What ’s like to be young and gay Havana’s Malecón - The Washgton Post

Contents:

• THERE’S A GAY BEACH HAVANA! DISVERG LGBT LIFE CUBA
• IN HAVANA, GAY BARS HOLD THEIR OWN AGAST THE INTER
• WHAT ’S LIKE TO BE YOUNG AND GAY HAVANA’S MALECóN
• CUBA'S FIRST GAY HOTEL REOPENS AS HUMAN RIGHTS TERRATE
• THE GAYT AND THE MOST STRAIGHT-IENDLY CASA / AIRBNB HAVANA
• GAY NIGHT LIFE!? - HAVANA FOM
• GAY NIGHT LIFE HAVANA - HAVANA FOM
• INSIDE CUBA: GAY LIFE CUBA
• GAY LIFE HAVANA - CUBA FOM
• GAY LIFE HAVANA - HAVANA FOM
• THE BEST HAVANA GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS HAVANA

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

My iend and I had arrived at Mi Cayo beach Cuba, a stretch of shorele 15 east of Havana, search of gay Cuba travel experienc.

It looked as though the beach extend que a distance both directns, so we were unsure where to fd the gay sectn of beach that supposedly existed. Our hope that the du would lead to the gay beach were realized when, after five mut of walkg wt, we spotted the rabow flag.

On this weekday afternoon, the gay beach had maybe 100 people at most, but was still awome to see signs of gay life Cuba, where acceptance of gays is growg but still not nearly at the same level as most wtern natns. As of this wrg, Cuba still has no official gay bars (jt the ocsnal gay night at a club). So the gay beach was our bt shot at fdg the LGBT crowd Havana.

IN HAVANA, GAY BARS HOLD THEIR OWN AGAST THE INTER

Lbian upl, often absent om male-domated Amerin gay beach, were prent fairly large numbers. It felt pretty much the same as any North Amerin gay beach, and that was ol. As of 2023, there are no official gay bars Havana, LGBT nightclubs, or Cuba gay rorts.

There ed to be a Cuban gay bar lled Humboldt 52, but that place appears to have been closed for many years now. It’s not strictly a gay bar, but ’s a gay-iendly night club which has drag shows.

Asi om Cabaret Las Vegas, if you’re lookg for the LGBT+ populatn Cuba, you’ll mostly have to e mon sense and gaydar.

WHAT ’S LIKE TO BE YOUNG AND GAY HAVANA’S MALECóN

The are stereotyp, of urse, but they did hold te for many young Cuban gays, who were clearly open and weren’t tryg to hi their orientatns om anybody.

CUBA'S FIRST GAY HOTEL REOPENS AS HUMAN RIGHTS TERRATE

We saw a cent number of obvly gay guys around here, mostly unr 25. If you vis more upsle and seclud statns Cuba such as Vararo, which is known for s all-clive rorts, you may likely enunter other gay travelers and tourists, moro than lols.

THE GAYT AND THE MOST STRAIGHT-IENDLY CASA / AIRBNB HAVANA

It all pends what kd of gay Cuba travel experience you want – lols or tourists?

This did not seem to be jt a ‘gay men’ thg – lots of dus holdg their girliends’ hands were rockg lf stubble.

GAY NIGHT LIFE!? - HAVANA FOM

The gay sectn is to the left when you arrive and you’re lookg out at the ocean. I did see PDA at the gay beach and to a lser gree on the Malen.

GAY NIGHT LIFE HAVANA - HAVANA FOM

Obvly, gay marriage is not legal Cuba, though Rters reported that the untry’s recent draft nstutn uld open the door for eventual same-sex matrimony.

INSIDE CUBA: GAY LIFE CUBA

In the past few years, a number of onle articl seemed to give the imprsn that Cuba is some sort of utopia for gay men, but most of the were exaggerated.

GAY LIFE HAVANA - CUBA FOM

Y, Cuba is gay iendly to a greater gree than many of s Caribbean neighbors, but a lot of those untri (Jamai, Tridad) have notorly homophobic cultur, so beg more progrsive than them isn’t necsarily a huge statement.

Havana do have a pri para May to ci wh the Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia. So is entirely possible to meet and hang out wh gay folks on the island if that’s somethg you are terted . As more lol policians warm to gay rights, tour pani expand their gay-themed tours Havana, and more Amerin gay tourists e to vis, I would expect LGBT life Cuba to grow and bee more public the g years.

In September 2022, Cuba legalized gay marriage natnwi via referendum. Still, the new LGBT protectns are great for lols and for gay tourists who want to spend their money plac that are iendly and receptive.

GAY LIFE HAVANA - HAVANA FOM

Here are a few more rourc to check out regardg the gay Cuba experience Havana.

THE BEST HAVANA GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS HAVANA

”He then crossed the street to attend a drag show at mYXto, a gay-iendly bar, where he would stay until about 5 a.

Attractn driv the Malecón, which is a popular hangout for all Habaneros, pecially for those who are gay — cludg rts. Another habué, Je Luis Ramos Meda, 30, a gay rmatn engeer, scribed s broad appeal as “Havana’s sofa. ” Friedman-Rudovsky for The New York TimIt’s what ci the Uned Stat and Europe, pre-ter, once lled “cisg grounds” — areas that have for the most part bee quat artifacts of the gay past, replaced by hookup apps like Grdr, Jack’d and Scff.

Havana is gay night life before an island of munists, gay Cubans were long Havana’s have-nots, the last among equals. That began to change 2008, when, after a gay rights speech by Mariela Castro Espín, the dghter of Print Raúl Castro, the pal staged s first gay pri para, which has ntued annually, ls as a shirtls spectacle and more as a prott. Kgbar, which opened last year the hip Vedado neighborhood, harks back to a time when Amerin gay bars still had a b of a renega qualy.