Cuba's LGBT Community Celebrates
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}En esta foto del 11 de mayo de 2013, Abrahan Bueno, un travestí gay de 39 años, que se hace llamar Imperio, actúa en el teatro Carlos Marx de La Habana, Cuba. Una semana de espectáculos similares, marchas coloridas y encuentros socioculturales en la capital cubana termina el viernes, con las celebraciones del Día Internacional contra la Homofobia (AP Foto/Ramón Espinosa).
Dayan Sanchez, 25, right, a gay transvestite artist known as "Venus," holds a portrait of himself as he poses with his mother Anadelia Morales, 47, at his home in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, May 16, 2013. A week of drag shows, colorful marches and social and cultural events in Havana culminates Friday with celebrations of the International Day Against Homophobia. Gays were persecuted for decades after the 1959 Cuban Revolution, sometimes sent to grueling rural work camps along with others considered socially suspect by the Communist government. But there has been a gradual shift away from macho attitudes, and Fidel Castro himself has publicly regretted the mistreatment of people seen as different. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
In this May 15, 2013 photo, bartender Noel Gonzalez, 33, poses for a photo at the Fashion Bar Havana, in Havana, Cuba. A week of drag shows, colorful marches and social and cultural events in Havana culminates Friday with celebrations of the International Day Against Homophobia. Gays were persecuted for decades after the 1959 Cuban Revolution, sometimes sent to grueling rural work camps along with others considered socially suspect by the Communist government. But there has been a gradual shift away from macho attitudes, and Fidel Castro himself has publicly regretted the mistreatment of people seen as different. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
President Raul Castro's daughter Mariela Castro, center, participates in the celebrations leading up to the International Day Against Homophobia in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, May 11, 2013. Mariela Castro led Saturday's procession of gays and their supporters, some of whom chanted Homophobia no! Socialism yes! She's head of the National Sexual Education Center and a leading campaigner for gay rights in Cuba, where the government persecuted homosexuals, especially in the 1960s. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) (AP2013)
In this May 11, 2013, Abrahan Bueno, 39, a gay transvestite artist known as "Imperio," chats with the woman in charge of the dressing rooms at the Karl Marx theater in Havana, Cuba. A week of drag shows, colorful marches and social and cultural events in Havana culminates Friday with celebrations of the International Day Against Homophobia. Gays were persecuted for decades after the 1959 Cuban Revolution, sometimes sent to grueling rural work camps along with others considered socially suspect by the Communist government. But there has been a gradual shift away from macho attitudes, and Fidel Castro himself has publicly regretted the mistreatment of people seen as different. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
In this May 11, 2013, dancers warm up for their presentation against homophobia at the Karl Marx theater in Havana, Cuba. A week of drag shows, colorful marches and social and cultural events in Havana culminates Friday with celebrations of the International Day Against Homophobia. Gays were persecuted for decades after the 1959 Cuban Revolution, sometimes sent to grueling rural work camps along with others considered socially suspect by the Communist government. But there has been a gradual shift away from macho attitudes, and Fidel Castro himself has publicly regretted the mistreatment of people seen as different. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A transvestite holds a gay rights banner and a Cuban national flag while posing for photographers during celebrations marking the upcoming International Day Against Homophobia, in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, May 11, 2013. About 500 people marched through the Cuban capital to the rhythm of conga drums in an early celebration of the international day against homophobia, commemorated annually on May 17. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) (AP2013)
In this May 15, 2013 photo, Gilberto Diez, right, applies makeup to Dayan Sanchez, 25, a gay transvestite artist known as "Venus" in preparation for a drag show at the Fashion Bar Havana, in Havana, Cuba. A week of drag shows, colorful marches and social and cultural events in Havana culminates Friday with celebrations of the International Day Against Homophobia. Gays were persecuted for decades after the 1959 Cuban Revolution, sometimes sent to grueling rural work camps along with others considered socially suspect by the Communist government. But there has been a gradual shift away from macho attitudes, and Fidel Castro himself has publicly regretted the mistreatment of people seen as different. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
In this May 11, 2013 photo, Abrahan Bueno, 39, a gay transvestite artist known as "Imperio," descends a flight of stairs as he makes his way to the stage at the Karl Marx theater in Havana, Cuba. A week of drag shows, colorful marches and social and cultural events in Havana culminates Friday with celebrations of the International Day Against Homophobia. Gays were persecuted for decades after the 1959 Cuban Revolution, sometimes sent to grueling rural work camps along with others considered socially suspect by the Communist government. But there has been a gradual shift away from macho attitudes, and Fidel Castro himself has publicly regretted the mistreatment of people seen as different. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)