Controversial gay soap opera grips Cuba

Controversial gay soap opera grips Cuba
By Fernando Ravsberg
BBC Mundo, Havana

A TV soap opera is generating controversy on the streets of Cuba and
attracting a record number of viewers. The reason? It is about what
until now has been a taboo for Cuban TV: homosexuality.

It seems to be the sole topic of conversation in the workplace and the
neighbourhoods, even though many men insist angrily that they do not
watch "that telenovela in which a married man 'discovers himself'
through a sexual relationship with a male friend".

It is the first time that television in Cuba has dared to broach the
subject. It never even screened Strawberries and Chocolate, a classic
Cuban film about the marginalisation of gay people.

The soap - The Dark Side of the Moon - shows the problems a bisexual man
faces in today's Cuba, including his friends' revulsion and rejection by
his parents.

Yaser, the bisexual character, says: "Everything I sacrificed myself
for, I have lost."

His friend and partner tells him he understands.

It is good for the people to be informed, so that youngsters are not
tricked or trapped into that kind of thing, that homosexual thing
Raimara Casas

"I also lost the affection of my parents and siblings," he says.

It is dialogue like this that is creating a stir across the island. The
two men are not shown having any physical contact "so as to avoid
offending viewers".

However, some do feel offended, including members of a group of retired
men who I spoke to in a Havana park.

"I don't watch it. My wife does, but I don't like it because of the rude
things they say," one says.

Another says: "I cannot get used to it, because what we were taught when
we were young was morally different."

Discrimination

A different view on the soap opera comes from Raimara Casas, who thinks
it serves as a warning.

"It is good for the people to be informed, so that youngsters are not
tricked or trapped into that kind of thing, that homosexual thing," she
says.

There are also people like Maria Nora, who think The Dark Side of the
Moon is important because "it shows an openness on this issue that is
not even found in foreign soap operas".

Actor Rafael Lahera, who plays Yaser, says that to broach "such a
delicate subject in such a macho society" is an important step for Cuban TV.

But playing the leading role has not been without problems.

"People think I'm gay," he says. And, he adds, he has been turned down
for acting jobs because employers do not want a role to be played by a
homosexual.

Such discrimination is not unusual in Cuba, where in the 1960s and 70s
homosexuals were sent to labour farms.

Today, gays and lesbians are socially isolated, the police harass
transvestites and the government is refusing to authorise sex changes
for transsexuals.

Maybe this soap opera will contribute towards changing that.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/4962540.stm

Published: 2006/05/03 14:39:07 GMT