The Washington Blade is reporting that Cuba's annual International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia marches - scheduled for May 11 in Havana and May 17 in Camagüey - have been cancelled.
Posted on the Facebook page of the National Center for Sexual Education, which is directed by Mariela Castro, is a statement saying the events were cancelled due to "current uncertainty the country is experiencing."
The Facebook post goes on to say the Cuban Ministry of Public Health made the decision to cancel the events.
The first Pride parade held in Cuban occurred in 2009.
LGBTQ Cubans were disappointed when marriage equality was removed from a draft of Cuba's new constitution.
The government of Cuba announced Tuesday that the proposed constitutional Article 68, which would open the door for same-sex marriage in the island nation, has been removed from the draft of a new constitution
Cuba’s National Assembly announced the news in a series of tweets:
And it’s more obvious here, where secretary of National Assembly proposes to defer the concept of marriage as a way to respect all opinions. The law will define the rest of the elements. #nogaymarriage#Cubahttps://t.co/3jz7wbNGfp
According to Emmy Award winning South Florida journalist Hatzel Vela, translated from Spanish the tweet read, "The [Constitutional] Commission proposes to defer the concept of marriage, meaning it will be taken out of the constitutional project, as a way to respect all opinions. Marriage is a social and jurisdictional institution. The law will define the rest of its elements."
Another tweet said, "The Family Code should establish who can engage in marriage." The Family code is scheduled to be updated shortly after the confirmation of the new constitution.
The first draft of the new constitution was made public in July.
For months now, LGBTQ activists had worked towards eliminating the description of marriage as a union of a man and woman. Instead, the language would have been changed to the union of "two people with absolutely equal rights and obligations."
But, as the public debate continued, evangelical church leaders led protests at meetings on the new constitution. Cuba’s Catholic Church, Assembly of God Pentecostal Church, the Evangelical League and Methodist Church all vigorously oppose the idea of marriage equality.
Vela pointed to another National Assembly tweet that said, “Article 68 was the one most discussed by the people in the popular consultation, in 66 percent of the meetings (of citizen debate).”
The final version of the new constitution is scheduled to be voted on by the National Assembly later this week in advance of a public referendum on February 24.
Former President Raul Castro’s daughter, Mariela Castro Espin, who has led to charge to legalize same-sex marriage, took to Facebook to say “there is no setback” and that the tweet from the National Assembly wasn’t accurate.
“There is no setback, the essence of Article 68 is maintained, the struggle continues, now let’s give the YES to the Constitution and then close ranks to achieve a Family Code as advanced as the new constitutional text,” she wrote according to Gay Star News. “Cuba is ours, Cuba belongs to everyone.”
However, The Washington Blade reports that several of the Cuban journalists and LGBT activists they communicate with on regular basis say “they face harassment and even arrest if they publicly criticize Mariela Castro and/or the Cuban government.”
Cuba bears a long, hideous history regarding the treatment of LGBTs.
In 1959, after the rise of Fidel Castro, 25,000 gay men were rounded up and sent to labor camps.
And during the height of the AIDS pandemic, those with HIV were quarantined in government-run sanitariums. That practice ended in 1993.
American LGBTs saw the power of the presidency in action when President Obama announced his ‘evolution’ and support for marriage equality in May 2012.
His statement made an enormous impact on the fight for marriage equality. And three years later, same-sex marriage came to all of the United States.
Now, Cuba is preparing for a nationwide referendum on changing the language in its constitution from defining marriage as a “voluntary union of a man and a woman,” to recognizing marriage as “between two people.”
And the president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, has publicly announced his support.
According to the BBC, Díaz-Canel said in an interview with Telesur he favors recognizing “marriage between people without any restrictions.”
He added that embracing marriage equality is “part of eliminating any type of discrimination in society.”
The Cuban president acknowledges that Cuba has “been going through a massive thought evolution and many taboos have been broken.”
Much of the credit for Cuba’s ‘evolution’ on marriage is due, in great part, to the efforts of Mariela Castro, daughter of former President Raúl Castro.
Ms. Castro, who leads the Cuban National Centre for Sex Education, has spent years speaking out on behalf of LGBTQ rights. And those efforts are clearly paying off today.
Cuba bears a long, hideous history regarding the treatment of LGBTs.
In 1959, after the rise of Fidel Castro, 25,000 gay men were rounded up and sent to labor camps.
And during the height of the AIDS pandemic, those with HIV were quarantined in government-run sanitariums. That practice ended in 1993.
But even with the country’s “thought evolution,” it comes as no surprise that there are still hills to climb before the vote in the form of Cuba’s religious leaders.
Cuba’s Catholic Church, Assembly of God Pentecostal Church, the Evangelical League and Methodist Church all vigorously oppose the idea of marriage equality.
