Two men yesterday became the first gay couple to marry in Argentina under a law approved by Congress that set a historic precedent for Latin America.

The civil ceremony between architect Jose Luis David Navarro, 54, and retiree Miguel Angel Calefato, 65, was held in the city of Frias, in the northern province of Santiago del Estero.

"We've been together for 27 years. This for us is just paperwork, because the big achievement has been the approval of the law," Mr Navarro said in a television interview. Mr Navarro said there had been a "whirl of date changes" by couples vying to be the first to marry since the law was passed July 15, but said theirs had been previously scheduled.

Argentine actor Ernesto Larrese and his partner, actor manager Alejandro Vannelli, also got married yesterday in Buenos Aires a few hours later.

The new law amends the phrase "husband and wife" to "contracting parties" in Argentina's Civil Code.

It also extends equal rights to homosexual couples in matters having to do with adoption, inheritance and social benefits.