The first and final gay pride march

Next year you'll probably find me marching at the Heritage of Pride march down 5th Avenue in Manhattan. Perhaps with the Queer New York Bloggers contingent. I keep getting invited and turning them down because I'm never around for pride weekend in New York. At least during the last couple of years.  Then again, I might have marched in my last gay pride march ever.

Truth be told, I've felt a bit prided out the last few years.  I see a rainbow flag and I cringe.  The thought of hours and hours of commercially sponsored floats carrying a seemingly inexhaustible number of go-go boys and drag queens dancing to the same Lady Gaga song doesn't seem as fresh to me as when go-go boys and drag queens were dancing to Madonna way back.  And watching some of the Latino groups spend all that money on the glorious feathered costumes and elaborate floats breaks my heart when I know how hard they work for the money, if only to blow it on a couple of hours in the sun.

Don't get me wrong! Some of my best friends are go-go boys and drag queens! They are also from Latin America! It's just that when the New York City Department of Health does a float promoting crystal-meth addiction awareness and sees the need to put 20 go-go boys dancing around the float to call attention to the message, well, there is something really wrong with the world.

In other words, I have turned into an old gay geezer.

So when I tell you that I marched at a gay pride march a week ago Sunday and that it was an incredibly moving experience don't just take it with a grain of salt. It was a revelation...



I mean, it wasn't just ANY gay pride. It was the 13th annual gay pride in the city where I was born: Medellín, Colombia... and the first time I ever participated in it.

I mean, this is the city I left in the late 1990's when I didn't think it was possible to live an openly gay life. It wasn't that there weren't any gay people in Medellín at the time. I remember summer romances with two Colombian soldiers, one of whom offered me one of his hollow-point rifle bullets as a keepsake when he found out I was leaving (I refused it, thinking it would explode halfway through the trip back to the United States).

I mean, I was 20 at the time.

I mean, that's Calle 13's "Fiesta de Locos" blasting out of the speakers ---- and every single person singing it!

I mean...



OMG! Never in a million years would I have expected all this 'Glee'ness to happen in Medellín. I was enthralled.

The march was actually one of two gay pride marches in the city that day. This particular one was pulled together by Edisón Arboleda of the LGBT-rights organization Corporación El Otro.  It got off to a slow start and it took ages to make our way downtown, amidst huge sudden downpours and a loss of marchers.

But, as marchers made it over the Colombia Street bridge and into the mostly empty industrial area of downtown Medellín, the march truly turned into one huge party.



I know it might seem like any pride march anywhere in the world to you  but it sent chills down my spine.  It still does as I watch these clips.

A few things I noticed: Only a couple of commercial floats, police turning away a number of drunk soccer hooligans shouting homophobic slurs as a few drag queens watched them being taken away, a march where participants and spectators were allowed free movement instead of penning people in as they do in New York, young queer folk everywhere, a cute photographer from El Tiempo and, yes, Lady Gaga.

I also took a few photos (and so did my brother).  And that was my gay pride this year. How was yours?

Related: 

• La Dany - The Movie
• Medellin gay pride parade (flickr)

Some "Bad Romance", Mexico style

While you kiddies breathlessly await tomorrow's premiere of Lady Gaga's "Alejandro" video, here is something to tide you over (blame Twitter for me knowing that tomorrow is the "Alejandro" premiere).

The summer pride season got started this weekend with Brazil leading the way. Yeah, 3.5 million people, drag queens galore, rainbow flags everywhere. Ho-hum. Same as last year.

Wait. 3.5 million people? OMG. That's a lot of folks!

But Monterrey, Mexico, just kicked all of them Brazilian asses and did their own thingie over the weekend, plus or minus 3 million people.

Some background: LGBT activists and advocates in Mexico had spent years asking the federal government to recognize May 17th as the official day against homophobia and transphobia but when the government finally acceded to their demands this year, gone was any mention of 'homophobia' or 'transphobia'. Instead, president Felipe Calderón's government announced official recognition of May 17th as the "National Day of Tolerance and Respect towards Preferences".

Activists were, understandably, enraged. My friend, Gabriel Gutiérrez García, resigned as the designated ambassador against discrimination at the National Council to Prevent Discrimination. Others assailed the inability of the Mexican government to mention the words 'homophobia' and 'transphobia'. 

Save us, Lady Gaga!:  So where do the Mexican gaygays go? Of course! They go Gaga! As Milenio reports, a few show troopers showed up yesterday in front of the Plaza of Heroes in Monterrey, Mexico, and surprised passers-by with a choreographed performance of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" as criticism of the government's posture (they performed the whole routine in front of the Monterrey Government Palace, which is located in the Plaza).



El Universal, which counted 300 participants at the event, reported they were also trying to draw attention to more than 60 hate crimes committed against the LGBT community in Monterrey in recent years.

And this wasn't even Monterray's gay pride! That will happen this weekend but I doubt it will get nearly the attention the Lady Gaga stunt will get.

Meantime, in Brazil, President Luiz Ignácio Lula da Silva didn't go the mamby pamby way! Today he announced that Brazil, unlike Mexico, would specifically observe an annual Day Against Homophobia.

UPDATE: Here is the 'official' video  of the action as posted by those who organized it...

Dominican Republic: Cardinal speaks, police cracks-down on "indecent and immoral behavior"

As usual, as with most LGBT-related news from the Dominican Republic, I first heard about this on Monaga.

