Tanto la visibilidad como la representación de la comunidad LGBTI cubana son aspectos esenciales para el empoderamiento de las minorías sexuales. Aunque en nuestro país aún queda un largo camino por transitar –en cuanto a la diversidad y los derechos sexuales –hace algunos años se han comenzado a dar los primeros pasos firmes.

This is the beginning of Enzzo Hernández, joven artista cubano, el interesante diálogo que sostuvo con el equipo de CubaUnique sobre la LGTBI community in Cuba y sobre sus propias experiencias como gay cubano. Además, nos descubre al final sus lugares y rincones preferidos para el turismo LGBT en La Habana.

Un joven artista nos habla de la comunidad LGBTI en Cuba

Este joven de 28 años nos cuenta sobre su experiencia como hombre gay y queer en la Cuba de hoy, y sobre las garantías y retos que supone ser parte de la comunidad LGBTI cubana.

For Enzzo it is very important that inside, and also outside of Cuba, people could discover the existence of an LGBTI community on the island, which, despite not having much prominence, does have an increasing presence and impact on Cuban cultural and social life, and is also motivating the arrival of gay tourism to Cuba.
Creo que en cualquier latitud del mundo siempre es desafiante ir en contra de la heteronormatividad que caracteriza a la sociedad global en la que vivimos.

Enzzo Hernández is 28 years old, he is a student at the San Gerónimo University College in Havana, where he studies the specialty of Museology.

He is also a graduate of the Onelio Jorge Cardoso Literary Training Center and is fascinated by creative writing, which steals most of his time.
For five years he worked in the Historical Library of the Office of the Historian of Havana, dedicated to the conservation of documentary heritage.
He is currently a curator at ONA Galería, an exhibition space in the historic center of Old Havana dedicated to contemporary art in Cuba.

Tengo una relación estable de 8 años junto a otro chico, ambos hemos asistido a la universidad aquí, hemos crecido juntos como profesionales y actualmente trabajamos en varios proyectos que luchan porque exista un mayor reconocimiento y una mayor visibilidad de la comunidad LGBTI.

Although this young Cuban feels that his experience is part of the cuban gay community , it doesn't feel different to that of any other country, it recognizes that on the island it has had the possibility of growing as an individual, without its sexual preference having major implications:
Nunca hemos permitido que nada ni nadie limite nuestra experiencia, o nos impida ser nosotros mismos, aunque también somos conscientes de que hemos contado con el apoyo de familiares y otros seres queridos. Además de vivir en la capital, que tiende a ser casi siempre un contexto más favorecedor para todo lo referente a la diversidad.
Así, todos los amigos de esta comunidad que se animen a visitar Cuba podréis viajar seguros y confiados de que Cuba es un destino de turismo gay friendly where you can enjoy and discover countless charms.

The Cuban LGBTI community "comes out of the closet"

After the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, the policy towards the gay community in Cuba was one of displacement, marginalization and misunderstanding.

The most iron-clad (and retrograde) revolutionary precepts maintained hostile attitudes towards Cuban homosexuals for almost four decades.
The leader himself, Fidel Castro, would describe this (bad) treatment as very unfair and would accept his mistake as one of the biggest and saddest of the Cuban Revolution.
In the '90s, under the fate of the Special Period, the Cuban mentality was being molded, especially thanks to art and literature.

In 1994, we could see film Fresa y Chocolate, with a gay theme. This film, which received the Goya Award for Best Spanish-Speaking Foreign Film in 1995, criticizes the prejudices against the gay community in Cuba, notably influencing the change in mentality that occurred later.

In Santa Clara, we find El Mejunje as the first Cuban space where transformism shows were enjoyed openly and publicly.
Already since 2008 greater achievements are visible. For example, sex reassignment surgery is free to all citizens who qualify for it; or the fact that the HIV infection rate in Cuba is the lowest in the entire Caribbean region thanks, in part, to the free coverage of medical care and the work of CENESEX in the prevention of STDs.

Work of the National Center for Sex Education in Cuba

The CENESEX has carried out important reforms regarding the rights and public visibility of the Cuban LGBTI community.

Under the work of the activist and sexologist Mariela Castro, daughter of Raúl Castro, it has sponsored various events for the acceptance of the rights of LGBTI people, such as the Cuban Days against Homophobia and Transphobia.
This center also convenes every May 17 a Conga against homophobia and transphobia, a Creole version of the gay pride march that is celebrated in other countries.
The main stage of the conga against homophobia in Cuba is La Rampa, in Vedado, and it is the most anticipated of the LGBT parties in Havana, a show of colors and joy where Cuban gay pride overflows.

Changes in mentality and projection in today's Cuba

Cuba ya no es el mismo país de hace algunas décadas. En Cuba el impacto de la comunicación por internet ha hecho florecer nuevas perspectivas, actitudes, comportamientos, generando así un escenario en el que las personas desean abrirse cada vez más al mundo y a la contemporaneidad, así como a la lucha a favor de los derechos sexuales, Enzzo tells us.

