![Cubagaywedding](https://www.advocate.com/media-library/cubagaywedding.jpg?id=32713106&width=1200&height=876)
CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
A transgender woman and a gay man married Saturday on the 85th birthday of Fidel Castro in a wedding described as the first of its kind for Cuba.
Reuters reports on the civil ceremony in Havana for Ignacio Estrada, a 31-year-old gay rights activist and dissident, and Wendy Iriepa, 37. Their union is not classified as a same-sex marriage, which is illegal in Cuba, because Iriepa underwent gender-reassignment surgery in 2007 in the first such operation sanctioned by the state.
"But the wedding, held on Fidel Castro's 85th birthday in what the couple had called a 'gift' to the former leader, was aimed at advancing homosexual rights in Cuba and tinged with politics as some of Cuba's best-known dissidents participated and U.S. diplomats attended in a public show of support," reports Reuters.
LGBT people once faced official discrimination in Cuba and were labeled as "counterrevolutionary," but last year Castro recognized the injustice of the persecution. His niece Mariela Castro heads the National Sex Education Center, or Cenesex, which promotes gender-reassignment surgery. Iriepa used to work at the center, but Mariela, the daughter of current Cuban president Raul Castro, did not attend the ceremony Saturday.
Reuters reports that the agenda for Cenesex includes a bill to allow same-sex marriages.
Watch the report on the wedding from Euro News.
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
21+ steamy photos of Scotland’s finest gay men in Elska Glasgow
February 01 2024 10:07 PM
More Than 50 of Our Favorite LGBTQ+ Moms
May 12 2024 11:44 AM
Latest Stories
Joe Biden and the lesson of never forgetting where you came from
July 25 2024 4:06 PM
Tom Daley goes down on all fours to test new Olympic beds
July 25 2024 2:58 PM
Kamala Harris make a cameo in RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 9 finale
July 25 2024 1:59 PM
Watch: Kamala Harris highlights her LGBTQ+ allyship in powerful first campaign ad
July 25 2024 12:31 PM
Walmart and MISTR to offer free at-home HIV testing kits
July 25 2024 10:02 AM