IN 2012, a Cuban friend who is an accomplished gay artist was able to visit the United States for the first time for a few months. Because Americans generally get their impressions of Cuba from either government propaganda or leftist sympathizers of the Cuban regime, I wanted to get the views of a nonpartisan independent Cuban with no particular axe to grind. I asked him to discuss life in Cuba near the end of his visit. For security reasons, he cannot be further identified.
The interview was conducted in Spanish. The English translation is mine. — David Thorstad
Question: How have things changed for homosexuals in Cuba in the past years—for example, since the time of the UMAPs [Unidades Militares para la Ayuda de Producción—Military Units to Aid Production, camps set up in 1965 where undesirables, including homosexuals, were interned] and the Cuban Cultural Congress of 1971, which declared homosexuality a “social pathology”?
Answer: In reality, there has been real change. But in my opinion much of the change has been limited to appearances created by the government to put to rest criticism by international public opinion. As for the situation of homosexuals in Cuba—in pretty much the entire country—there hasn’t been much change. For instance, homosexuals don’t have any places where they can demonstrate, where they can be whoever they are. Compared to the past, to the 1960s and ’70s, when attention was paid to the sexual orientation of people—compared to that, things really have changed. The kind of ferocious control of those days no longer exists.
Q: Are there problems with the police? How do the police and homosexuals interact on the street?
A: So, if groups of gays are congregating on the Malecón, or in the ice cream parlor Coppelia, do the police pay any attention to them, or do they ignore them? They do pay attention in the sense that, in these places, where there is a certain presence of homosexuals, the police are controlling the situation in case some kind of incident, some type of demonstration, might happen. For example, there is an appreciable control with regard to what is the new category of “pingueros,” who are gay prostitutes. They do this especially on the Malecón, which they call “el bimbún,” where many people gather and practice this new morality, because this has been happening only recently. In the 1960s and ’70s, these “pingueros” didn’t exist. It started in the ’90s.
Q: During one of my trips to Cuba, I noticed female prostitutes working openly in the Havana Libre Hotel. Obviously, the police condoned this practice. Do homosexual men do the same thing, or does this happen only among heterosexual women?
A: In Cuba, the police have infiltrated all sectors of the population. There are people who work undercover with the police. This happens in residential blocks, in the workplace, in the schools, and also in this scene where prostitution goes on. In the ’60s and ’70s, male prostitution didn’t exist in Cuba—or, insofar as it did, it was more isolated than it is today. In today’s groups, I understand that certain people have infiltrated who are working with the police, both male and female. In addition, most of these young people today appear to come from the provinces. Havana is full of people from the provinces who have come there to ply this kind of activity.
Q: What you’re describing sounds like a thorough penetration by the authorities into all forms of private, or quasi-public, life. What is the reaction of ordinary people to this? Does it seem to them that they can’t speak freely? How does this affect your ability to daily interact with other people? Are you suspicious of them?
A: In Cuba, people are always suspicious because there could be somebody close to them—in the workplace, for example—who is an informant. Today, people are somewhat more relaxed, they are increasingly losing their fear to speak compared to earlier. At the moment, a film documentary is planned about the first Cuban transsexual. It’s a sex education program headed by Mariela Castro, the daughter of Raúl Castro, who has her degree in sexology.
Q: But isn’t her main interest in transsexuality?
A: There are people who have changed their sex, from what I have heard. I don’t personally know any such cases. They have changed their place of residence, their sex, their identity, from male to female. Thus, transvestism has been allowed. In the ’60s, ’70s, or ’80s, no homosexual would have gone out into the streets dressed as a woman. Today, it’s permissible for transvestites to appear in the streets or to perform in some cabaret shows.
Q: Can male homosexuals do the same, independent of the authorities?
A: This is a bit idiosyncratic. In the case of male homosexuals, it is known that they are homosexuals. But they don’t call attention to themselves in any social or public way unless they are transvestites.
Q: As far as that goes, that’s probably a good thing. But, at the same time, independent gay organizations or gay publications do not exist, isn’t that true?
A: No, no. For example, the cenesex, the Centro Nacional de Educación Sexual [National Center for Sex Education], has its publications and meetings relating to eradication of STDs, AIDS, drugs—all within the context of health problems, and of course that includes homosexuals, who are considered a risk group for contracting these diseases.
