Being LGBTQ in Cuba – gold at the end of the rainbow?

It very much depends on who you talk to as to what impression you get about being LGBTQ in Cuba today. (For those of you out of the sexual orientation loop this acronym is designed to be inclusive and stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender and Queer. And the Queer bit relates to an inclusive and positive way to identify all people targeted by heterosexism and homophobia). Anyway, back to Cuba. Watch Christian Liffers´ provocative new documentary, Dos Patrias, Cuba y La Noche (Two Homelands, Cuba and the Night) - out this week in the US - and you’ll be ready to cut your wrists. But sit listening to Mariela Castro Espín - daughter of Raul Castro, Fidel’s brother and Cuba’s next leader - speak impassionedly at Havana’s International Culture and Development conference last June (2007), and you’d have been moved to tears.

One talks of no-where to go, police vigilance and discrimination, and the other urges you to open your mind, accept new models of the family and proposes new legislation, which will see more LGBTQ rights such as adoption, plus the introduction of civil partnership ceremonies for same-sex couples on this predominantly macho Caribbean island. One might say, however, that neither Castro Espín nor Liffers are very representative of ordinary Cubans. So what is the situation and what do the LGBTQ individuals we talked to have to say about how they live their lives in today’s Cuba – a Cuba that many feel is on the brink of what may well be very radical political and social changes?

First, a little history. In the early years of Cuba’s revolution homosexuality was considered "a bourgeois perversion", one was seen as being an enemy of the state and many speak of the harsh repression of those years. From the mid 70`s onwards people more describe themselves as ``being kept in check’’ for their sexual preferences, but by the end of the 1980`s, shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, references to homosexuality in the Cuban Penal Code had noticeably softened.

Closet doors, however, only really began to open on the island in the early 90`s with the release of Fresa y Chocolate (Strawberry and Chocolate), a Cuban film dealing with the friendship between two men – one gay and the other straight. And at around the same time, the Cuban government ended the policy of quarantining all HIV-positive people, a number of whom were from the LGBTQ community. So, slowly, such lives became a little more visible, open and accepted and not just in the capital.

In Santa Clara, the third largest city in Cuba, El Mejunje – a radical, independent and alternative community arts centre – led the way by offering not only a weekly LGBTQ disco and transvestite night but also organising educational programmes and events dedicated to safe sex and the management of HIV and Aids. The wonderful transvestite group Las Divas Cubanas came out of this precise place and period (see www.lasdivascubanas.com). And tourism has clearly also played its part as foreigners and Cubans began, and continue, to have increasing contact - both personal and informational. An example of this interchange are Queers for Cuba - a US, LGBTQ group that is in solidarity with the Cuban revolution and that has had ´´good and meaningful dialogue`` with various governmental and community organisations on the island.

Although nothing yet has been added to the existing law or to the constitution, Cubans are now seeing some very solid proposals initiated by such key institutions as the National Centre for Sexual Education (CENESEX) - under the direction of Castro Espin - as well as from leading figures such as social anthropologist Dr. Tomás Fernandez Robaina, and mover and shaker of the lesbian and bi women’s group supported by CENESEX, psychologist Norma Guillard. Castro Espín was recently quoted, in an interview with Havana’s university newspaper, Alma Mater, as saying:

``…yes, today, we are in, let’s say, an optimum period – and it´s now time for homosexuals to have more space and representation in Cuban society``.

There are further proposals that these issues be part of the revolutions key, ideological Batalla de Ideas (The Battle of Ideas – a current initiative focussing on combating social and economic problems with ideological principles).

As yet, despite a clear change of public opinion in relation to sexual orientation, there has been no official research or investigation and so there are no statistics or data which prove this to be so. But, as many people that we spoke to said, there’s no denying that things feel different and that there’s a sense of hope in the air. It’s not San Francisco, but debates are more open and it’s clear that CENESEX and many others are playing an important role in this debate.

CENESEX have formed a transvestite group, that, a la Mejunje, work as health educators, and they also hold regular meetings with a lesbian forum in order to develop policy and practice. Their quarterly magazine, Sexologia y Sociedad, and their website www.cenesex.sld.cu are also important mediums in this ongoing ``battle of ideas´´. A further, and important, indication of the winds of sexual change was reflected in a recent speech by Ricardo Alarcón, President of the National Assembly (the equivalent of the US Congress) where he reportedly spoke of the need to revise laws dealing with same-sex couples and their legal rights.

Some express unease that, although these positive initiatives are very hopeful indicators, CENESEX and the like, are, of course, part of the Ministry of Health, and they say that LGBTQ concerns are still too easily tied to matters of sexual and psychological health. Furthermore, they argue, government-only-led initiatives are too centralised and may not allow for roots-up organisations to grow.

But meantime, Santa Clara’s Mejunje remains a model of inclusion and education. Its founder, Ramon Silverio, and his city have achieved something quite exceptional on the island, which has been to create an independent cultural space where all the community - not just the fabulous Divas - have a place and feel a sense of belonging. The LGBTQ community in Havana, for instance, say that, for them, there’s just the Malecon (Havana`s famous promenade), a spot outside a downtown cinema, the Yara, in the Vedado district and some illegal parties that can be pretty hard to find. They long for more public spaces, bars and clubs where they could be more open and feel safe and supported.

``…It’s not that people reject me, said a 30 year old lesbian lawyer, its that they’re indifferent to my sexual preference. That’s much better than it was, for sure, but I don’t feel like I have a place to go to nor get the support I really need``.

`` …I`m 19, and as a Santaclareño, I feel tremendously lucky. I feel a real acceptance here, a sense of belonging and, for me, that’s down to the existence of El Mejunje and Las Divas`` (Jorge, university student).

´´.. Well, at first, when I found out he was gay, I just couldn’t even talk about it. And now, I can`t say I like it but I have to see that my son is my son, and I have to love him for who he is, not for who I want him to be.`` (Ela, mother and bank clerk).

So it does appear that despite its past, and despite having a long way to go, Cuba may be well on the road to being a more open and accepting society in relation to sexual preference and lifestyle even though, like anywhere in the world, there will remain those in violent opposition, whether on religious or personal grounds.

It was very clear from this years International Culture and Development conference that other countries in the region are now looking to Cuba for leadership and guidance in relation to matters of sexual orientation. So lets hope that all its communities and organizations, along with the newly proposed laws and with more education – the latter being especially crucial – can help create a future for the LGBTQ community on the island that will hopefully be a much, much brighter and sunnier one - finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.