{"id":96827,"date":"2017-06-29T06:00:06","date_gmt":"2017-06-29T10:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oncubamagazine.com\/?p=96827"},"modified":"2017-06-30T13:55:08","modified_gmt":"2017-06-30T17:55:08","slug":"the-bearded-queen-in-havana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba-usa\/the-bearded-queen-in-havana\/","title":{"rendered":"The bearded queen in Havana"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>As a Miami born-and-raised Cuban American, I grew up with many misconceptions about Cuba, its government, and its people. Time and time again, I would search for articles or videos on LGBTQ life in Cuba, but what I found was very limiting and unsatisfying. With the exception of a few films, I found that the drag community was not well documented and therefore I wanted to build my own opinions on what it is like to be a drag queen in current day Cuba. I ventured to Cuba with the CubaOne organization on their first LGBTQ focused trip. The purpose of this trip was for six fellows Cuban Americans and me to connect to our Cuban roots, as well as attend Cuba\u2019s \u2018Dia contra la homofobia\u2019. Not only did we learn about the country\u2019s rich history, but we came out of it with a completely transformed perception of Cuba, its politics, and the local people &#8211; as well as with friendships that will last a lifetime.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>My expectations on this trip were to meet the queer Cuban people, more specifically the LGBTQ activists, artists, and performers who are making a difference in their communities. Those expectations were certainly met and surpassed, as I met many passionate and educated locals who were genuinely interested in sharing their stories and struggles on the island. Out of the many people I met, there are a few that really impacted my experience. I visited the studio of a local artist R10, whose current body of work is a cheeky statement on US and Cuban relations (and tensions). I went behind the scenes at Clandestina, an LGBTQ owned and operated store that sells prints, novelties, and manufactures clothing from recycled garments. And best of all, I got to see several drag shows, as well have an in-depth conversation with Chantal, one of Havana\u2019s most popular drag performers about the challenges she and other queens face as performers in current day Cuba. Chantal has been in the business for over ten years and explains to me that it is incredibly difficult for her and other performers to get essential items such as fabric for costumes, pairs of eyelashes, and heels in the right size. They rely greatly on the kindness of tourists and friends outside of Cuba for these items, but sometimes have to go without and it affects their ability to work comfortably.<\/div>\n<div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_96832\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-96832\" style=\"width: 2634px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Queef-stairs.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-96832\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Queef-stairs.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: Courtesy of the author\" width=\"2634\" height=\"3708\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-96832\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: Courtesy of the author<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>I experienced a strong sense of Cuban identity, togetherness, and communal support that is sometimes absent in other communities. Because of their history of political and civil strife, I believe the Cuban people have learned to rely on each other, build strong connections, and band together for the greater good. Regardless of the islands precarious past with the US, everyone I met welcomed us with open arms and open hearts and was genuinely interested in us as much as we were with them.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>I plan on continuing the communication and outreach with everyone I met during my trip, and I am currently in the planning stages of setting up a charity that\u2019ll benefit these LGBTQ artists and performers on the island. I welcome any donations, whether it is wigs, lashes, nails, accessories, fabrics, or cosmetics that could be of use to any of Cuba\u2019s talented performers.<\/div>\n<div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_96831\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-96831\" style=\"width: 3024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Queef-Balcony.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-96831\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Queef-Balcony.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: Courtesy of the author\" width=\"3024\" height=\"4032\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-96831\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: Courtesy of the author<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<div><em>If anyone is interested in participating or donating to the cause, or simply would like some queer-friendly recommendations of things to do in Havana, please feel free to contact Queef Latina at <a href=\"mailto:helloqueeflatina@gmail.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">helloqueeflatina@gmail.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As a Miami born-and-raised Cuban American, I grew up with many misconceptions about Cuba, its government, and its people. Time and time again, I would search for articles or videos on LGBTQ life in Cuba, but what I found was very limiting and unsatisfying. With the exception of a few films, I found that the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3531,"featured_media":96830,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13944],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[33974,13582],"class_list":["post-96827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cuba-usa"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The bearded queen in Havana | OnCubaNews English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba-usa\/the-bearded-queen-in-havana\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The bearded queen in Havana | OnCubaNews English\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As a Miami born-and-raised Cuban American, I grew up with many misconceptions about Cuba, its government, and its people. 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