• UK fitness guy Dan Tai (above) worked out with a broken wrist this weekend. #slacker #woof #ThatFace
• Cuba is currently in the process of re-writing its constitution, and the latest draft opens the door to same-sex marriage. Instead listing marriage as between husband and wife, the language presently only defines marriage as 'between two individuals.'
• Also in super-news, the CW's Supergirl is making TV history having cast transgender activist and actress Nicole Maines to play TV's first transgender superhero, Nia Nal (aka Dreamer), a character described as a soulful young transgender woman with a fierce drive to protect others.
• A gay couple in Indiana were turned away by an anti-gay florist when shopping for flowers for their wedding. Rita Harris of Avon Flowers was initially fine with the impending wedding date, but when she realized there wasn't a bride, she suddenly had a vacation planned and wasn't available. #liar
• New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch will not punish his players for any displays of protest during the national anthem. Tisch added that Donald Trump's interference in the issue shows “he has no understanding of why they take a knee or why they’re protesting."
• Sexy out artist Billy Winn begins his new EP, Dreamland I, with “Seal It with a Kiss,” a smooth, electro-pop track written and produced by Billy and Johnie & Elliot of the production team OneVision, about an attraction that’s so strong, words are not needed to express it.
Check out the new music video "Seal It with a Kiss" below and head over to his Soundcloud to hear the full EP.
• Happy, happy birthday to Nyle DiMarco! The DWTS/ANTM champ turns 29 today! The handsome model and actor is currently working as a producer on Broadway repping the revival of the hit play, Children of a Lesser God.
• Madonna served up fashion in a dramatic vein last night at the annual Met Gala where she sang "Like A Prayer," "Hallelujah" and debuted a new song apparently titled, "Magic." The theme for the evening was Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.
• House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi says if there are Democratic House candidates who want to say they won't support her as House Speaker, she's fine with it. “I think if they have to do that to win the election, I’m all for it. Just win, baby.”
• Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team has questioned a Russian oligarch about hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments funneled through his company to President Donald Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, after the election. #RuhRoh #DidHeSayRussia?
• The new interim memorial for the victims and survivors of the Pulse Nightclub shooting was unveiled today in Orlando, Florida. This tribute will remain until a permanent memorial can be built.
Preview of the interim memorial at Pulse nightclub. It will be open to the public starting at 3pm. pic.twitter.com/RlPxGu8Mov
Statement by President Obama on the Passing of Fidel Castro:
At this time of Fidel Castro’s passing, we extend a hand of friendship to the Cuban people. We know that this moment fills Cubans - in Cuba and in the United States - with powerful emotions, recalling the countless ways in which Fidel Castro altered the course of individual lives, families, and of the Cuban nation. History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and world around him.
For nearly six decades, the relationship between the United States and Cuba was marked by discord and profound political disagreements. During my presidency, we have worked hard to put the past behind us, pursuing a future in which the relationship between our two countries is defined not by our differences but by the many things that we share as neighbors and friends - bonds of family, culture, commerce, and common humanity. This engagement includes the contributions of Cuban Americans, who have done so much for our country and who care deeply about their loved ones in Cuba.
Today, we offer condolences to Fidel Castro's family, and our thoughts and prayers are with the Cuban people. In the days ahead, they will recall the past and also look to the future. As they do, the Cuban people must know that they have a friend and partner in the United States of America.
In 2015, the U.S. and Cuba reopened their embassies in Havana and Washington.
In March of this year, President Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the Communist island in nearly 90 years.
Appearing at a joint press conference with Cuban President Raúl Castro, Obama delivered a speech that was broadcast on Cuban television. During his time in Havana, Obama met with two independent LGBT rights advocates.
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Statement from President-Elect Donald J. Trump:
"Today, the world marks the passing of a brutal dictator who oppressed his own people for nearly six decades. Fidel Castro’s legacy is one of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the denial of fundamental human rights.
While Cuba remains a totalitarian island, it is my hope that today marks a move away from the horrors endured for too long, and toward a future in which the wonderful Cuban people finally live in the freedom they so richly deserve.
Though the tragedies, deaths and pain caused by Fidel Castro cannot be erased, our administration will do all it can to ensure the Cuban people can finally begin their journey toward prosperity and liberty. I join the many Cuban Americans who supported me so greatly in the presidential campaign, including the Brigade 2506 Veterans Association that endorsed me, with the hope of one day soon seeing a free Cuba."
The big story today in politics is the Newsweek cover story reporting that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump apparently engaged in illegal business dealings with Cuba despite the strict embargo that had been in place for decades that banned any such business
A company controlled by Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president, secretly conducted business in Communist Cuba during Fidel Castro’s presidency despite strict American trade bans that made such undertakings illegal, according to interviews with former Trump executives, internal company records and court filings.
