Cubans March For Gay Rights In Havana

It is a pretty sad commentary on the false promises of America when Castro's Cuba is on the verge of being more progressive in terms of gay acceptance than the alleged "land of the free." But that seems to be what is steadily occurring with Castro's daughter leading the charge for full gay equality. Moreover, unlike Barack Obama who gives pretty but meaningless speeches, Mariela Castro gets right in the middle of things (she is pictured at center in the photo above). Perhaps Obama needs to give her a call and find out what's really entailed in acting as a fierce advocate for equality. Google News has more details - here are some highlights:
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Hundreds of gay and lesbian activists, some dressed in drag and others sporting multicolored flags representing sexual diversity, marched and danced through the streets of Havana on Saturday along with the daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro as part of a celebration aimed at eliminating homophobia around the world.
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Some of the marchers played drums and others walked on stilts as they made their way down a wide avenue in the capital's hip Vedado neighborhood, where they have held a series of debates and workshops ahead of the May 17 celebration of the International Day Against Homophobia, which participants say marks the day in 1990 when the World Health Organization stopped listing homosexuality as a mental illness.
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"We have made progress, but we need to make more progress," said Mariela Castro, a campaigner for gay rights on the island and the leader of Cuba's National Sexual Education Center. She is also the daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro.
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The workshops and debates held Saturday dealt with issues such as adoption by gay and lesbian couples and whether to legalize gay marriages, a step Mariela Castro has been pushing for years, so far without success. The week of celebrations culminates Monday.
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President Obama, are you listening?