Monday, January 22, 2007
by Laura Bonilla
HAVANA, Cuba (AFP): Wrapped in a figure-hugging sequined dress, the
statuesque Chantal swayed languorously in the steamy Havana night during
a transvestite show that reflected Cuba's slowly growing tolerance of
homosexuals.
Patrons sang along as the green-eyed drag queen belted out a sensuous
rendition of a Latin hit in the attic of a hair salon, which at night
becomes an illegal transvestite club tolerated by the communist government.
Chantal drew cheers and catcalls from dozens of Cuban gays and a few
foreigners who packed the cabaret. Some shimmied up to the stage to drop
a bill in the star's garter in exchange for a sonorous kiss.
But outside the club's closed doors, patrons are more cautious. While
many homosexuals say their lives are getting easier, they still face a
lot of prejudice.
"You can walk hand-in-hand with your boyfriend in Havana, but you
shouldn't," said Leonardo, a 27-year-old schoolteacher.
Two years ago, he and his partner were each fined 60 pesos (three
dollars, two euros) - about one fourth of an average monthly salary -
for kissing in a Havana shopping center.
The 1959 communist revolution made efforts to stop discrimination,
notably against blacks, disabled people and women. But gay males occupy
a delicate place on this Caribbean island where Latin-style "machismo"
is strong and many Cuban men still expect their wives to stay at home to
cook meals and raise the children.
The 1938 Cuban Penal Code, which was based on Spanish laws and similar
to legislation elsewhere in Latin America, penalized "habitual
homosexual acts" and public displays of homosexuality.
In 1979, homosexuality was legalized but public displays of such
behavior remained banned until 1987, when that clause was also dropped.
But "this country has a long way to go toward accepting homosexuals,"
said Josmar, a muscular 23-year-old student clad in a tight-fitting
camouflage-print lycra shirt. He said his father, a member of the Cuban
army, was not aware of his sexual orientation.
"There is a lot of censorship, said 40-year-old stylist Boris, adding,
however, that "minds have opened up a little."
"The state doesn't want to have problems with this issue, but police
sometimes repress and harass gays," he said.
In January 2005, Mariela Castro, who leads the National Center for
Sexual Education and is the daughter of acting president Raul Castro,
proposed legislation that would legalize sex-change operations.
At the time, she noted that only one such operation had ever been
performed in Cuba, in 1988 when a man underwent surgery to become a woman.
The bill is still in parliament a year later, but Cuban gays felt any
movement on it or other changes - such as the possibility of legalizing
same-sex marriages - would take time.
"We don't expect anything radical to happen in the next few years.
Changes are slow everywhere, and more so in Cuba," said Leonardo, who
quit his teaching job to earn more money building televisions with
imported Chinese parts for export to Venezuela.
Cuba has come a long way since the 1960s, when many gay men were rounded
up and sent to military work camps.
In the 1970s, homosexuals still faced discrimination when trying to get
state jobs. In the 1980s and 1990s, arrests of homosexuals were still
fairly common, and establishments like the transvestite cabaret where
Chantal performs were often shut down by police.
But the last decade has seen huge steps forward.
A soap opera shown on state television drew the highest number of
viewers last year when it had a happily-married, athletic carpenter
discovering his bisexual inclination.
At the Havana transvestite show, Maridalia, a 150-kilo (330-pound)
beauty clad in a tomato-red dress, wooed the crowd with her wide smile
and somewhat gritty voice.
"These are modern times," said Herminia, a 73-year-old bathroom
attendant seated on a plastic chair in front of a Cuban flag and a gay
pride rainbow banner.
http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/cgi-script/csArticles/articles/000052/005285.htm
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