The approval of same-sex marriage in Cuba at the end of last month enabled the union of LGBTQIA+ evangelicals who, for religious reasons, were ostracized beyond the legal spheres.
One of the first same-sex marriages in the country was between artist Lázaro González, 52, and theologian Adiel González, 32, who had to break with the Baptist Church years ago to become an LGBT rights activist on the island.
“[Quando criança,] I was taught to reject any homosexual manifestation. Any mannerism was considered a sin”, says Adiel. He says that, from the age of 11, he tried to convert his sexual orientation through prayers. The attempt, of course, was in vain: “This is not a choice, it doesn’t change. Today I’m convinced that God doesn’t care about that.”
At the age of 20, Adiel came out as homosexual and started a small project in the church to encourage a change in the attitude of the faithful in relation to sexuality. The effort, however, had little effect, and in 2014, he left the institution to found a theological program of Christian LGBT activism — which would later become an independent organization in the city of Matanzas, 98 kilometers from Havana.
The contrast between Christianity and his sexual orientation deepened in 2019. At the time, Cuban authorities tried to introduce same-sex marriage into the Constitution, but the churches strongly opposed.
“I found myself in a crossfire, because I was doing activism from my Christian identity,” he says. He says he has suffered attacks on social media, including death threats. In the interview with the AFP news agency, he was wearing a scapular.
His relationship with Lázaro began in 2012, when the two teamed up to try to influence the dictatorship to change the Family Code. The result came this year: between February and April, Havana held a consultation on the document in 79,000 meetings of residents and, last month, the majority of the population voted in favor of pro-LGBT changes — the project was approved with 66% of the wishes.
The result was expected, after intense campaigning by the regime, in a movement that activists say deepens contradictions. In December, for example, a new Penal Code comes into force, with very tough measures against freedom of expression and expression — for which there was no type of popular consultation.
“When the results were released, we screamed and hugged each other”, says Lázaro. In Latin America, equal marriage is recognized in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Chile and several Mexican states.
The new code also allows for the adoption of children by homosexual couples, the recognition of fathers and mothers in addition to the biological ones and surrogacy – as long as it is non-profit – and adds rights to children, the elderly and people with disabilities.
Also in September, the Episcopal Conference of Cuba spoke out against several points in the text. The criticism is echoed by the regime’s old stance, which in the 1960s and 1970s ostracized homosexuals or sent them to militarized agricultural labor camps.
Lázaro and Adiel’s wedding took place on Thursday (13). Lázaro prepared the feast for the party, to which people close to him were invited: fried rice, cassava in sauce and “plátanos en tentación”, a Cuban dish with banana and cinnamon. “We always waited for this moment, it was a dream,” he says.
“For us who were so directly involved in accepting gay marriage in Cuba, that we made it part of our everyday lives, getting married was the closure, the culmination,” adds Adiel.
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