Documents show that the Trump company spent a minimum of $68,000 for its 1998 foray into Cuba at a time when the corporate expenditure of even a penny in the Caribbean country was prohibited without U.S. government approval. But the company did not spend the money directly. Instead, with Trump’s knowledge, executives funneled the cash for the Cuba trip through an American consulting firm called Seven Arrows Investment and Development Corp. Once the business consultants traveled to the island and incurred the expenses for the venture, Seven Arrows instructed senior officers with Trump’s company—then called Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts—how to make it appear legal by linking it after the fact to a charitable effort.
The payment by Trump Hotels came just before the New York business mogul launched his first bid for the White House, seeking the nomination of the Reform Party. On his first day of the campaign, he traveled to Miami, where he spoke to a group of Cuban-Americans, a critical voting bloc in the swing state. Trump vowed to maintain the embargo and never spend his or his companies’ money in Cuba until Fidel Castro was removed from power.
He did not disclose that, seven months earlier, Trump Hotels already had reimbursed its consultants for the money they spent on their secret business trip to Havana.
My questions are:
• Will this affect or be of interest to undecided voters?
• Could this possibly move the needle with Cuban-American voters in the vital swing state of Florida?
From last night's Rachel Maddow Show:
UPDATE - The Hillary Clinton campaign released this statement on the latest Trump scandal:
Cuba celebrated the island country's version of LGBT Pride, under the title "International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia," led by activist Mariela Castro-Espin, the 48-year-old daughter of Cuba’s President, Raul Castro, and niece of Fidel Castro.
Mariela Castro, director of Cuba’s National Center for Sexual Education that is known by the Spanish acronym CENESEX, joined transgender actress Candis Cayne and hundreds of others who marched from the oceanfront promenade at the base of the Hotel Nacional to a nearby pavilion under a scorching sun.
Mariela Castro, who is a member of the Cuban Parliament, has publicly spoken in support of marriage rights for same-sex couples. She voted against a gay-inclusive workplace discrimination bill in 2013 because it did not include gender identity.
The Cuban constitution defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
The Cuban Foundation for LGBTI Rights and other independent advocacy groups launched a campaign late last year that encourages Cubans to sign a petition in support of marriage rights for same-sex couples.
Two of the United States' best known LGBT activists - Evan Wolfson (Freedom To Marry) and Tico Almeida (Freedom To Work), traveled to Havana to participate in the event.
I realize folks can be split on the idea of reopening official relations with Cuba, but I'm of a mind that after decades of cutting Cuba off, nothing has really improved for the Cuban people.
It is time to try a new approach. I'm hoping we see forward movement in terms of human rights, plus economic growth from lifting the long-time travel ban and eventually dropping the trade embargo.
Gay Cuban-American poet Richard Blanco reads his poem “Matters of the Sea” commissioned for the ceremony held today at the reopening of the U.S. Embassy in Havana.
"To breathe together, to heal together."
Blanco became the first openly gay poet to read commissioned work at a presidential inauguration in 2012.
• New poll shows Trump lost a bit of ground in Iowa after last week's debate; Jeb Bush dropped from 3rd to 7th; Marco Rubio jumps from 8th to 3rd in the early election state.
• The governor of Puerto Rico has issued executive orders banning discrimination against transgenders regarding emergency room treatment and drivers licenses.
• The homophobe who attacked two West Point graduates in New York City (and got his ass kicked) has been arrested and charged with assault as a hate crime and attempted assault as a hate crime. That'll learn him.
• Openly gay Cuban-American poet Richard Blanco (the first openly gay poet to speak at a presidential inauguration) has been invited to read a new work at the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Havana.
According to a recent CBS poll, a majority of Americans support President Obama's decision to reestablish diplomatic relations with Cuba:
In the wake of President Obama’s surprise announcement of an agreement to normalize diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba, 54 percent of Americans approve of reestablishing both diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries, while just 28 percent disapprove. Democrats and independents support reestablishing relations with Cuba, while Republicans are divided.
Evaluations of President Obama’s handling of relations with Cuba are mixed: 44 percent of Americans approve and 36 percent disapprove.
Even though the question of renewed relations with Cuba divides Republicans, they overwhelmingly disapprove (67 percent) of the President’s handling of the matter. Most Democrats approve (72 percent), while independents are divided.
In what looks to be the most sweeping change in the U.S. policy towards Cuba since the 1961 embargo was first imposed, President Obama today announced a change of course in diplomatic and regulatory measures towards the country.
Changes include re-establishing diplomatic relations that have been severed since 1961; moves to open an American embassy in Havana; travel and commerce between the countries will be expanded, and more.
