At the start of 2018, Costa Rican polls were predicting that its presidential race would come down to a bout between the Party for National Liberation (Partido de Liberación Nacional, or PLN) candidate Antonio Álvarez and his Party for National Integration (Partido de Integración Nacional, or PIN) competitor, Juan Diego Castro.
Latin America has long been a region strongly influenced by the Catholic Church and macho attitudes and because of these long standing traditions, intolerance and even violence against sexual diversity is common.
The cold, mosquito-filled storm drains of Kingston, Jamaica are no place that any human would want to visit, let alone inhabit. Yet, these storm drains are home to over 25 young LGBTI Jamaicans who have been kicked out of their homes and excluded from Jamaican society. These young and vibrant Jamaicans that go by names such as Batman, Beyoncé, Rihanna and Pebbles, have built a community in the storm drains in order to escape the risk of being openly gay[i]. They are the gully queens.
