August 13 is the Day Set for the First Gay Marriage in Argentina

Argentina's first gay marriage is scheduled for August 13th between a 61-year-old man and his 60-year-old partner, officials revealed.

The first union was authorized by municipal officials in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires for actor Ernesto Rodriguez Larrese, 60, and Alejandro Vanelli, 61, who have lived together for 34 years.

The couple had been denied a request to wed at the same location three years ago.

Argentina on Thursday became the first country in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage, following a landmark Senate vote which stirred controversy in the majority Roman Catholic nation.

The law was backed by the center-left government of President Cristina Kirchner and adopted in a 33-27 vote, with three abstentions, after 15 hours of debate.

Maria Rachid, who heads the Argentine Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual Federation, said she expected around 100 same-sex couples to wed around the same date.

Mexico City authorities offered the first gay couple to wed in Argentina a free honeymoon trip to the Mexican capital and a major resort beach in the country, the city's Tourism Secretary Alejandro Rojas said after the Senate voted in Buenos Aires.

Source: AFP