The Cuban soap
opera The Hidden Side of the Moon aired a story
line this past spring about a married man who falls
for another man and then contracts HIV. The show has been
the most-watched soap in the history of Cuban
television. Now, as the show draws to an end, Cuban
gays and lesbians say the show is symbolic of the
communist island's government and people becoming
more accepting toward them, reports the Miami
Herald.
''In 1980, during
Mariel, we were thrown out of the country with the
crazy people and criminals--the useless,'' said
42-year-old restaurant manager Alex, who declined to
give his last name. "People threw rocks at
us. I was forced to have girlfriends and do things that were
beyond me."
In the 1960s and
'70s Cuban gays and lesbians were considered
criminals within the communist ideology and were forced
into Military Units to Help Production facilities,
where they endured hours of strenuous labor and were
expected to refrain from homosexual practices.
"Suddenly
in the last two years, there has been a concerted effort by
the Cuban government to push a movement that had been
going slowly for the past 20 years," said Emilio
Bejel, author of Gay Cuban Nation. "They are
trying to make up for the damage of the past.... I
think they realize it was really horrible what they
did."
Even though a
lesbian couple was featured on a soap opera two years ago,
The Hidden Side of the Moon represents the
first time Cuban television has dealt with gay issues in a
mainstream manner. The program has also generated a
negative response, with one member of the LGBT
community saying it's playing to an unwanted
stereotype.
''The simple fact
that they put a gay issue on TV shows a lot,'' said
restaurant worker Oilime, who also declined to give his last
name. "But it promoted the idea that if you
sleep with a gay man, you will get a fatal illness.
That helps us?"
In other related
news, last year saw gay and lesbian film festivals take
place all over Cuba, with the island holding its very
first sexual diversity cultural festival in western
Pinar del Rio. Additionally, the government has
recently been sending delegates to Latin American
International Lesbian and Gay Association conferences.
(The Advocate)