ES / EN
- May 9, 2025 -
No Result
View All Result
OnCubaNews
  • World
  • Cuba
  • Cuba-USA
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Infographic
  • Culture
    • Billboard
  • Sports
  • Styles / Trends
  • Media
  • Special
  • Cuban Flavors
  • World
  • Cuba
  • Cuba-USA
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Infographic
  • Culture
    • Billboard
  • Sports
  • Styles / Trends
  • Media
  • Special
  • Cuban Flavors
OnCubaNews
ES / EN
Home Styles / Trends Technologies of Communication and Media

“Pingueros en la Habana “: a revealing study on male prostitution in Cuba

by
  • Daniel A. Fernández
    Daniel A. Fernández
February 17, 2014
in Technologies of Communication and Media
1

Daring and social commitment meet in the last text of Cuban researcher Julio César González Pagés: “Pingueros en la Habana” (male prostitutes in Havana), work presented on Friday at the Cuba Pavilion, in the framework of the International Book Fair. Life stories of 150 male adolescents and youth in the island between 1998 and 2012, who exercised prostitution in certain areas of the capital are revealed in this study, in which also the past returns in the hand of characters as ” Manolo Tolete ” Galician porn actor who decades ago was settled in the city .

Made in digital format the book breaks the silence that has accompanied a subject marked by its many complexities. The existence of a significant number of Cuban men, whose employment or making a living rests in sex work; it is a phenomenon that institutional agendas and the media erroneously prefer to hide.

In the pages of this book La Rampa is more than the ideal spot for moviegoers, the Malecon doesn’t only host loving couples, fishers and drunkards; in the Fraternity Park people don’t only wait for buses or taxis, and few meters from the statue of José Martí, in Central Park, people do more than merely discuss baseball. González Pagés “discovered” after a thorough anthropological work, an edge that is part of the daily life of these spaces. It isn’t another Havana what he shows; it is simply Havana in full, with those dazzling things that are accompanied, at times, but others that are annoying to many.

In the testimonies of the protagonists converge male children who were sexually abused by fathers, uncles or close friends of the family, early school dropouts, teenagers who took the difficult path of migration to the capital, foreign customers with wallets full of Euros or retirees of the island that, in exchange for food and lodging for one night, earn the favors of young newcomers to the capital city; the occasional corrupt policeman for some CUCs will let them work their area; prostitutes whose main objective is to ensure the maintenance of their children and wives.

Pingueros in Havana, as the author well noted during the lecture presentation in the Cuba Pavilion, is not an investigation made for police files. Logically, in it the names of persons and addresses appear in anthropological key. Pingueros … doesn’t denounce, it reveals; it doesn’t take sides or disqualify, gives voice to a group of men who for more than a decade had on the sex market the stage of their lives.

Around the importance of socializing these testimonies Julio Cesar declared exclusively for OnCuba : “I think its greatest strength has to do with making visible many of the phenomena that occur around male prostitution , and often unknown because male and homophobic prejudices. There are criminal networks highly linked to “pingueros”, which is the popular name through which they are known in Cuba. We talk about people who murder, steal, deal drugs and use minors for business, and so far there is no way of preventing it because all the work is left to the police. I think that we must educate and many of the young people entering the market do so in very vulnerable situations , so we can not abandon them to their fate. “

Related Posts

Reflection of a man in a glass. Screens of a city and buildings

Fleeing from the screens….

September 4, 2022
Photo by Desmond Boyle.

Private workers propose dialogue

December 19, 2017
Malecón de La Habana, Cuba. Photo: Desmond Boylan / AP.

It’s not with Marco Rubio, it’s with the Cuban government

November 24, 2017

June-July

August 16, 2017

On the reception of this book, the leader of the African American Network and Masculinity ( RIAM ) said: “The text has had a suspicious look from some sectors who do not want to talk about these issues. However, the general population and people who are more sensitive to the problems that plague our society have given it a welcome beyond my expectations. “

“The presentation at the Cuba Pavilion was attended by many, and my Facebook and my email are constantly getting messages from people interested in reading it, post it , share it . Like other people are afraid to talk for now, they see this book as an act of sacrilege, as if I was revealing a great patriotic secret. They assume that it helps create a bad image of Cuba, the eternal fear of giving ammunition to the enemy remains in them. At the end the reality is much more shocking, one need only to take a walk through the city, study those spaces and especially be committed to our society in a pragmatic way that goes beyond mere speeches. “

“Pingueros en la Habana ” is available for free in the navigation room of the Cuba Pavilion. You need to go with a flash memory to download it.

Photos: Courtesy of the interviewee

  • Daniel A. Fernández
    Daniel A. Fernández
Tags: Julio César González Pagésmale prostitution in CubaPingueros en La Habana
Previous Post

An attempt of a ballad, with the guitar on the wrong side

Next Post

Love story and architectural treasures of El Vedado, keys for a novel

Daniel A. Fernández

Daniel A. Fernández

Alguna vez fue historiador y profesor universitario. La pasión por el deporte terminó ganando la pelea. Dicen que su bebé aprendió primero a patear un balón antes que a caminar.

Next Post

Love story and architectural treasures of El Vedado, keys for a novel

Cuban ballroom dances require to be rescued

Pedro Juan Gutiérrez: “There is not such a thing as clean or dirty reality; there is just reality”

Comments 1

  1. marvin says:
    1 week ago

    Habana

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

The conversation here is moderated according to OnCuba News discussion guidelines. Please read the Comment Policy before joining the discussion.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Most Read

  • Archbishop of Havana proclaimed cardinal by Pope Francis in 2019. Photo: CNS/Paul Haring.

    Cuban Cardinal before the conclave: “There is a desire to maintain the legacy of Pope Francis”

    32 shares
    Share 13 Tweet 8
  • The Enchanted Shrimp of the Cuban Dance

    2927 shares
    Share 1171 Tweet 732
  • Tourism in Cuba: a driving force in decline

    25 shares
    Share 10 Tweet 6
  • Deported and without her baby daughter: Heidy Sánchez’s desperation

    9 shares
    Share 4 Tweet 2
  • Poverty in Cuba: Ministry of Labor establishes new regulations to care for “vulnerable groups”

    12 shares
    Share 5 Tweet 3

Most Commented

  • Photovoltaic solar park in Cuba. Photo: Taken from the Facebook profile of the Electricity Conglomerate (UNE).

    Solar parks vs. blackouts: between illusions and reality (I)

    15 shares
    Share 6 Tweet 4
  • Fernando Pérez, a traveler

    11 shares
    Share 4 Tweet 3
  • Solar parks vs. blackouts: between illusions and reality (II and end)

    13 shares
    Share 5 Tweet 3
  • The “Pan de La Habana” has arrived

    31 shares
    Share 12 Tweet 8
  • China positions itself as Cuba’s main medical supplier after signing new contracts

    26 shares
    Share 10 Tweet 7
  • About us
  • Work with OnCuba
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Moderation policy for comments
  • Contact us
  • Advertisement offers

OnCuba and the OnCuba logo are registered® trademarks of Fuego Enterprises, Inc., its subsidiaries or divisions.
OnCuba © by Fuego Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • World
  • Cuba
  • Cuba-USA
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Infographic
  • Culture
    • Billboard
  • Sports
  • Styles / Trends
  • Media
  • Special
  • Cuban Flavors

OnCuba and the OnCuba logo are registered® trademarks of Fuego Enterprises, Inc., its subsidiaries or divisions.
OnCuba © by Fuego Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}