HAVANA — The daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro sponsored a blessing ceremony Saturday for same-sex couples on an island where same-sex marriage remains illegal.
Nearly two dozen couples, some crying, held hands or embraced as Protestant clergymen from the U.S. and Canada blessed them as part of official ceremonies leading up to the Global Day Against Homophobia on May 17.
Castro’s daughter, Mariela, heads Cuba’s Center for Sex Education, which has been pushing for gay rights in a country with a history of persecuting homosexuals.
While she was careful not to call Saturday’s ceremony a wedding, the event had most of the trappings of matrimony.
Luis Enrique Mederos and his partner for 14 years, Alain Morales, approached clergymen — including Troy Perry, founder of Los Angeles’ gay-friendly Metropolitan Community Church — and held hands beneath a canopy while the pastors blessed their relationship.
“Luis, I give you my life,” Morales said, as the crowd of 300 applauded.
Gays were hounded and persecuted during much of the presidency of Fidel Castro. After handing power to his brother Raul, the elder Castro said he regretted his treatment of gays.
Mariela Castro is the most visible gay-rights advocate on the island, using her position as a member of Cuba’s ruling family to push for reforms.
