2009-06-15 01:13:00 -

SAO PAULO (AP) - Dancing and waving rainbow flags, people are jamming one of Sao Paulo's main boulevards for the 13th annual gay pride parade in South America's biggest cities to condemn homophobia and demand equal rights.
Sunday's carnival-like event drew gay men, lesbians, cross-dressers and even heterosexual couples _ many accompanied by their children _ for a mammoth march down skyscraper-lined Avenida Paulista to the beat of loud music blasting from some 20 sound trucks.
Kicking off the parade, Mayor Gilberto Kassab said: «This parade is an opportunity to express our repudiation of homophobia.

Police declined to release a crowd estimate, but organizers hoped the turnout would make it the world's biggest gay pride parade.