• Submitted by: admin
• Society
• 06 / 29 / 2009

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Mariela Castro, the daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro, is to speak at an event in London later this week.

Coinciding with Pride London, a special screening of the ground-breaking Cuban gay movie, Strawberry and Chocolate, will be followed by a panel question and answer sesssion.

Ms Castro will appear alongside the film's screenwriter/director Juan Carlos Tabio and Alberto Roque, a leading gay rights activist in Cuba.

The event is part of the Barbican season, Cine Cuba: 50 Years of Revolution in Film, which runs from Friday 3 July to Thursday 9 July.

Ms Castro, 46, is head of Cuba’s National Centre for Sex Education and the niece of former Cuban President Fidel Castro.

She has said previously that she wants to "enrich the Cuban Revolution" with her fight for equality between the sexes and gay rights.

She has been a strong supporter of legal moves to grant equal rights to all citizens, the first step towards same-sex unions and access to gender reassignment surgery.

While social attitudes towards gay people are generally negative, the capital city Havana has a thriving gay scene.


Source: Pinknews.co.uk