Cuba gay friendly resorts
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“Which direction should we walk?”
My friend and I had arrived at Mi Cayito beach in Cuba, a stretch of shoreline 15 miles east of Havana, in search of gay Cuba tour experiences. It looked as though the beach extended quite a distance in both directions, so we were unsure where to uncover the gay section of beach that supposedly existed. The Internet hadn&#;t been much help in that regard.
Just then, a college-age guy with a sassy demeanor sauntered past with a female friend. We were evidently on the right track. “Follow him!”
Our hope that the dude would lead us to the gay beach were realized when, after five minutes of walking west, we spotted the rainbow flag.
Visiting Mi Cayito, The Homosexual Cuba Beach
On this weekday afternoon, the gay beach had maybe people at most, but it was still incredible to see signs of gay being in Cuba, where acceptance is growing but still not nearly at the same level as in most western nations.
As of this writing, Cuba still has no official gay bars (just the occasional queer nigh
Cuba's first gay hotel reopens as human rights deteriorate
BBC News, Cayo Guillermo, Cuba
As members of the press arrived for a government-organised tour of a luxury hotel on the Cuban beach resort of Cayo Guillermo, they were greeted by a dance troupe in fishnet tights and high heels.
Above the entrance, the rainbow flag, the international symbol of gay celebration, fluttered in the friendly Caribbean breeze.
The Rainbow Hotel, described as Cuba's first LGBTQ hotel, reopened in December.
While guests enjoyed the five-star service by the pool or a walk along the pristine sands, Cuba has not always been so welcoming to the lgbtq+ community. In the preceding part of communist public figure Fidel Castro's rule, gay men and women were sent to work camps for supposed "re-education".
Of course, since those dusky days, attitudes on the island have markedly improved. The Cuban government and MGM Muthu Hotels, the company behind the Rainbow Hotel, say it exemplifies that change in attitude.
A joint undertaking be
Introducing the Telegrafo Hotel La Habana
Spain&#;s Axel Hotels has opened a Havana property that it says makes it a pioneer in a city that it says is undergoing a striking shift in attitudes.
Axel&#;s hotels are designed to make LGBTQI+ travellers feel at home and the company now has 18 properties, 16 of them in Europe, another in Miami, and the Telegrafo Hotel La Habana, its first in the Caribbean.
The adults-only, room Havana hotel opened in historic Old Havana in , becoming the first in the city to primarily cater to the LGBTQI+ community.
&#;We understand that it&#;s not for everyone,&#; Telegrafo Axel La Habana front office manager Belen Santana Rodriguez said during May&#;s FITCuba show, Cuba&#;s annual tourism event. But she added that Havana residents were curious not hostile when her hotel opened proudly displaying the Gay Pride flag on its exterior, which she said is a reflection of changing attitudes in a Latin destination. “It&#;s an open-minded place. We are inclusive and we want everyone to enjoy our hotel.”
Indeed, Cuban tourism minister Juan Carlos Garc
A holiday guide to Cuba for the LGBTQ group including gay friendly hotels, bars & beaches.
A brief history
Before the Revolution, Cuba was a traditional, conservative island controlled by immense landowners, business groups and the church. Like most other Latin countries, machismo was very much the prevailing culture and, as such, outside of a handful of in-the-know venues in Havana, the LGBTQ community in Cuba was largely underground.
Any hopes that the Revolution, which reached its denouement at the end of , would usher in a brand-new period of acceptance or even tolerance was instantly dashed.
Members of the Cuban LGBTQ community were viewed as being ideologically unsound and subject to appalling treatment and numerous restrictions.
It wasn’t until that homosexuality was decriminalized and not until that it became legal. Even so, and despite numerous discussions within the pollical elite (the de facto head of the Cuban LGBTQ society, Mariela Castro, is the late Fidel Castro’s niece), same sex marriage is still not permitted.
Attitudes to the LGBTQ community
While