that went against LGBTQ+ identities. This was a strong contrast to the several supportive churches present at the event..

The event also featured live music, with performances by Thea Austin, Ada Vox, David Hernandez and Antonio Mercado. The lively atmosphere encouraged attendees to dance, chat, and enjoy the performances, which included original songs and covers.In the evening, CLARO hosted a Hartford Pride After Party on Pratt Street, parallel to Church Street, and a Hartford Pride Brunch the following day. CLARO posted a statement on their website regarding the event, saying, “This year has been full of hardships and setbacks for our community, but this weekend was a reminder that there is still so much love out there. We were able to celebrate together in a safe space. Thank you!”