Symbolic Gay Ceremony in Cuba
Cuban gay rights activists led by the daughter of President Raul Castro planned a mass symbolic wedding TODAY to promote acceptance of gay and transgender Cubans in a country once notoriously hostile toward them.
The ceremony was part of an annual gay pride parade and will be symbolic because same-sex marriage is illegal in Cuba, Mariela Castro told reporters. She had said it would also be low key because Cuban society is still uneasy about full rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
“We can’t do a wedding, but we wanted to have a very modest celebration of love with some religious leaders,” said Castro, head of the National Sex Education Center and a member of Cuba’s National Assembly. “In the future we’ll see what more we can do.”
The ceremony was inspired by the mass wedding of more than 100 couples at the World Pride event in Toronto last June, Castro said.
VIDEO FOOTAGE HERE