Anthony, who covers gay life in the island on the blog, warns of a potentially homophobic crackdown by police officers following local media reports of "indecent and immoral behaviors" at Duarte Park in the downtown colonial zone of Santo Domingo - a common gathering space for the city's LGBT community.

Anthony admits that the park has seen better days and "could use a little cleaning up" but warns that whole exercise might be "solely about removing gay people from Parque Duarte" and advices those planning to visit the Park or any of the gay bars in the colonial zones to carry ID with them and dress nicely as to not get picked up by police.

I have written about Parque Duarte before and it's historical role in raising the visibility of the LGBT community in the Dominican Republic.

• In 2006, I wrote about what I believe was the first outdoor gay pride gathering in the Dominican Republic which took place at - you guessed it - Parque Duarte (the post doesn't say it but I was later told that an estimated 250 people came out to protest the shutting down of gay bars in the colonial zone at the time).
• In 2007, I reported on the follow-up gay pride gathering at Parque Duarte which received some limited media attention.
• In 2008, I reported on a gay pride rally and 3rd annual gay pride gathering at Parque Duarte. This time, emboldened, participants openly flew rainbow flags wherever they went.
• Last year, 2009, I reported on police attempts to break down the gay pride gathering (Monaga responded and said that police were unable to completely shut-down the gathering and suggested that authorities might have been riled up by observing a number of symbolic same-sex marriages that were staged for the celebration).

Now, my initial thought was that this latest crusade by Santo Domingo's police authorities stemmed from complaints received by local community members.  Turns out the crackdown stems directly from comments made by the island's ultra-homophobic and powerful Catholic Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodriguéz (the good cardinal, if you must know, is not beneath using the Spanish word for 'faggot' to refer to gays).

I haven't found a direct link to the Cardinal's original comments but the first article I have seen directly related to the current police crackdown is an editorial that ran on Monday, April 5th, on Listin Diario, one of the leading Dominican newspapers ("Duarte Park, center of scandals").  The paper, which has been having a field day with the story this week, says in the editorial that the park has been overrun by "drunk, loud people, addicts to drugs and orgies."

"Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodriguéz has denounced - responsively - the aberrations committed there", the editors say, "and so have resident neighbors who have not found answers from the authorities to put an end to this unsustainable situation."

The editorial calls for the local authorities to step in as a means to bring back "good customs," asks them to stop any "shameful acts of immorality" and to put an end acts of "sexual perversity" in which park patrons engage (hm, I'd be willing to bet that the paper lifted the entire Sunday church homily given by the good Cardinal the day before).

Monday, on the same day the paper ran the editorial, Listin Diario also published a separate article with a similar title ("Duarte Park is a center of promiscuity") in which they directly quote the Cardinal as saying that the park is "a space where all kinds of insolent and vulgar behaviors rule".

Additionally, they also quote an anonymous local resident. "Those who attract attention in the Duarte Park." she says, "are the lesbians and the gays who sit down on the benches with their partners to drink alcoholic beverages, caress each other and share with others of their sexual preference, without caring about any of the spectators."

The Cardinal was thrilled! The next day, on Tuesday, April 6th, Listin Diario published a follow-up article titled "Cardinal says vulgarity has reached extremes" stoking the fire they had set the day before.

"Listin Diario's article about Duarte Park is very eloquent and enlightening, but it's not the only place," the Cardinal says, "I have also received complaints from neighbors of the ruins in San Francisco because, according to them, they cannot sleep."

He also blames immoral acts and thanks the increased presence of the authorities implying that it was Listin Diario's reporting that brought interest on the area.

The Cardinal also warns of impending violence if things don't change without a hint of condemnation of any violent acts that might erupt. "The later [the authorities] take action, the worse the solution will be," he says, "because the time will arrive in which the people will see themselves compelled to react in a manner that nobody wants."

Yikes, final solutions anyone?

But, readers want to know, what exactly does "immorality" mean to the editors and journalists of Listin Diario?

On Wednesday, April 7th, the paper published two photographs in which two women sat on a park bench and kissed.  The caption for the photo on the right reads "In public: The homosexual couple caresses each other on a Parque Duarte bench"; the caption for the 2nd picture, in which they are seen talking to each other, says "Immorality: Homosexuals sitting on a Juan Pabo Duarte Park bench in the colonial zone".

OMG!!! Two people!!!! Kissing!!!! What an orgy!!! The article, titled "National Police identifies gang at Duarte Park" names anonymous "police sources" as linking drug sales to gays.

"In said park," the source says, "homosexuals show up to have a good time with their partners as well as individuals who are devoted to selling narcotics, an activity they engage in by using as an intermediary or feigning selling mints, which they keep inside a backpack, next to the drugs."

Said unnamed authority also says that the number of homosexual partners - gulp! - grows exponentially once Thursday night rolls along and doesn't let up until Sunday night.

Where is this all of this heading? You might as well have guessed it. Being criticized by the Cardinal and the media all week long for not taking action, the local police authorities, led by Santo Domingo District Attorney Alejandro Moscoso, organized a press conference for Thursday, April 8th. ("Attorney's Office will punish those who cause a scandal") in which he met with local residents.

Yes. A week after the Cardinal suggested it was a citizen-led morality drive, the paper said that the Attorney held a community town-hall yesterday on the issue and promised folks that the police would shut down any sites that attempted against "morals and good behaviors". The article in which Listin Diario reported on the town-hall meeting, which was published yesterday, Friday, April 9th, was also the first time that the paper deemed it necessary to quote anyone from the Dominican LGBT community.

