Three Years of Pride: Santiago Méndez’s Visual Archive of Queer Venezuela

• Photographer Santiago Méndez has spent three years documenting Pride in Caracas, creating a vital visual record of queer life amidst political instability and systemic discrimination.
• Venezuela currently lacks marriage equality, legal gender recognition, and faces high levels of anti-LGBTIQ+ violence, including 461 cases recorded in 2023 alone.
• Méndez’s documentary work serves as an anthropological archive, highlighting that visibility in public space remains a dangerous, political act for queer Venezuelans.

Evolution of Pride in Caracas

• 2023: The march was characterized by a surge of communal joy and energy, though underpinned by the persistent threat of police interference.
• 2024: A "hinge year" occurring shortly before presidential elections; the march featured explicit political slogans following the 2023 police raid of an LGBTIQ+ venue in Valencia.
• 2025–2026: The atmosphere became notably smaller and more cautious due to a post-election climate of repression, arrests, and forced exile. Reports in 2026 suggest police continue to harass queer venues under the guise of "homosexuality" as a crime.

Ethics of Queer Documentation

• Méndez approaches his work with caution, acknowledging that public visibility can put his subjects at risk with police, employers, or family.
• He maintains a skeptical stance toward "photographer heroism," choosing to leave some images unpublished to protect the safety of the community.
• The archive is intended to counter historical narratives that have exclusively framed queer lives through the lenses of medicalization, police reports, and shame.

The Role of Visual Memory

• Photography is critical for preserving evidence of existence in a country where such histories have been historically erased or misrepresented.
• Méndez emphasizes that visibility does not equal safety; while the march brings queer bodies into the daylight, the reality for many remains one of coded interactions and hidden, private spaces.