Singers will team up with Cuban gay group Mano a Mano for nine concerts
This Saturday, 20 members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington will head to Cuba to perform – following the historic easing of travel restrictions between the two countries after half a century.
The Chorus will join forces with the island’s own gay men’s singing group Mano a Mano for nine concerts in Havana, before returning home a week later.
The performances are the result of a formal invitation from Mariela Castro Espin, daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro and one of Cuba’s most prominent gay rights activists.
The trip follows Barack Obama’s announcement that Cuban and US embassies will open in Washington DC and Havana respectively for the first time in 50 years. On Wednesday, the first flight from Orlando to Cuba touched down on the island nation.
In May, 1000 people called for same-sex marriage while marching through Havana for Pride, even performing their own symbolic gay weddings in protest.
Before setting off to Cuba, the GMCOW will perform at a Cuban HIV/AIDS prevention fundraiser at Miami’s Trinity Episcopal Cathedral on Friday.
by Jamie Tabberer
Source – Gay Star News
