Tips for Gay and Lbian Travelers Cuba | Frommer's

Contents:

• TIPS FOR GAY AND LBIAN TRAVELERS CUBA
• THERE’S A GAY BEACH HAVANA! DISVERG LGBT LIFE CUBA
• LGBTQ REVOLUTN CUBA: RNERS HAVANA FOR GAY IENDLY TOURISM
• CUBA WANTS YOU TO THK IT’S A GAY PARADISE. IT’S NOT.
• CUBA: GAY TRAVEL INX 2020, BY TEGORY

TIPS FOR GAY AND LBIAN TRAVELERS CUBA

Cuba is a popular LGBTQ+ travel statn thanks to s rich history and culture, unspoiled nature, and y, vibrant gay life – pecially pared to other islands the Caribbean.

THERE’S A GAY BEACH HAVANA! DISVERG LGBT LIFE CUBA

While the pri paras were stopped 2019, the ernment sanctned the openg of the untry’s first gay hotel, the Gran Muthu Rabow Hotel and there has been discsn of regnizg the rights of same-sex upl.

You’ll fd a visible queer scene Havana: the Vedado neighborhood, along the Malacón at Mi Cayo beach, which is popular wh gay men, and bars and clubs that reflect a more nocent, pre-Grdr time.

LGBTQ REVOLUTN CUBA: RNERS HAVANA FOR GAY IENDLY TOURISM

X Y (formerly Bar Myxto) is one of our favore Cubano gay bars and Café Cantante Mi Habana, a club near Havana’s Revolutnary Square, hosts live mic.

CUBA WANTS YOU TO THK IT’S A GAY PARADISE. IT’S NOT.

Throughout this article, we will go through some ndid advice on safely travelg around Cuba, which of Havannas’s gay bars and clubs are the bt, as well as explorg Santa Clara’s liberal cy and Mi Cayo which is Cuba’s Gay Beach. In fact members of the LGBTQ muny have been treated horrendoly for many years Cuba, wh homosexualy beg scribed as iologil diversnism. That beg said, PDAs (public displays of affectn) between homosexuals are fairly unmon as s society is still fairly nservative.

Throughout the years, gay nightlife has really begun to flourish, so you’ll be happy to know that you won’t be stuck for party statns! It was once named after s historil ti to a late revolutnary figure Santa Clara, but has sce bee the polil re for LGBT activism and is also seen as Cuba’s ma gay landmark.

El Mujunje was an stutn for tolerance and acceptance, not jt for homosexualy, but jt to create a more open-md muny general. Mi Cayo’s openly gay beach is perfect for all beach bums that would like to lounge on a sunbed all day and tch a tan the relentls Cuban sun. Instead, this sectn was removed entirely – neher prohibg nor promotg same sex unns – a move which is seen as posive by gay mpaign groups.

CUBA: GAY TRAVEL INX 2020, BY TEGORY

Workplace discrimatn on the basis of homosexualy is illegal, but Cuba’s anti discrimatn laws do not extend to other areas of society, such as hog or tn. What’s more, homosexualy was viewed some circl as an example of palist nce – or ‘iologil diversnism’ to e the phrase ed by Raúl Castro – that perpetuated ‘bourgeois’ valu unpalatable the new, Communist Cuba. A handful of gay bars existed at this time, but prostutn would have been one of the most visible forms of homosexualy, and as the brothels, bars and sos that promoted were largely ntrolled by US-based crimals, sex workers, gamblg and anised crime were extribly entwed.

One of the most horrific featur of this perd were the so-lled ‘rehabilatn mps’ – effectively forced labour mps which were set up to ‘rrect’ any form of ‘viance’, and while this wasn’t exclively limed to LGBT people, the mps were known to target gay men as officials unleashed their homophobia on them. In 1988 Fil Castro himself publicly cricised the untry’s homophobic past, and the police were orred not to harass LGBT people. It wasn’t until 2010, however, that Castro fally took full rponsibily for the labour mps and their persecutn of homosexuals.

Yet jt as WiFi hotspots are poppg up on street rners and flat screen TVs n be glimpsed through the wdows of fay hom, so too are gay bars begng to open up, and same sex upl may be seen walkg hand hand down the street. In Havana particular, there is a growg gay scene; one nsequence of Cuba’s limed ter accs (read: datg apps), which means that face to face enunters are still very much the norm when to meetg partners of any orientatn.

You may well see gay upl the street, as well as transgenr people, thanks to the availabily of reassignment surgery (and of Cuba’s famoly excellent healthre service), and transvt – all acceleratg the ‘normalisatn’ of LGBT culture Cuban society.

Ined, while the untry celebrat the WHO’s Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia (IDAHO) each year wh two weeks of paras, lectur, plays, exhibns and ncerts, do so only through official events – anised by the ernment, of urse.

A report by the publitn Foreign Policy quot a gay Cuban who claims “We live unr nstant ernment surveillance and harassment, while at the same time beg manipulated for...

While LGBT Cubans are still tiptoeg around the island’s plex relatnship wh homosexualy, LGBT tourists here should not experience discrimatn or harassment. Some sas are owned by gay upl; if your holiday pany knows any and n book you , this n provi a fascatg sight to lol LGBT life as well as supportg people who have tradnally suffered om discrimatn. Havana’s gay scene foc on the culture-heavy Vedado neighbourhood, as well as along the Malen; the area around Avenida 23 known as La Rampa is a particular hangout, wh several gay iendly bars and diss.

Mi Cayo beach, a short drive north of Havana, is known as the ‘gay beach’ – ial for same sex upl who are worried about feelg unfortable elsewhere. Special LGBT partur will vis gay bars and Mi Cayo, but also take you to vis CENESEX and have dner at a rtrant featured a well known gay Cuban film, Fra y Cholate (see below). Most famo is Before Night Falls, an tobgraphil acunt of the gay Cuban wrer Realdo Arenas who was imprisoned Cuba before pg to the USA.