Both self-described gay right activists stated that they were in agreement with authorities keeping the order at gatherings happening at the park, but Tania Guzmán, who told the paper that she was an ordained minister, expressed fear of the community turning violent against the LGBT community.


Francis Taylor, who is also quoted, asked for the LGBT community to be included in any deliberations related to public order at the park.

Neither said they had been invited to participate in the town-hall meetings.

Previously on Blabbeando:

• Dominican Republic: Rita Indiana comes out (March 23., 2010)
• Dominican Republic: Ashley Schneider takes the crown (January 10, 2010)
• Dominican Republic: Gay beauty pageant to go on despite earlier threats from governor (November 23, 2009)
• Dominican Republic: Prosecutor links earrings to homosexuality (October 12, 2008)

Dominican Republic: Womanizer, womanizer, baby... (an update)

Leave it to Monaga to provide additional context to my recent post on the gay pride gathering that took place on June 27th at Duarte Park in Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic, which was reported to have been broken up by police authorities ("Police break up gay pride gathering").

For one thing, he lives there. For another, he always seems to know what's up: In a post he did on Monday, he says that most people stayed in the park, despite attempts by the police to intimidate participants. He also says that one thing that might have riled up passers-by was that those who gathered at the park conducted a symbolic wedding ceremony (Monaga provides the photo of the happy couple on the right as well as an image of the wedding 'invite' over at his blog).

He also says that Duarte Park became a gathering spot for young gays and lesbians after police engaged in a series of aggressive moves to drive them away from another gathering spot at Plaza Espana and that it now seems as if authorities are determined to do the same with Duarte Park.

Still, gay pride was in full swing that weekend at the various gay establishments in the island. Proof positive is the video posted above (and also provided by Monaga) of a pretty elaborate take on Britney Spears' "Womanizer" performed that same weekend at CHA Bar by Cachita Rubio and her dancers.

Mexico: Tijuana gay pride 2009

Back in June 2005, I found myself crossing the border into Mexico from the United States for the first time in my life.

I was visiting my friend Rex Wockner in San Diego and we were on a mission to find out if Tijuana Pride was a go... or a bust.

Mostly, it was a bust, with a few late stragglers walking around, like us, trying to figure out the what and the who and not having much success. There were few signs of organization or leadership or anybody who could say for a fact that the parade had been canceled.

Jump ahead three years and here we have Tijuana Pride 2009, in a year that has seen the city's murder and crime rate go way up, in light of a recent increase in lawlessness.

Was it a go? Was it a bust? Amazingly, according to Rex, it was "bigger, better, longer, more colorful and more spirited than ever."

He was there to cover it as a journalist and noted that, unlike previous years, a lot of Southern Californians seemed to stay away in droves due to the fears of violence.

He has much more on the parade on his blog, including lots of photos. Just go to "Tijuana pride triples in size, despite crime wave" to read all about it (photo above copyright © 2009 Rex Wockner - All Rights Reserved).

Cuba: Mariela Castro says government did not shut down first gay pride march

[Previously: "1st ever gay pride march canceled, organizers claim intimidation, others differ," June 28, 2008]

This has been bubbling out there on the internet all day long.

Earlier I got a Google alert that read, in Spanish, "Mariela Castro qualifies a gay march summoned by independent groups as a 'sad montage'" (Encuentro Cubano, July 8, 2008).

The article, posted in what is a strongly anti-Castro web portal, quoted excerpts from what seemed to be a private letter by Castro, signing as the Director of the Cuban Sexual Education National Center, to Dr. Pierre Assalian, the President of the 17th World Congress of Sexology organized by the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS) - indicating that she was responding to some of his comments.

Seeking more information, I actually found a bilingual blog post with information on an internal e-mail message sent by Dr. Assailan to members of the WAS ("Cuba and sexual diversity: Some comments and clarifications," La Polilla, July 8, 2008). La Polilla, which leans towards pro-Castro views, translates his brief message as follows:

Re: CUBA’s first gay pride march-the organizers were arrested this morning
I do not understand, I thought Cuba was so open??????
Here WAS should take a stand, even NAFSO [North American Federation of Sexuality Organizations], if we want to put in practice what we talked about in our last meeting regarding ADVOCACY as a role of NAFSO.

La Polilla also offers what seems to be the full text of Castro's letter as well as an English translation (another translation is available at the Penultimos Dias blog).

I still have no confirmation that the statement is real but, if so, Dr. Castro rejects any claims that the Cuban government had anything to do with shutting down what was billed as the first gay pride march in Cuba, takes pot-shots at Cuban-American organizations in Miami and accuses them of terrorism, alleges that none of the persons that showed up for the march were even gay and accuses them of being a front for United States-backed forces seeking to discredit efforts by the Cuban government to increase government led recognition of the rights of LGBT Cubans.

Below, my own translation!

Pierre Assalian, M.D.
President Professional Development of AMPQ
President - 17th World Congress of Sexology

Dear Pierre,

I regret your disagreeable and clumsy irony. It would be very healthy if you sought in-depth information before providing an opinion since none of us are that ingenuous and we know that news regarding Cuba is rewarded with very tempting sums of money to discredit any accomplishment by the Cuban society. We all know that campaigns against Cuba are financed and organized by the United States government, using terrorist groups and organizations made-up at the last minute to be able to justify that funding and divert the attention towards the majority of the funds that remain in the pockets of the organizers. Have you read about these scandals? A common mechanism for this is to create the news and to sell it to different press agencies and bodies, with the goal of indicating that the assigned moneys were ‘adequately’ used.

