Cuba's Gay Pride (International Day Against Homophobia) - May 17

From May 3 to May 19, Cuba celebrated its fourth annual International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) in Havana and Santiago de Cuba (Cuba's second largest city in its southern province). The two-week event included symposiums, lectures, films, art exhibits and a theatrical festival, headlined by Cuban superstar, singer Haila Mompie. ...Leading this unique revolution on the behalf of the LGBT community is activist Mariela Castro-Espin, the 48-year-old daughter of Cuba's President, Raul Castro, and niece of Fidel Castro. Heterosexual and a married mother of three, Castro-Espin is going into her tenth year as director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education (CENESEX) in Havana. On the outside looking in, one would assume that Cuba is stuck in a proverbial time warp. Marked by decaying buildings, antiquated facades and vintage automobiles, it seems that the island once ruled by Mafioso bosses and gluttonous dictator Fulgencio Batista during the 1940's and '50's has progressed little since the U.S. placed a trade embargo on the island in the early 1960's. But, look a little deeper and you will see advances in Cuba that may astonish and even inspire the most proud of Americans. To read more about this story and to see many more Cuba related stories see http://www.cubaabsolutely.com/