Cuba has taken firm steps to promote LGTBQ inclusion in its State policy, and this is expressed in its 2019 Constitution, where it expressly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
On the island, it is about achieving - at the family, social and governmental level - the total understanding and acceptance of the diversity of sexual orientations and gender identities:
Muy recientemente, el Ministerio de Salud Pública se sumó a la celebración oficial del Día contra la homofobia, colocando una inmensa bandera del orgullo gay en la céntrica fachada de su edificio sede, Enzzo tells us, who recognizes that there has been an important (and visible) change in the Cuban institutional mentality in recent years.
Desde hace algunos años, hasta la fecha, se puede apreciar una mayor representación de personas LGBTI en la televisión y los medios de comunicación nacionales. Esto definitivamente contribuye a la educación y sensibilización de la sociedad en torno a los temas de identidad de género y orientación sexual.

Cuba as a destination for LGBT “gay friendly” tourism

La revolución LGBTQ en Cuba ha situado a la isla, y especialmente a la Habana, como destino top para el turismo gay friendly.

Enzzo recommends what to do in Cuba al turismo LGTB. Cuba es un destino ideal tanto si viajáis con vuestro grupo de amigos, de luna de miel en pareja o single.
Puedes disfrutar perdiéndote por las calles de las ciudades coloniales cubanas, escuchar excelente música sentado en una de las terrazas encantadoras de la vieja Habana, descubrir los encantos de la exuberante naturaleza o live a romantic sunset en una playa paradisíaca cubana.
A la luz del día, resulta una verdadera maravilla incursionar en los encantos del centro histórico de la Habana Vieja, entre multitud de cafecitos y restaurantes gay friendly como El del frente, Jama o el MasHabana.

You can also find Cuban fashion stores where you will be fascinated with unique, colorful and ingenious models that you can buy to show off Cuban fashion back home.

Por otro lado, hay galerías de arte y museos que os abrirán las puertas a la fascinante cultura cubana, una fuente inagotable de magia y seducción, Enzzo states.
If you are looking for solidarity trips to Cuba, there are interesting social and community projects in which to enter and with which to collaborate.

You can stay at a charming private house, if you are interested in living with a Cuban family, and if you want to receive a more direct and personalized treatment.

Aunque se han inaugurado 2 hoteles cubanos recientemente con una abierta filosofía gay friendly: Gran Muthu Rainbow Hotel, un resort 5 estrellas ubicado en Cayo Guillermo, e inaugurado como primer hotel LGBT en Cuba, os dejará sin aliento con su propuesta de momentos especiales y emocionantes eventos LGBT.

The Telégrafo Axel Hotel La Habana, situado en el emblemático Hotel Telégrafo, el más antiguo del país, es el primer establecimiento LGBTQ+ de la capital cubana. Cuenta con 63 habitaciones y diferentes espacios de ocio, gastronomía y relax.

The best LGBT bars in Havana

Enzzo recommends which LGBT bars to visit in Havana. Places where in addition to openly and unprejudiced socializing with people from the same community, you can live incredible experiences in a general sense.
For Enzzo, the capital is where there is greater freedom for the gay tourism in Cuba and where to find a more varied offer of gay friendly restaurants, bars and cafes:
"If you are looking to have a very well served and refreshing cocktail and also to talk calmly in a garden lit by summer lights, you cannot miss the Rylac Bar, in Vedado."

“If the night stretches out and you want to go clubbing with a group of friends or are simply looking to land on a dance floor, a few streets away you will find the King Bar, one of the best gay bars in Havana. King Bar was one of the first spaces to open with a weekly program that included the LGBTI community, where you could also find exclusive nights for girls or boys. "

“Without leaving the same neighborhood you can find the Bar Pazillo, with a wonderful bar of artisan shots with very rich and ingenious flavors. At the Bar Pazillo, at midnight, you will find one of the funniest drag shows in the whole city. "
 “One of the destinations that has become a queer icon of the all-nighters in Havana is the Cabaret Las Vegas, where you can enjoy the performance of Imperio, one of the most famous drag Queens on the island. Very close to the cabaret, reaching the Havana seawall, lies the Bar Mixto XY, another space designed for the enjoyment of the LGBTI community. "

Advances and challenges for the gay community in Cuba

We say goodbye to Enzzo, thanking him for this interesting exchange and sharing his positivist vision on the situation of the Cuban LGBTI community:

Creo que, si bien se han dado algunos pasos esenciales para soñar con un país libre de homofobia y transfobia, aún queda trabajo por hacer y caminos que desandar, por parte de todos. Al menos tengo la satisfacción de que mi país sigue creciendo y adaptándose a las luchas que se libran en el mundo porque reine la diversidad y por obtener los mismos derechos sexuales para todo el mundo.

Tips and recommendations for traveling to Cuba 

Te animamos a visitar Cuba, no solo para conocer y compartir con su interesante comunidad LGBTQ+, sino para descubrir además un journey of sensations. en el que estarás en contacto directo con la cultura local, su patrimonio, naturaleza, folclore, gastronomía, etc.

Organizamos  specialized and tailor-made guided city-tours, nada típicos, para que puedas conocer a fondo cualquier aspecto de la sociedad y de la cultura cubana.
Por ejemplo, si te apetece una ruta guiada para discover Havana after dark y los mejores lugares de ambiente LGTBQ+ de la Habana podemos organizarla para ti con gusto, entre otras muchas visitas guiadas a la medida.

 

 

Article written by Gabriela Rodríguez, independent Cuban guide.
Video produced by Javier Ernesto Hernández-López.

Fotografías escogidas de las publicaciones de los restaurantes mencionados

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