A notary in Colombia's second largest city Medellin granted full legitimacy to the nation's first official polyamorous union of three men. There are many three-person unions in this South American country, but this was the first one to gain legal recognition.
A solicitor signed the papers for actor Victor Hugo Prada, sports instructor John Alejandro Rodriguez, and journalist Manuel Jose Bermudez that established them as a family unit. A fourth partner would have been included, Alex Esneider Zabala, if not for the cancer that claimed his life two years ago.
"We wanted to validate our household and our rights because we had no solid legal basis establishing us as a family," Victor said. Manuel cited the advantage of a polyamorous relationship. "The rules of polyamory are equitable: there are no domains, no mandates, no subjugation and everything is equal," he explained.
The trio talked about the roots of their relationship which began in 1999 with Manuel and John. Alex joined them in 2004 and then Victor in 2012. They believe that equity has been the secret to the success of the association up to now.
When asked if they consider their marriage to be strange, Manuel replied by saying, "The strange thing is to say that one can only love one person." The men are now preparing for their marriage ceremony.
Colombia's government is very friendly to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. It's progressive court allowed same-sex couples to adopt children in 2015. The constitutional court followed suit by legalizing same-sex marriage in April 2016.
Despite fierce opposition from the Catholic Church, Colombia became the fourth South American country to legalize same-sex marriage after Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. It provided all the rights enjoyed by parties in regular civil unions including inheritance, pensions, and health benefits.