Q: I know an American who goes to Cuba frequently, and I asked him why there are no independent gay papers in Cuba. His response was that it’s because there’s a shortage of paper. What is your reaction to that?
A: That could be one of the reasons, but I wouldn’t be surprised if, when I return to Cuba, I find a gay publication. For example, in this TV program on sexuality that Mariela Castro was involved with and that dealt more directly with homosexuality in Cuba, they showed a movie theater in Havana where they have a program called “Different Cinema” in which movies are shown one day a week dealing with gay themes.
But it’s interesting that many homosexuals who in the beginning attended these movie programs stopped going. I know people who discussed this and they said, “No, I don’t go any more because this is another form of manipulation, and we are being used.” Moreover, in the first of these programs, Mariela was present. And after the movie was over, a discussion was always held about the movie and the problems of homosexuals in Cuba and they would raise questions. But when the people saw that all this was just talk, many people said, “I won’t go any more because they are just using us. We go, we talk to each other, we point things out, and nothing happens.” The constant fear that exists in Cuban society results in nobody staying after the show because they are afraid of making themselves visible.
Q: This is your first visit to the United States. What are some of your impressions?
A: I consider my first visit to the U.S. to have been a little like waking up from a dream, learning about reality, like learning what freedom is all about. Compared to what they say in Cuba about the U.S., it’s a country where I have experienced freedom of expression. I have seen people express themselves freely in the street; I have seen people who, if they aren’t happy with some situation, take to the streets with signs saying they disagree with it. I have seen people protesting what seem to be insignificant matters. I have not seen people give the impression that they are resigned to their fate. This doesn’t happen in Cuba. In Cuba, you have to eat what they give you, you have to go along, you have to drink what they give you to drink.
Q: I agree. What is your opinion of the Castro regime?
A: In my opinion, it is the worst regime. Politically, economically, socially, the Castro regime has destroyed Cuba as a country. There is no social or political foundation there. Everybody lives as if they were hoping every day for a change, or to go to the U.S. or some other country. Furthermore, there’s the social and moral deterioration that exists in Cuba. Cuban society has lost dignity, it has lost moral values. This is the worst thing, as I see it. Economic problems can be resolved by an infusion of capital. People say that the day of Castro is no more, within 72 hours there will be an infusion of capital in the country and the economy will improve. But the social and moral problems will take several generations to be overcome.
Q: Would you say that most Cubans share these ideas, or just a small number?
A: The majority of Cubans, definitely.
Q: I wonder if you could describe how a gay Cuban might typically amuse himself in the evening. Would he or she go to a private party? Would you meet other gay people in the street or at a disco or bar?
A: As I mentioned, there are a few cabarets and discos that have a day dedicated to homosexuals. For example, there’s a famous cabaret in the province of Las Villas called El Mejunje, which is a culinary term for a big pot where many ingredients are cooked together. It has one day a week—a gay day—dedicated to transvestite shows. Gay men and lesbians attend, and it has even gone onto the Internet. And in central Havana, there’s a cabaret called the Cabaret Las Vegas that also has transvestite shows, advertised with large posters outside the cabaret.
Q: Why transvestite shows?
A: Because they are the only ones who perform this type of thing.
Q: Of course, we have such shows here too, but perhaps less commonly than in the past. There are many other ways for gay people to entertain themselves. It strikes me as a bit retro.
A: But remember, there are many more opportunities in the U.S. for people to express themselves freely than in Cuba. In Cuba, many gay people admire transvestites because they are brave people who play a valuable role because they can make fun of the political situation. They go out into the street and act freely as who they are. If they feel like going out dressed like women, they express themselves as women even though they aren’t.
Q: Do gay men cruise the parks and in the streets?
A: Yes. In Cuba, nobody has access to the Internet, so people cruise in the streets, among friends, in movie houses, in theaters, at work, and so on.
Q: Would you like to add anything?
A: My stay in the U.S. has been like a dream come true. I have always thought a lot about the U.S., so I wanted to get to know it firsthand. I’ve seen only a small part of the country, of course, and if I have an opportunity to come back again, I hope to be able to travel and really get to know the rest of it. For now, I have only an impression; I can’t say I know it—not even a huge city like New York. But I would really like to get to know better the culture and the lifestyles. This has been a wonderful experience.
David Thorstad is a longtime gay activist and co-author of The Early Homosexual Rights Movement (1864-1935).