Just in case you do not know, the Cuban revolution, and in particular the work done by CENESEX during the last years, have elicited much world-wide sympathy. Some of the foreign press accredited by Cuba have communicated to me that they received the order by their newspaper’s directors not to publish more news regarding the social advances in Cuba in the field of the right of the LGBT community, due to pressures expressly received from North American diplomats. This is perhaps why you are not aware of all the work we are doing to promote the sexual rights of the LGBT community, of the intense and extensive program undertaken in all of Cuba close to May 17th, of our efforts in the legislative field. Nevertheless, you become alarmed by news that have been made-up and politically manipulated, to justify the funds received by these organizations, coming from the North American government program, to discredit Cuba, with the ostentatious intention of discrediting the work we are doing.

I have received letters from gay, lesbian and transgender activists living in Cuba and abroad who are angered by this information. In the first place, because those organizations in Miami are profoundly homophobic and never took care of the rights of neither Cuban nor Cuban-American homosexuals. In the second place, because they will never allow any organization based in the exterior to decide on their behalf. In the third place, because it was all a sad montage [un montaje infeliz]: There was no march because no-one supports them, no-one confronted them, no-one repressed them, there was not a single policeman in their surroundings and there were no detainees. The foreign press let us know that there were only 6 persons in the referred park and none were LGBT, they weren’t even able to explain the LGBT situation in Cuba when the press asked them, for this reason they weren’t sufficiently covered by the summoned foreign press media, who suffered a great deception when they discovered that it was a coarse and badly mounted show. In the end, they were ignored.

We regret that the attacks against our work from the exterior begin to be increasingly desperate. It’s our understanding that they will be more systematic and that there are a lot of media and the economic power to carry them out We will continue to do and improve our work, with the full support of the LGBT community of Cuba and many friends around the world.

I assume that the WAS is not a political organization and that it has the professional responsibility of not playing into the media campaigns, which discredit it as a worldwide scientific organization. I remind you that it’s not the first time that some fall into this trap.

It will be my pleasure to meet you again in Ecuador and Sweden, to greet you as good colleagues who fight for the same cause and to talk about the advances of the LBGT community in Canada, where you live. We all have a lot of useful work to do in our countries on behalf of the promotion of sexual rights. I am certain that we all are doing our best efforts.

My best greetings,

Mariela Castro Espín, Director of the Sexual Education National Center (CENESEX)

Related:

• Child of the Revolution: Family Habits (July 9, 2008)

Venezuela: Gay pride marchers are critical of President Chavez' record on LGBT rights

Photo: A kiss in the midst of Sunday's gay pride rally down the streets of Caracas (All photos courtesy of Santiago Farías).

Organizers of Sunday's 8th Annual Venezuelan LGBT-rights March said they were surprised by the large numbers of people that showed up which they claimed eclipsed last year's estimated attendance of 30,000.

El Universal reports today that Venezuelan gay rights organizations such as Unión Afirmativa, Movimiento Gay Revolucionario and Orgullo GLBT de Venezuela supported the march.

And then there was Amnesty International: "We are not in favor or against, but it's about defending these person's rights," said Manuel Finol, identified as a member of Amnesty International's executive committee.

Jesus Medina, a member of Alianza Lambda - another sponsoring organization - said that President Hugo Chavez' government had strongly supported indigenous communities and Venezuelans of African descent but was still marginalizing the gay community.

"All the marches have taken place under the mandate of President Hugo Chavez and we thank the Mayor's Office which provided support [in the form of] security, sound equipment and the stage," he said, "but there is still no law that protects us against discrimination - To be homophobic and a revolutionary is a contradiction."

Over at Noticiero Digital, Santiago Farías of AFINES Venezuela, said that organizers called for equal rights and the legal recognition of same-sex partnerships (and posted an amazing series of photographs including the ones on this post).

"Following a ruling by [the Venezuelan Supreme Tribunal of Justice] in relation to this topic, [same-sex partners] only can achieve this through the creation of a Common Partnership of Possessions belonging to the couple; a judicial determination that does not satisfy demands by Venezuelan homosexual couples," he said, "and for this reason [marchers] are attempting to elicit another judicial resolution through the National Assembly."

One Venezuelan lesbian rights organization - Fundación Reflejos de Venezuela - was not present. On June 24th they released the following statement:

"The Board and members would like to state: WE DO NOT HAVE any relation, responsibility, nor are we any part of the 8th LGBT Pride March; this is due to the discriminatory, disrespectful and anti-democratic attitude of Mr. Heisler Vaamonde with the backing of the sponsor entity and supporting entities."

No other reasons are given but Mr. Vaamonde is known as a long-time Chavez acolyte who always trumps the president's policies while overlooking his record (or statements) on LGBT rights.

