Havana, Friday May 10, 2013.  Year 17 / Number 
“Home is love, respect and inclusion”

In relation to the 6th Cuban Day against Homophobia on May 7 to 17, Granma interviewed Mariela Castro Espín, Director of Centro Nacional de Educación Sexual (Cenesex) [Cuban National Center for Sex Education].

Dalia González Delgado

A CubaNews translation.
Edited by Walter Lippmann.

Mariela Castro Espin promotes dialogue. She speaks with tenderness and does not need to raise her voice to convince. She inherited these qualities from Vilma, as well as her natural beauty and firm character. However, her prestige was not inherited, but the result of her struggle against discrimination and for the rights to sexual diversity and gender identity in Cuba. 

“We are talking about education with a bio-ethical criterion that invites dialogue and reflection.”

Director of Cenesex and of Revista Sexología y Sociedad [Sexology and Society Magazine], with a degree on Psychology-Pedagogy-Education and a Sexuality M.Sc., she received the 2012 Eureka World Science Award.

Since 2008, the institution she directs has organized the Cuban celebration of events on May 17, the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia.  “We do not promote fashions, but revolutionary ideas of social equality and equity in the process of socialist transition developing in Cuba,” says Mariela Castro.

This year, the event is dedicated to the Cuban family. The slogan is: “Home is love, respect and inclusion”. For a family free of homophobia and transphobia.  

What new areas are there for the 6th Cuban Day against Homophobia?

“For the first time the Instituto Nacional de Deportes, Educación Física y Recreación (INDER) [National Institute for Sports, Physical Education and Recreation] honors us with its participation. Historically, sports have been a space of exclusion based on sexual orientation and gender identity all over the world. However, in the dialogue we held with the authorities of the Institution in Cuba, we could see there is a will to avoid discrimination. This does not mean there will be none, but as a policy of the institution, they expressed their intention to work to prevent it. This gave me great satisfaction. They have also been taking part in the organizing committee of the Day, and on May 25, at 9:00 a.m. at the Ciudad Deportiva [National Sports Amphitheatre and Grounds] they will hold the 1st Sports Festival against Homophobia. It is a great new element to have Cuban sports joining us in this struggle as part of the struggle for social equality and equity.”

What other activities are being organized? 

“There will be academic and artistic events. For example, the Centro Nacional de Prevención de las ITS/VIH/SIDA [National Center for the Prevention of STI/HIV/AIDS] is the main organizer of events. UNEAC [Cuban National Association of Writers and Artists] always prepares a good program of discussions, artistic, and photographic exhibitions. This year we will be celebrating the 5th Anniversary of the Cine Club Diferente [Film Club] that we always hold at the 23rd and 12t movie house with Frank Padron as its co-organizer and host.”

“Every year, the Ministerio de Salud Pública [Public Health Ministry] -of which Cenesex is part- selects a province that, together with Havana, holds the main activities. This time the province chosen is Ciego de Avila.  This is a way to encourage and support the job they do for the promotion of health and in the struggle for sexual rights.”

“It is also a tradition -started two years ago- to hold at the Pabellon Cuba an ecumenical celebration coordinated by the Martin Luther King Memorial Center. This is a way to convene Christians to join the struggle against discrimination.”

“Very popular is the conga that this year will be on Saturday, May 11th. We’ll depart at 10:00 a.m. from the waterfall fountain in 23rd Street, Vedado up to Pabellon Cuba. Everybody is invited.”

“We would like to have lots of people joining us and watching, because we will be taking banners and posters with messages, and if the population is not there to receive them, we will not be doing our job. We have asked the Poder Popular in different localities to support us in this, and they have agreed to be involved.  

Are these events supported by the Government?

“Yes, our first meeting was with the Party and the Government. We presented our Preliminary Program to both in Havana and the chosen province. One of the objectives approved at the First National Party Conference in January 2012 was the fight against any expression of discrimination, including based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The fact that the party has set itself that objective and that both party and government are supporting these activities represents a huge qualitative leap of the revolution in its struggle for social equality. State administration entities as well as Cuban civil society organizations take part in these events.”

Has there been an increase in participation?

