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Directed by Margaret Gilpin and Luis Felipe Bernaza,
A Kangaroo Productions Film. La Habana, Cuba, 1995.
THE barrio of La Guinera in Havana recently won a United Nations'
prize for the way in which its inhabitants, with the help of the
revolutionary government, rebuilt their neighbourhood.
A symbol of the rectification process in the late 1980's, La Guinera
has been transformed from being a shanty town to a model development
with new houses, a clinic, school and shopping facilities, but along
the way, La Guinera has found another place for itself in the social
fabric of the new Cuba. For it is here where Cuba's most flourishing
subculture of transvestism is found.
This documentary, premiered on December 6th as part of the Latin
American Film Festival in Havana, follows the story of a group of
drag queen performers from their clandestine beginnings to achieving
acceptance and respectibility in this once neglected area of Cuba's
capital.
Any ideas that homosexuals are persecuted by the state are quickly
dispelled as the film opens with a declaration from film-maker
Enrique Pineda Barnet that it is important to accept this phenomena.
"Tolerance is the wrong word to use," he says, since this carries a
demeaning connotation, "We must use the word acceptance." Later, the
area's parliamentary delegate makes the point that the drag queens
should be applauded for giving La Guinera something that other
barrios do not have.
Most touching is the way in which the leader of the microbrigade
which went into the barrio to help build the new homes describes her
own coming to terms with this subculture.
Fifi, to whom the film is dedicated, begins by explaining how, when
they arrived at the barrio they quickly learned about this "club" of
transvestites who performed in their own homes. Being a woman of over
fifty, she was at first astonished about the goings on but was
persuaded to allow them to perform in the workers' canteen one day
after a group of brigadistas had been to one of the shows and liked
them.
The shows are the classic lipsynch types that we are accostomed to
see, but they have a dramatic Cuban feel and one or two of the
performers actually sing very well in falsetto.
They were such a success that soon they performed regularly in the
canteen.
The transformation in the attitudes of all concerned is a delight to
see, especially from Fifi who even goes so far as to say that she had
"become a new woman as a result."
Interviews with the drag queens themselves, one a baker, another a
stable hand, and another a former Angolan war veteran and teacher at
the Communist Party School, are moving portraits of people who, as
they say, "just want to get a corner for themselves in society."
"We still have some way to go," says one of the queens, which is
clearly demonstrated by an interview with the local police chief who
expresses his concern that the shows will have a bad effect on
children. He admits that he closed down the shows in private homes
because they charged entrance fees, which was against the law. He did
this despite the fact that the queens were donating the proceeds to
the local territorial militia!
This incident was the spark that started a movement among the locals
and workers on the microbrigade to get the shows put on in the
canteen. One of the best shots in the film is where one of the
performers is singing in front of huge picture of Fidel, who appears
to be smiling down in approval. This brought a particularly loud peal
of laughter from the audience who saw it.
This is a marvellous showcase for the new era that is blossoming in
Cuba. That these wonderful performers are now able to live and act
out their lives is a tremendous achievement of which they are rightly
proud. And the change in Cuba is clearly pointed out by one of the
gays who remarks that it makes him very sad to think that those who
went into exile are there for no reason that makes any sense.
These are not gays who are in opposition to the system, they are as
revolutionary as the next person. One, who used to be in the army
even goes so far as to say he would enlist again if he had to.
That Cuban people are now coming out in ever greater ways and numbers
is good for us all. Do not miss this film if you get the chance. And
if you are thinking of going to Cuba and intend to give La Guinera
visit, take along some make up and false eyelashes, the queens have
to make their own from carbon paper. Like much else in Cuba these
days, such luxuries are in short supply. Even the trannies need
solidarity!
by Steve Wilkinson
* GAY CUBA, a colourful documentary which highlights the significance if Strawberry and Chocolate on Cuban society was shown in London on Saturday 24th March as part of the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
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