Previously on Blabbeando:

• Top Court says no to same-sex marriages (March 5, 2008)
• Hugo Chavez wants to be Master of His Domain (Dec. 2, 2007)
• Legislative committee says discrimination based on sexual orientation should be outlawed (Oct. 11, 2007)
• President Chavez too macho to be gay (Sept. 16, 2007)
• Embassy in Spain defends Chavez from gay rumors (Sept. 12, 2007)
• Is President Chavez - Gulp! - Gay? (Sept 8, 2007)
• 1,500 naked Venezuelans, Simon Bolivar and a Brooklynite (March 19, 2006)
• Gay politics in Venezuela (Nov. 29, 2005)
• $1M for HIV awareness (but what about the gays?) (Aug. 15, 2005)

Dominican Republic: Gay pride 2008, pt. II

Amazing! Just two short years ago Dominican activists seemed divided as to whether the LGBT community in the Dominican Republic should celebrate gay pride away from public venues and stay indoors - or celebrate it out in the open and in the streets of Santo Domingo.

On Tuesday I reported on the seemingly impromptu LGBT pride march that took place at El Conde Street in downtown Santo Domingo on Friday, June 20th.

Now comes word that a second public gathering took place last night at the Duarte Park (also in the downtown colonial zone) as congregations of mostly young people celebrated the end of this year's LGBT pride week (for some reason I suspect that my friend Daniel Castellanos was an inspiration).

Today's El Nacional says that most participants were members of The Gay-Transgender-Men Alliance (also known as the GTH Alliance) but also credited Amigos Siempre Amigos (RevASA) for organizing the event ("Gays bring to closure day of pride," June 29, 2008).

Daniel Benitez from RevASA told the paper that "To be gay, lesbian or transsexual in this country is a matter of courage, since day to day we see ourselves exposed to physical and verbal mistreatment, to indifference and to being harassed by the police, religious authorities and Governmental authorities, just as regular citizens that assume that because of our sexual orientation we are less of a people, less Dominican."

Harold Jiménez, also from RevASA riled against stereotypical portrayals of gays and lesbians in Dominican media and chided religious leaders for trying to tie a recent decision by California courts to grant marriage rights to same-sex couples to the emerging gay rights movement in the island. "Gay Dominicans do not have the marriage issue on our agenda," he said.

As during the June 20th march, many bystanders were surprised and shocked to see dozens of LGBT Dominicans waving rainbow flags and expressing their gay pride.

Marianela Gutierrez, for one, was delighted: "I am heterosexual and believe that people have the right to live their sexual orientation without restrictions," she said, "here we have too much double morality, people show up in the media defending morals and good customs, appearing saintly and in the end they end up in huts and brothels and not necessarily with their wives or husbands."

• Related: Monaga: Gay pride celebrations (June 30, 2008)

Cuba: 1st-ever gay pride march canceled, organizers claim intimidation, others differ

Photo: Mario José Delgado González, Vice President of the Reynaldo Arenas in Memoriam LGBT Foundation, speaks to media at Habana's Quijote Park on the day the pride march was cancelled (CSM/Cuba Encuentro)

Of all the recent developments in LGBT rights throughout Latin America, few have been as fascinating as the Cuban government's increasing openness towards the island's LGBT population (particularly in light Fidel Castro's repressive record on LGBT issues during his mandate).

When Fidel finally relinquished his dictator's throne earlier this year to make way for his brother Raúl some commentators said that they expected little to change in the island. But things had already begun to change in Fidel's waning years as a ruler and economic and political pressures on the Cuban government seemed to indicate that it had to change or else.

And so, since Raúl took over, the island has indeed seen a series of changes such as allowing regular citizens to buy DVD-players, PC's, cell phones, scooters and other products; allowing Cuban citizens to book rooms at luxury hotels previously only available to wealthy tourists (which doesn't mean necessarily that the average Cuban has the money to do so anyway); and, most recently, institute a new wage system which would reward workers for good performance.

When it comes to LGBT rights, it helps that Mariela Castro is Raúl's daughter. It also helps that she is a sexologist and heads Cuba's National Center for Sexual Education (CENESEX). And, as with other changes in the island, she had already begun to lay the groundwork to open up official recognition of the rights of LGBT Cubans even before Fidel stepped down.

These efforts are beginning to bear fruit this year. First came an official ceremony on May 17th commemorating the International Day Against Homophobia ("Cuban Government Backs Calls to Combat Homophobia," AP, May 17, 2008) - as public a government-sponsored LGBT-rights event in Cuban history. Then came news earlier this month that a long-gestating government resolution to have the Public Health Ministry cover the costs of sexual reassignment surgeries for transgender Cubans had been approved ("Free sex-change operations approved," IPS, June 6, 2008).

As IPS reports, the next step will probably be recognizing same-sex partnership rights:

"The [proposed] reformed Family Code would stipulate that the family has the responsibility and duty to accept and care for all of its members, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation. It would also recognize the same civil, patrimonial, inheritance and housing rights for homosexual and heterosexual couples, while opening the door for legal recognition of same-sex civil unions."

Imagine that! Cuba granting same-sex couples all rights afforded to heterosexual couples even before the United States does it [Oh! And on the eve of the May 17th event, Cuban television broadcast "Brokeback Mountain" on national television].

And yet...

In October I wrote about the birth of a small gay rights organization in the island called the Cuban Movement for Homosexual Liberation ("Independent reporter says a gay rights organization has been launched," October 24, 2007). Leanes Imbert Acosta, one of the founders, told reporters that they planned to "denounce the cases of repression and human rights violations to which [gays] are subjected by the government of this island" [Back in February Luiz Mott, one of Brazil's leading LGBT rights activists, echoed those thoughts by demanding that Fidel Castro "ask for forgiveness for the persecution of gays in Cuba"]. The government, while lamenting some polices from the past, has never indicated that it would do such a thing.