“Popular participation has increased each year. Not only gay, lesbian or transgender persons attend, but also heterosexuals, families, children, teenagers. We don’t do anything disrespectful. We have always tried to keep inclusive all the spaces we create and we do not want anybody to feel uncomfortable with what we present.”

“When we fight for the rights of gay, lesbian or transgender persons, we are not taking away the rights of heterosexual people. Our main tool to generate awareness in this sense has been a strategy of education and communication to transmit these messages to the population.”  

Do you believe homophobia is still widespread in Cuba?

“This is a problem in the whole world. We inherited a Spanish culture that was strongly patriarchal, homophobic and very discriminatory. Such a long period of prejudice cannot be eliminated overnight. But, are we going to keep reproducing the pattern of a past of domination and exploitation? A past that includes prejudices and the domination of people? This is a society in search for socialism; we struggle to articulate revolutionary ideas that would guarantee a society where the true emancipation of the human being can be achieved.”    

“So we need to continue working, with the support of the media, in different actions that invite thought. When we talk about education strategies, we are talking about an education with bio-ethical criteria that invites dialogue and reflection. We do not wish to impose our criteria.”

You mentioned before one of the objectives of the Party Conference. What has been the impact of the work of Cenesex on the institutional changes related to sexual diversity?

“Cenesex has been one of those spaces that generate sub-policies through research, studies and analyses to promote proposals for transformation in politics, society and culture. I believe this institution, together with other social actors, has achieved –step by step- a certain articulation and its sub-policies are then translated into proposals for macro social policy.”

How is homophobia expressed in Cuba today?

“We are addressing homophobia through the space of consultoria juridica [legal counseling] created in Cenesex with a group of lawyers. This counseling occurs every Friday, but considering the great demand for it, we may have to open a second session on another weekday. We see people who think their rights have been violated for reasons linked to gender or sexual identity.” 

“We have identified the family and the work place as the spaces of greater vulnerability. All conflicts have been solved through administrative procedures by means of letters we have sent to their directors or even ministers when necessary. We always get favorable responses, ready and willing to dialogue with us.”

What satisfactions have these Days brought and what are the remaining challenges?

“Our most important achievement has been the promotion of a dialogue. The Cuban population is debating these issues. We get lots of thank-you letters, phone calls and messages through our web page ( http://www.cenesexualidad.sld.cu/ ). Many persons approach us and say very gratifying things such as, “I’m a better person now,” or “Thanks to the work that you do, I no longer discriminate against my children,” or “I'm no longer afraid of homosexuality.

“One of the reasons we are dedicating this year’s Day to the Cuban family, is not just because it is one of the spaces with higher vulnerability, but because it is a way to reach the population so it understands the need for the Parliament to discuss the new codigo de la familia [legal regulations relevant to family life]. This will include for the first time norms of respect to persons regardless of their sexual orientation. We are not exerting pressure, just seeking the cooperation of the population. To guarantee rights it is not enough to develop awareness or to have political will; it is necessary to make the political will expressed in laws. This is precisely what we aim at by preparing these messages for the families.”  

Have you been criticized for the work you do?

“Indeed! But every time they criticize us they give us ideas. The criticisms we have received from Cuban society are opportunities to realize what language we need to use, what elements we must provide to make them understand our message.”

What was the influence on your struggle of having a very special mother like Vilma Espin?

“My mother was the person who educated me on these issues, and was also the one who started this work from the platform of Federación de Mujeres Cubanas [Cuban Women's AssoFederation]. Working on the defense of women's rights, a number of doors were opened to fight for other rights linked to gender, sexual orientation and gender identity. I was a teenager and she would take me to all the activities; some of these were talks on sexual education. There, I learned many things that I liked, and I also understood that was the way I wanted them to be explained to me. Then I studied pedagogy, psychology and started seeking a way to teach that would be pleasant, interesting and attractive. Sometimes I say, “I’m not giving lectures because the audience will be bored.” That’s why I always use the ways of the arts: a film discussion is much more enriching, provides more learning opportunities than a boring lesson. So, in our work we always try to find the articulation of languages to promote dialogue. And this is what we have been doing so far: winning –little by little– spaces for dialogue.”