TORONTO — The Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board brought a touch of Mexican folklore to the World Pride 2014 celebrations in Toronto yesterday.

Celebrations included Mariachi sets by Toronto’s local Viva Mexico Mariachi, go-go dancers and Mexican dishes by Santo Pecado which created Puerto Vallarta inspired dishes for the event and paired them with El Jimador Tequila cocktails.

The visual event combined music from Puerto Vallarta’s pride event, Vallarta Pride, with Mexican musicians Gloria Trevi, Paulina Rubio, Fey, Belinda and Thalia.

Those in attendance were also able to register to win trips to Puerto Vallarta’s top gay-friendly hotels, including Casa Cupula, Costa Sur, Grand Miramar resort & Spa, Marriott CasaMagna, Villa Mercedes or Velas Vallarta, a tour for two with Gay Vallarta Bar Hopping Tours with an Outdoor Adventure or Hidden Mexico activity with Vallarta Adventure and a dolphin experience with Dolphin Discovery.

Puerto Vallarta made its debut as a tourism destination in the 1960s when celebrity visits by Elizabeth Taylor and Tennessee Williams launched the destination into the eye of international media, and has since developed into the country’s leading LGBT destination.

One of the few locations in Latin America that can claim to have a gay village, Puerto Vallarta’s Zona Romantica, is home to almost a 100 LGBT-owned or cater to the LGBT traveller, including beaches, tours, activities and restaurants bars and clubs to choose from.

A member of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association, Puerto Vallarta has been a preferred LGBT friendly destination in the Americas for over 60 years and has an infrastructure that is frequently included on leading media as gay friendly destination lists.