It wasn't the first time that LGBT Cubans criticized their own government from the inside, of course. But considering all the recent changes, would any dissent from the official norm be tolerated?

1st ever Cuban LGBT pride march suddenly announced:

On Tuesday I received a press release from Miami's Unity Coalition announcing that the Cuban Movement for Homosexual Liberation was among a number of Cuban organizations planning the first ever gay pride march (other organizations included the Cuban Commission on Human Rights for people with HIV and Sexual Races, the Cuban League against AIDS, the Elena Mederos Foundation, the Reinaldo Arenas in Memoriam LGTB Foundation, the Havana Transsexual Collective and the Havana LGTB Cultural Center.

The march was scheduled for 10 am the next day under the theme "You are not alone." Marchers would gather at the Don Quixote Park and make their way to the Ministry of Justice were the plan was to hand a list of demands including "the cessation of violence and repression against Cuban homosexuals," an acknowledgment that gays and lesbians have been and are currently discriminated in the work place and from national political think tanks, a review of the cases of those gays and lesbians currently imprisoned under a "Dangerous Index" law enforcement policy, an better treatment for individuals with HIV/AIDS including those in prison.

Specifically, organizers said that they would ask Raúl Castro to "apologize to the Cuban people for the introduction in the 60's of UMAP concentration camps that were created by the dictator Fidel Castro, to suppress and punish homosexuals and the religious youth who opposed his Marxist ideology." (UMAP stands for Military Units to Aid Production).

They also said that they wanted to raise awareness about Jordanys Tamayo Aldama, a man they allege is serving a seven year prison sentence for "contempt towards the figure of Fidel Castro" for having publicly stated that Fidel was a homophobic.

Finally they also said that they would raise attention about the political nature of Mariela Castro's activities at CENESEX.

Unity Coalition said that they would support their efforts by opening an "information center" at Club Azucar, a Miami gay bar, and by holding an afternoon community rally in solidarity.

Sudden cancellation:

Just before noon on Wednesday, the day of the march, an e-mail message from Unity Coalition stated that "as organizers arrived at the scheduled starting point, several of them were met by Cuban police, who beat & arrested several of them."

Ray Sanchez from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Havana bureau reported on the arrests ("Cuba's Gay Pride Parade Canceled", June 25, 2008), although he says that a local activist alleged they had happened the day before the march.

"Activist Mario José Delgado [pictured above] announced the cancellation of the march moments before it was to start Wednesday at a park in Havana. He said two organizers who were to deliver a set of demands to the Justice Ministry were detained one day earlier. Delgado said he has no details of the arrests."

"'The president of the Cuban League Against AIDS and the president of the Foundation LGTB Reinaldo Arenas in Memoriam have been arrested,' Delgado said. 'They were to be here with our written demands but now we cannot carry out our activity.'"

The Sun-Sentinel also reported that a passer-by who identified himself as being gay dismissed the activists.

40-year-old Felix Lopez, told the paper that it was unnecessary: "Important strides have been made. We don't need to be instructed by people in Miami or any other part of the world. We're slowly gaining a space in our society and that's important."

The paper also said that they had tried to reach Mariela Castro at CENESEX for comment but that her secretary stated that no statements would be released.

On Thursday, Cuba Encuentro published their take ("Police stops independent march for the Day of Gay Pride," June 26, 2008, Spanish language). They said that Ignacio Cepero Estrada, coordinator of the Cuban Commission on Human Rights for people with HIV had been detained by police for two hours and let go and that an unnamed official from CENESEX told a reporter from the ANSA news agency "We have no knowledge of any manifestation that might happen. No one has informed us about this and, as such, we cannot say anything."

They also quote "independent reporter" Carlos Serpa Maceira as having seen a number of law enforcement agents surrounding the area and quote Cuban dissidents on human rights violations by the Cuban government.

As with everything related to Cuba, there are other versions:

I didn't find the direct quote at ANSA, but did find a brief article ("Homosexual protest, one detained," June 25, 2008) which does report that one of the organizers was detained. Interestingly they contradict other statements and say that there was no discernible presence of law enforcement officers in the area. As for the protest? They note that an organizer was detained but also say that the protest was cancelled because of lack of participation as only twenty people showed up.

Call me a right-wing anti-communist imperialist pig (although some of those might call me a rabid commie for mentioning some LGBT rights advances in Cuba), but I am a little more inclined to trust The Guardian and the Sun-Sentinel versions.

I also have long believed that social change doesn't happen without visibility and leadership which is what personally bothers me about the fact that the only face presented on LGBT rights in Cuba is Mariela Castro and the only version on advancement of LGBT rights seems to be hers. Why not allow LGBT leaders to speak on their own?

Reaction:

Blogland has had some reaction.

Over at Babalu Blog, a 2006 Weblog Awards winner for "Best Latino, Caribbean or South American Blog" which features posts from different US based Cuban bloggers and describes itself as "an island on the net without a bearded dictator," George Moneo wasn't surprised that the march might have been shut down by the Cuban government.

Interestingly when Val Prieto posted the image on the right on the same blog yesterday without any commentary, another Babalu blogger who uses the nickname pototo was so incensed by other Babalu bloggers expressing support for gays in Cuba that he decided to leave Babalu (that according to this post today from Manuel A. Tellechea at "Review of Cuban-American Blogs").

Gay Canadian blogger Jonathan Higbee reacts to the Guardian's piece and says "[Wednesday's] despicable start to Cuba's first gay pride shows that the country is not quite ready to move forward."

