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Nuevo programa de radio estadounidense enfoca en temas LGBT en Cuba

Joe Cardona es presentador de ‘Arcoíris’ en Radio Martí

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Joe Cardona es el presentador de “Arcoíris,” un nuevo programa en Radio Martí con un enfoque en los temas LGBT en Cuba. (Foto cortesía de Joe Cardona)

Una estación de radio del gobierno estadounidense que transmite a Cuba ha lanzado un programa con un enfoque en los temas LGBT en la isla comunista.

“Arcoíris” se transmitó por primera vez en Radio Martí el 28 de julio.

El programa se transmite cada sábado y domingo entre las 4-5 pm. Joe Cardona, un cineasta cubanoamericano y aliado que dirigió “The Day It Snowed in Miami,” un documental sobre la campaña de Anita Bryant en contra de la ordenanza de derechos gay del Condado Dade en 1977, presenta “Arcoíris.”

Nelson Gandulla Díaz, fundador de la Fundación Cubana por los Derechos LGBTI, un grupo LGBT independiente, apareció en “Arcoíris” el 25 de agosto. Gandulla, un fuerte crítico de Mariela Castro, la hija del expresidente cubano Raúl Castro que promueve los temas LGBT en Cuba como directora del Centro Nacional de Educación Sexual (CENESEX), habló con Cardona desde España donde ha pedido asilo.

“Arcoíris” el 1 de septiembre enfocó las experiencias de prisioneros gay en Cuba. Ignacio Estrada Cepero, fundador de la Liga Cubana contra la SIDA que ahora vive en Miami con su esposa, Wendy Iriepa Díaz, una mujer trans que una vez trabajó para CENESEX, también ha aparecido en el programa.

La familia de Cardona es originaria de La Habana y la Provincia de Matanzas. El dijo al Washington Blade el pasado mes durante una entrevista telefónica desde Miami que su programa “todo es de llevar los temas LGBT al público en Cuba.”

Activistas LGBT cubanoamericanos en el sur de Florida han aplaudido el programa.

“Arcoíris” es una ventaja importante al mundo alrededor para la comunidad LGBTQ cubana,” dijo Tony Lima, director ejecutivo de SAVE, en un comunicado de prensa de Radio Martí.

Presentador del programa ‘mira más allá’ de Mariela Castro

“Arcoíris” debutó casi tres meses después del presidente cubano Miguel Díaz-Canel tomó posesión del cargo. También empezó transmitirse contra el contexto del debate sobre la nueva constitución del país con una enmienda que extendería los derechos matrimoniales a parejas del mismo sexo.

Se están realizando ahora una serie de consultas públicas que permiten al público de comentar sobre la nueva constitución. Se espera que la Asamblea Nacional a finales de este año la finalice antes de un referéndum en febrero de 2019.

El debate, que incluye oposición pública de iglesias evangélicas, se está realizando menos de 60 años después del encarcelamiento de hombres gay en campos de trabajo — las UMAPs — después de la revolución cubana que llevó al poder Fidel Castro, el tío de Mariela Castro.

Partidarios de Mariela Castro, entre otras cosas, notan que Cuba ahora ofrece cirugías de reasignación de sexo gratuitas por su sistema nacional de salud. Gandulla y otros activistas LGBT independientes en Cuba dicen que confrontan el maltrato e incluso a la detención si critican públicamente a Mariela Castro, que es parlamentaria, o el gobierno cubano.

“Casi miro más allá de Mariela Castro,” Cardona dijo al Blade. “Miro a CENESEX como otro apparatchik del gobierno.”

El Mejunje es un centro cultural LGBT en Santa Clara, Cuba. Se realizó una marcha para conmemorar el Día Internacional contra la Homofobia, la Transfobia y la Bifobia en la ciudad el 15 de mayo de 2018. (Foto del Washington Blade por Michael K. Lavers)

Gobierno cubano es fuerte crítico de Radio Martí

Radio Martí empezo de transmitir a Cuba en 1985.

La Oficina de Transmisiones a Cuba en Miami, que es parte de la Agencia de Información Internacional de EEUU, funde Radio Martí y Televisión Martí. Los dos Martí tienen un presupuesto combinado de $28.1 millón.

El gobierno cubano ha criticado fuertemente Radio Martí y Televisión Martí.

El Miami New Times el pasado mes reportó que menos de 10 por ciento de cubanos escuchan a transmisiones de Radio Martí y menos de un por ciento de cubanos miran programas de Televisión Martí, en parte, porque el gobierno cubano ha podido bloquearlos para que no lleguen a la isla. Los críticos continúan instando al gobierno federal a que disminuya su financiamiento de Radio Martí y Televisión Martí.

Un acuerdo de 2014 entre el gobierno cubano y la administración de Obama para normalizar las relaciones diplomáticas entre La Habana y Washington incluyó acceso ampliado al internet en Cuba.

El presidente Trump el año pasado reimpuso restricciones de viaje y comercio con Cuba, aunque su empresa y varios de sus asociados han violado el bloqueo estadounidense contra la isla comunista. Acceso al internet en Cuba sigue limitado y costoso, aunque ahora hay más de 700 hotspots de WiFi públicos por todo el país y un programa piloto de la empresa estatal de telecomunicaciones de Cuba permite a los cubanos de tener conexiones de internet en sus hogares.

“No soy el tipo que prohíbe a nadie viajar allí,” Cardona dijo al Blade el viernes desde Miami. “Obviamente lo aliento, pero le digo a la gente, ve allí con los ojos abiertos.”

