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Sex and Relationships

Cuba Cancels Gay Pride Parade

By Sue Katz, Consenting Adult. Posted July 1, 2008.


Organizers of the parade intended to demand a government apology for past and present repression of LGBT people.

Cuba's very first gay pride march was planned for June 25th, the Guardian, a British daily, reported, but the organizers were wary. It's true that just a month ago Raul Castro's daughter, Mariela (pictured below) spoke against homophobia at a public rally in her role as head of Cuba's National Centre for Sex Education. Even though this seemed to signal a desirable attitude change at the national level, it's certainly not queer heaven. Havana-based Aliomar Janjaque, a gay activist, pointed out that continuing discrimination towards LGBT people ranges from workplace bias to some folks still being jailed for same-sex passion.

The march was to be a collaborative project between Cuban gays in Cuba and in Florida. One key Florida supporter, Arturo Alvarez, was prescient in his concerns: "We'll see with this parade if openness has really been achieved."

Unfortunately, the Guardian reported in a follow-up story the next day, the event was canceled "moments before it was to begin." Aliomar Janjaque, the president of the Foundation LGTB Reinaldo Arenas in Memoriam, and his fellow activist, the president of the Cuban League Against AIDS, were intending to deliver a set of demands to the Justice Department when they were arrested. They were asking for a governmental apology "for its past repression and, in some cases, incarceration of openly gay citizens, and the inhumane treatment of prisoners with AIDS."

The Cuban Catholic Church, the AP reported, had just a couple of days earlier complained about the government "promoting" homosexuality, in response to Mariela Castro's speech against homophobia and the announcement of "government-paid sex changes for 28 people who have undergone extensive study after requesting the surgery."

Instead of the canceled gay pride gathering, Arturo Alvarez held a solidarity rally at his Latin dance and drag club in Miami. Ironically enough, the aborted march had been set to begin at Havana's aptly named Don Quixote Park.

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See more stories tagged with: cuba, sexuality, gay rights

Sue Katz has published journalism on the three continents where she has lived; her topics range from Middle East peace movements to the impact of ageing on sexuality. Visit her blog at www.suekatz.com

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Progress being made for LGBT people in Cuba
Posted by: walterlx on Jul 4, 2008 10:15 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Hundreds of articles, reports, photos and documents, including numerous articles translated from the Cuban media can be found by Googling this: lgbt-cuba

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"Cancelled Gay Parade" was never real in the first place
Posted by: Marcel Hatch on Jul 23, 2008 6:18 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I have a different take on this supposed "gay pride parade" in Havana. It was a setup from start to finish orchestrated in Miami in an attempt to discredit positive changes in Cuba and thwart gay progress on the island.

There are gay celebrations in Havana regularly. There was a large official May 17 event around the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO), and a June 14, 2008 gay celebration at Mi Cayito Beach just east of Havana.

Please see http://gaycuba.ca/together/

This site has photos and videos that prove big gay events actually happen in Cuba unlike the sham June 25 parade designed as a ruse by the Unity Coalition to attack island gays and their government.

Marcel Hatch
Vancouver, BC Canada

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