In a reply Calvin from the UK begs to differ and says that "A media fraud is being perpetrated here in the interests of the United States" and calls the march "a stunt designed in Miami by far right Cuban-American sects, and funded by the US Government."

He also says that "The 'gay rights' organisations in Cuba said to be behind the parade, do not exist in any meaningful sense. Rather, they are tiny political front organisations populated by the same group of two to three hundred professional 'dissidents' who run dozens of non existent 'institutes', 'independent libraries', 'trade unions', 'human rights centres' and the like" and alleges that most are on the United States payroll.

I guess you can read anything into something depending on ideology. I don't discount his assertion that these organizations might be small in numbers but that in itself does not mean that they shouldn't have the right to protest or to demand their rights - or that they are flush with US dollars.

ACT UP gets horny for gay pride: Marchers needed!

The Press Release:

COME MARCH WITH ACT UP/NY FOR PRIDE 2008!
Sunday, June 29 - 11:30am
56th Street at 6th Avenue
917-653-7267 (cell)

This year we will be focusing on getting the word out about our exciting new harm reduction campaign that we are launching in print and on the web. Infection rates in NYC are up by 33% since 2001 among young gay and bisexual men under 30 years of age. Prevention efforts are hampered by years of abstinence only teaching, which has affected even AIDS organization's educational materials which often are timid. Our first effort will be published in this weeks Gay City News showing an inviting young man starting to dress himself by opening a condom, with the following text:

"Infection Rates are UP! The only thing you need to wear are condoms!"

The CDC's recently released statistics for 2005 show that, men who have sex with men accounted for 71% of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses among men. This is another reason we need to mobilize attention to this issue. We need an edgy, gay-sex-positive, safe-sex promotional campaign in response to this alarming rise in new infections among
young gay and bisexual men under 30. That's why ACTUP/NY is creating this new campaign to promote effective safe sex messages targeting gay youth. Our contingent will be displaying our hot new posters, promoting the launching the new campaign website, and of course, distributing condoms to all the parade-goers.

No matter what your age or gender, we need you to march with us. We don't want a tiny contingent, we need a contingent that helps set a tone that safer-sex is a LGBT community standard. Monogamy, domestic partnership and marriage won't solve this problem because, they don't really work among a very large section of young men.

We'll also have vintage ACTUP banners and chants throughout for what promises to be a fierce and fun showing at pride. We hope to see you marching in the contingent!

Dominican Republic: With little notice, pride just happens

Photo credit: Thalia Almendares, Coordinadora de TRANSSA

Pride happens. If you were strolling down the tourist colonial area in downtown Santo Domingo you might have been surprised to see revelers and marchers holding rainbow flags and beating on drums last Friday as the Dominican Republic's 3rd (?) annual pride event took place down El Conde Street.

The march, organized Amigos Siempre Amigos, also had members of the transgender rights organization Trans Siempre Amigas (TRANSSA).

Both Diario Libre ("Gay Pride on El Conde Street") and Al Momento ("Gays March on Conde Street, criticize the Catholic church") covered the event in brief articles, allowing readers to post comments, most of them homophobic (a couple of examples: "The winds of social decomposition have arrived to the Dominican Republic stemming from the licentiousness of the United States" and "This country imitates all the bad things, who the hell said that to be a faggot was a source of pride, what should be done is to give all those faggots a beating right there in Conde").

New York based LGBT news portal Tras La Verdad also covered the event ("Gay pride is celebrated in the Dominican Republic; Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez is challenged publicly").

Marchers asked political leaders to promote legislation to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender.

One participant ridiculed Dominican Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez by donning a golden robe and portraying him as the devil (the good Cardinal has been known to rile against gays and lesbians and has even gone as far as calling us "faggots").

It's not the first time that TRANSSA has been publicly active on behalf of the transgender community in the Dominican Republic. Back in December, I noted that they had participated in a reality show called "The Bus is My Home" to raise awareness about their rights (the show featured a transgender participant).

TRANSSA Coordinator Thalia Almendadres is interviewed in this news report from Dominican television.

Here is a video on how marchers ridiculed the Cardinal:

Update:

• Blabbeando: "Gay pride 2008, pt. II"

Related:

• Monaga: Gay Pride (June 23, 2008)

Previously on Blabbeando:

• Gay Pride Out in the Open (June 29, 2007)
• Friday night's gathering in Santo Domingo (June 27, 2006)
• There Might Be a Pride Parade After All (June 22, 2006)
• Gay Pride in the Dominican Republic (June 21, 2006)

Argentina: Another gay pride march

"My first reaction was to the small size of the event, since B.A. bills itself - repeatedly- as 'the gay capital of South America.'"

That's new arrival Chris Crain describing his first Buenos Aires LGBT pride march over on his blog (he also has some photos - yay!).

Then again, he's used to São Paulo's gay million-plus participants pride march from living in Brazil over the last couple of years which is the biggest such event in the world and pretty tough to beat (I'd also argue that it's hotel owners and tourist-related businesses that have embraced the 'gay capital of South America' tag and not necessarily the local activists).
Nevertheless, as Rex did a couple of years ago, I'm sure that once Chris and his boyfriend settle down they'll find the city to be more open than first impressions might show in some ways and more closed in other ways.

