LGBTQ+ Nightlife: Six Gay-Friendly Venues to Visit in Havana
This famous El Vedado bar hosts LGBTQ+-themed parties regularly. Every Wednesday, they host glam for “PaZillo Pride” events. Each one celebrates a different subgroup of Cuba’s queer people – from ladies-only internet dating events to drag queen parties.
No matter when you go, you will jog into a welcoming and trendy atmosphere. The nourishment menu is relatively basic and limited to burgers and standard appetizers that will help you prolong the night.
Meanwhile, the drinks menu is constantly modifying as they come up with new signature blends. Still, their specialty remains creamy, rum-infused blends with unorthodox fruit juices – from tropical berries to coconut milk or guava extract.
This is a boisterous, dance-oriented place, so hope for the music to contain the years’ Billboard hits, and to gravitate strongly towards salsa, reggaeton, and other tropical rhythms. The dress code is flexible, but comfy shoes are recommended.
One last pro tip: The door fee for any of their parties doubles as an entry for a nightly raffle. You’ll be given a numbered sticker, which you should immediat
Learning about Cuba’s LGBTQ+ Community
People with signs during La Conga en contra de la Homofobia y Transfobia in La Habana, Cuba, May 2023
Cuba’s held a fascination for me ever since I was in high school in Puerto Rico. I explored the food, music and art of the neighboring island, quite abundant in my homeland, but always knew that different perspectives and adventures could only be experienced in Cuba itself. I never imagined that 15 years later, I would be able to visit, conduct research for my doctoral dissertation in Social Work at Simmons University, and develop lifelong friendships.
My book, The LGBT Cuban Revolution (Deletrea 2023), emerges from my investigate, visits to Cuba and personal experiences, examining the LGBTQ+ movement in Cuba since the beginning of the Castro-led Revolution. I was curious about how this type of government and revolution affected the LGBTQ+ community. I wanted to focus solely on the experiences of the LGBTQ+ community living in Cuba, hence I only included the perspectives of those “who stayed.” Many, if not all, previous books and projects possess dealt with homosexuality in secondary data analysis interviews or with people who fled
Cuba Gay Travel
LGBTQ+ Rights in Cuba
Cuba has traditionally been very antipathetic towards the LGBTQ+ community; however, since the 1990s, it has made strides toward acceptance. Mariela Castro, daughter of Raul Castro, has been a long-standing and outspoken LGBTQ+ ally. In September 2018, President Miguel Diaz-Canel expressed great encourage for same-sex marriage. Finally, although Cuba doesn’t possess a Pride Festival per se, it has begun proudly celebrating The International Day Against Homophobia in May. Cuba is a country on the cusp of fully embracing its queer population.
Gay Activity: Legal Lesbian Activity: Legal Gay Marriage: Unrecognized Right to Change Gender: Legal, surgery not required Same-Sex Adoption: Single gays may adopt, but gay couples may not. LGBT Discrimination: Gays and Lesbians are protected in most contexts. Transgender people are not protected in most contexts.
Gay Cuba Travel
Cubans could not choose where they lived (legally) until recently, so there was never a gay “ghetto” per se. Now that those restrictions are easing, the same-sex attracted scene in larger cities like Havana is blossoming.
Gay Villages in Cuba
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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 travel experiences. It looked as though the beach extended quite a distance in both directions, so we were unsure where to discover 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 Gay Cuba Beach
On this weekday afternoon, the queer beach had maybe 100 people at most, but it was still wonderful to see signs of gay life 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 gay late hours at a club). So the gay beach was our best shot at finding the LGBTQ crowd in Havana. And w
