Luis Rondon’s Diary

The response of Mariela Castro Espín, director of the National Center for Sex Education in Havana, before and after the events of May 11th in the Cuban capital, has been a great disappointment to many people who admired her as the leading voice for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.

A few months ago, there was an uproar in the media about Cuba’s new draft Constitution. Many of its points touched on aspects relating to Cuban society, and a special emphasis was placed on Art, Private property and LGBT people’s rights.

A few weeks ago, I wrote several poems and I reveal my feelings and determination in one of them to not form part of a reality that has been killing me slowly. I thought that I would never have to leave my country, but life, and my actions…

Consumption of movies with explicit sex scenes, no matter what the sexual orientation is, could be considered moderate here in Cuba. And as far as I know, consumption isn’t a crime but distribution and commercialization are.

Last Thursday at 3 PM, somebody knocked on my house door. Who is it at this time of day? I asked myself, curious, as I’m not used to receiving visits at home at this time in the afternoon.

I thought that my activism had resolved the water problem on my block, but when the problem is just as bad or worse, I thought that maybe it was hurricane Irma’s fault. It’s been more than a week now since this precious liquid hasn’t come to my home.

News of the Havana Biennial being canceled by the National Council of Visual Arts was a hard blow to the artistic movement on the island. However the disappointment turned into initiative as a call went out to hold an Alternative Biennial in May of 2018.

Havana has begun to recover. Some areas already have electricity and parks with WIFI connections have begun to fill with people, except for Havana’s Malecon seawall area because all the antennas were removed there in anticipation of the winds and sea surge.

On our way to our destination, fear and insecurity took over my mind, it would be the first time I’d be somewhere where everyone else would be naked in the light of day outside.