By ESENDOM
January 20, 2026
Lea en español: 2025: avances LGBTQ+ en República Dominicana entre cultura, derecho y límites simbólicos
The year 2025 did not bring sweeping official declarations or explicit public policies on LGBTQ+ rights in the Dominican Republic. Instead, it produced tangible fissures in spaces that have historically been exclusionary: traditional music, armed institutions, and the courts. Progress arrived with contradictions, revealing a country in motion—without unanimity or linearity.
La Fiera Típica: Disruption from Merengue Típico
Cristopher Reyes Rodríguez, known as La Fiera Típica, consolidated a presence in merengue típico as an openly gay artist—an unprecedented phenomenon in a genre historically associated with traditional masculinity. From Mao, Valverde, they achieved consistent placement in specialized rankings with songs such as “Si se enteran” and “Tu mejor amante,” alongside international tours and recognition as Breakthrough Artist of the Year.
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The impact extends beyond music. La Fiera Típica occupied space without negotiating identity or adopting heteronormative codes. In a country where LGBTQ+ representation is often confined to urban or alternative circuits, their visibility demonstrated that tradition can accommodate far more diversity than it officially acknowledges.
Read in English: 15 Dominican Artists from ESENDOM's Top 25 That You Should Know: La Fiera Típica
Constitutional Court Eliminates Criminalization in Armed Bodies
On the legal front, the Constitutional Court issued ruling TC/1225/25, annulling provisions in the disciplinary codes of the National Police and the Armed Forces that penalized consensual same-sex relationships.
For decades, these rules enabled imprisonment, sanctions, and expulsions under the rationale of “discipline and institutional morality.” The Court determined that sexual orientation belongs to the realm of privacy, equality, and the free development of personality, and is not subject to state criminalization.
The ruling did not transform the entire rights landscape, but it removed institutionalized homophobia within the armed forces. For LGBTQ+ police officers and military personnel—long present yet invisible—it marked the end of the threat of penal punishment based on identity.
Read the article: Constitutional Court Ends Penalties for LGBTQ+ Relationships in Dominican Police and Armed Forces
Contradiction: Freedom of Expression with Penal Limits
In the same year that discriminatory sanctions were eliminated in barracks, the State activated its penal apparatus against LGBTQ+ artistic expressions involving national symbols. The controversy surrounding the “Lesbian National Anthem,” the investigation of Yoseli Castillo Fuertes, and the arrest of Alicia Anabel Santos Díaz for alleged desecration of the National Anthem exposed rigidity toward symbolic dissent.
Law 210-19 criminalizes the modification of the anthem’s lyrics, a provision enforced by authorities. What is interpreted as artistic performance or protest in contexts of the Dominican community abroad results in imprisonment, travel restrictions, and judicial proceedings on Dominican soil.
The central paradox of 2025 is clear: sexual intimacy ceased to be criminalized within armed institutions, while artistic expressions that question patriotic symbols continue to carry penal consequences. Freedom exists conditionally.
Read the articles:
Assessment: Signals Without Consolidation
The year 2025 did not establish full equality, but it marked concrete advances with clearly defined limits. Culture moved faster than official politics. Courts acted where the legislature avoided taking a position. The Dominican State continues to negotiate—under evident tension—the boundaries of diversity, identity, and public expression.
La Fiera Típica claimed space without prior authorization. The Constitutional Court corrected a historical injustice. The debate over the anthem revealed that Dominican democracy protects certain symbols with greater zeal than the rights of vulnerable groups.
Real advances rarely arrive as official celebrations. More often, they emerge as fissures that compel collective reflection. The question remains: how will LGBTQ+ rights in the Dominican Republic evolve in 2026?
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Related
15 Dominican Artists from ESENDOM's Top 25 That You Should Know: La Fiera Típica
Constitutional Court Ends Penalties for LGBTQ+ Relationships in Dominican Police and Armed Forces
15 artistas dominicanos del Top 25 de ESENDOM que debes conocer: La Fiera Típica
La Fiera Típica: cuando el merengue típico abraza la diversidad sin perder su esencia