Mariano, whose Spanish-language blog is just one of the best out there (full disclosure: Mariano bought my graces by sending me a CD with music from some up and coming Argentinian pop bands last year PLUS he's a great guy to boot that I hope to meet when I finally get to Buenos Aires myself) says that the march started later than usual and seemed to have more participants than ever. He also says that the closing ceremony dragged on and on and bored him to pieces even if overall he enjoyed himself. No wonder! First of all, he was with the Morrudosos! Second, he also gave and took.

Not everyone was as happy (or as bored). The feminist lesbians of La Casa del Encuentro stood up against the "glamour and frivolity framed by consumerism" as well as the "frenetic music that does not allow [you] to listen to our voices and our demands as lesbians, gays, travestis and transsexuals" by marching behind the glam-fag crowds (h/t: Breaking the Silence).

I guess I get some of the glamour back-lash but watch out puto rockeros! You might be next!

Certainly, by any standards, the naysayers were more peaceful than in years past.

AG Magazine puts the number of participants at 25,000 (5,000 more than last year - they also have video).

InfoBAE also has additional photos and video as well.

Heck! Maybe we should all move down there! Even LifeLube is in Buenos Aires this week.

Gay Pride in Latin America: Bolivia, Ecuador, Panama, El Salvador, Chile & Colombia

July 1, 2007: In Bogota, Colombia, the gay community mourned the death of 11 deputies that had been held in captivity by the FARC guerrilla for more than five years. The black banners and shirts also were meant to show the community's anger at the Senators that used a legislative procedure to derail a same-sex partnership bill at the last possible minute back in June (image from El Tiempo)

You might have seen coverage of pride marches in Spain and Brazil elsewhere so we'll skip those (just Google both and see what comes up or, better yet, browse GayNewsWatch.com for related stories).

We have already written about last week's rally in the Dominican Republic. Here is a look at other pride marches and events in Latin America that took place over the weekend that might have received less attention in these latitudes.

Cochabamba, Bolivia: Santa Cruz and the capital city of La Paz might have observed gay pride events in previous years but this year it was the Andean city of Cochabamba to launch their first pride event ever (abuove-right press conference image taken from Los Tiempos).

On Sunday, Los Tiempos reported that the previous day's gathering at the city's main plaza was attended by thousands of individuals who "danced with transsexuals, gays and lesbians."

"I didn't know Miss Cochabamba was so tall!" said an older woman as she posed for a photo with the Queen of the Gays, stated the reporter.

The paper took note of the visible trans presence and the lack of confrontations or disruptions that have marred pride events in other Bolivian cities.

Guayaquil, Ecuador. El Comercio reports that 300 people showed up for an afternoon of artistic shows at an outdoor plaza on Thursday, June 28th. The event, which began last year, was organized by the Friends for Life Foundation under the theme of "The problem is not homosexuality... The problem is homophobia." The Foundation has posted images of the event over on their blog here and here.

Panama City, Panama. The Association of New Men and Women of Panama (AHMN), observed pride by releasing their first ever "Top Ten Most Homophobic Panamanians" list which included television personalities, religious leaders and politicians.

At least one of the nominees expressed surprise at being nominated: Critica Libre columnist Julio Cesar Caicedo told the AFP "I am not a homophobe."

San Salvador, El Salvador. EFE reports that hundreds of people, including representatives from half a dozen HIV prevention and gay rights organizations participated in a gay pride march through the streets of San Salvador. Under the theme of "Diversity in Action" well-known gay-right activist William Hernandez stated that there was a lack of funding and institutionalized support for anti-homophobia trainings or campaigns or for HIV prevention campaigns specifically targeting the gay community.

Santiago de Chile, Chile. Last week the Chilean arm of Amnesty International said that two leading gay rights organizations, MUMS and MOVILH, had received anonymous threatening messages through the internet in advance of Sunday's pride fair. In June MOVILH's website had also been hacked twice also by unknown put self-proclaimed skinheads who posted offensive messages and images instead of the usual content.

Fortunately MOVILH's portal is back in MOVILH's hands and they report no incidents of violence at Sunday's cultural fair which celebrated both LGBT pride as well as the organization's 16th anniversary. They also have a photo gallery of the day's proceedings here (if people seem a bit bundled, keep in mind that it's currently winter down in Chile).

La Nacion had perviously reported that, parallel to the day's events there would also be a second annual "kiss-a-thon" organized by MUMS in a show of support for anti-discrimination legislation.

Bogota, Colombia. Organizers of Bogota's pride march also denounced internet-based threats from anonymous self-described "skinheads" on the eve of Sunday's event. Fortunately, the march drew an estimated 10,000 participants despite cold rainy weather and there were no reports of any disruptions or clashes although a group of pro-gay skinheads did participate.

Organizers of the event, led by the Colombian LGBT rights advocacy organization Colombia Diversa, had planned to wear black shirts in protest of last month's 12th hour defeat of a landmark bill that would have given same-sex couples in Colombia some partnership rights. But on Sunday the black banners and shirts also served as a powerful symbol that the LGBT community in Colombia stood together with the rest of the country in mourning the death of 11 councilmembers who had been held in captivity for five years by the FARC guerilla organization (the FARC say that the kidnapped men died in a confrontation with armed forces while the Colombian government has categorically denied any rescue mission or military activity against the FARC in the area).

In addition to those visible expressions of sadness, Fabian David, a young man who marched along with his boyfriend, noticed another key difference from marches in years past: "The majority of are not wearing masks," he told El Tiempo, "This is because there is a sense of increased comfortability with the issue."

El Tiempo has a gallery of images here.