Up to an estimated 20,000 people marched in a parade demanding equal rights for LGBT people held Saturday in Chile's capital of Santiago, breaking an attendance record for the annual event.

The 14th iteration of Chile's Marcha por la Diversidad Sexual (Sexual Diversity March) stepped off from Plaza Italia, the huge roundabout located in the heart of the city. A simultaneous demonstration held in Concepcion drew a smaller crowd.

A sudden rain in the Chilean capital briefly dampened the enthusiasm of revelers.

Organizers called the event part protest and part celebration.

“We need to have the same rights as the entire heterosexual community, because we are all equal before the law, that's what concerns us,” Marcelino Jara of the gay rights group Accion Gay (Gay Action) is quoted as saying by Spanish news agency EFE.

Co-sponsors of the event included Movimento por la Diversidad Sexual, Coordinadora Euforia de Genero and Accion Gay.