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Congress

Sens. Butler, Smith introduce Pride in Mental Health Act to aid at-risk LGBTQ youth

Bill is backed by Democrats in both chambers

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U.S. Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) speaks at the International LGBTQ Leaders Conference on Nov. 30, 2023. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

U.S. Sens. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) introduced the Pride in Mental Health Act on Thursday, legislation that would strengthen resources in mental health and crisis intervention for at-risk LGBTQ youth.

“Accessing mental health care and support has become increasingly difficult in nearly every state in the country,” said Butler, who is the first Black LGBTQ senator. “Barriers get even more difficult if you are a young person who lacks a supportive community or is fearful of being outed, harassed, or threatened.”

“I am introducing the Pride in Mental Health Act to help equip LGBTQ+ youth with the resources to get the affirming and often life-saving care they need,” she said.

“Mental health care is health care,” said Smith. “And for some LGBTQ+ youth, receiving access to the mental health care they need can mean the difference between living in safety and dignity, and suffering alone through discrimination, bullying, and even violence.” 

The Minnesota senator added that data shows LGBTQ students are experiencing “an epidemic” of “anxiety, depression and other serious mental health conditions.”

For example, a 2023 study by The Trevor Project found that 54 percent of LGBTQ youth reported symptoms of depression, compared to 35 percent of their heterosexual counterparts.

Joining the senators as cosponsors are Democratic U.S. Sens. Ed Markey (Mass.), Bob Casey (Penn.), Peter Welch (Vt.), Alex Padilla (Calif.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Cory Booker (N.J.), and Tammy Baldwin (Wis.). Baldwin was the first LGBTQ woman elected to the House in 1999 and the first LGBTQ woman elected to the Senate in 2013.

Leading the House version of the bill are LGBTQ Democratic U.S. Reps. Sharice Davids (Kan.), Eric Sorensen (Ill.), and Ritchie Torres (N.Y.), along with 163 other House members.

Organizations that have backed the Pride in Mental Health Act include the Human Rights Campaign, GLSEN, American Academy of Pediatrics, National Education Association (NEA), National Center for Transgender Equality, Seattle Indian Health Board, PFLAG National, The Trevor Project, American Psychological Association, Whitman-Walker Institute, InterACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth, National Alliance on Mental Illness, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Mental Health America, and Center for Law and Social Policy.

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District of Columbia

D.C. mayor honors 10th anniversary of Team Rayceen Productions

LGBTQ entertainment, advocacy organization praised for ‘vital work’

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Rayceen Pendarvis co-founded Team Rayceen Productions. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser today issued an official proclamation declaring Monday, March 18, 2024, as Team Rayceen Day in honor of the local LGBTQ entertainment and advocacy organization Team Rayceen Productions named after its co-founder Rayceen Pendarvis.

“Whereas Rayceen, along with Team Rayceen Productions co-founder, Zar, have spent 10 years advocating for the Black LGBTQI+ community using various forms including in-person events, social media, and YouTube,” the proclamation states.

The proclamation adds that through its YouTube Channel, Team Rayceen Productions created a platform for “Black LGBTQIA+ individuals to discuss various topics including spotlighting nonprofit organizations and small businesses, voter registration and participation, the state of LGBTQIA+ rights and resources in D.C, gender equality and equity, and the amplification of opportunities to bring the community together.”

It also praises Team Rayceen Productions for its partnership with the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs in helping to produce “exciting events like the District of Pride talent showcase held each June and the iconic 17th Street High Heel Race celebrated in October.”

“Whereas I thank Team Rayceen Productions for its vital and necessary work and am #DCProud to wish you all the best as you continue to support Black LGBTQIA+ residents across all 8 Wards,” the proclamation continues.

“Now, therefore, I, the Mayor of Washington, D.C., do hereby proclaim March 18, 2024, as TEAM RAYCEEN DAY in Washington, D.C. and do commit this observance to all Washingtonians,” it concludes.

“We thank Mayor Bowser for this special proclamation, which highlights where it all began, with the Black LGBTQIA+ community of Washington, D.C,” Team Rayceen Productions says in a statement. “Starting with The Ask Rayceen Show, Reel Affirmation, and events with D.C. Public Library to Art All Night, Silver Pride by Whitman-Walker, and events with the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, we are #dcproud of what we have accomplished in the Nation’s Capital,” the statement says. 

“For TEAM RAYCEEN DAY, we thank the diverse group of individuals who have made everything we have done possible by volunteering their time and talents over the past decade – as online co-hosts, event staff, performers, DJs, photographers, and more,” says the statement.

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U.S. Supreme Court

Supreme Court declines to hear case over drag show at Texas university

Students argue First Amendment protects performance

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The U.S. Supreme Court justices on June 30, 2022. ((Photo by Fred Schilling of the U.S. Supreme Court)

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday declined to hear a First Amendment case over a public university president’s refusal to allow an LGBTQ student group to host a drag show on campus.

The group’s application was denied without the justices providing their reasoning or issuing dissenting opinions, as is custom for such requests for emergency review.

When plaintiffs sought to organize the drag performance to raise money for suicide prevention in March 2023, West Texas A&M University President Walter Wendler cancelled the event, citing the Bible and other religious texts.

The students sued, arguing the move constituted prior restraint and viewpoint-based discrimination, in violation of the First Amendment. Wendler had called drag shows “derisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny,” adding that “a harmless drag show” was “not possible.”

The notoriously conservative Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who former President Donald Trump appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, ruled against the plaintiffs in September, writing that “it is not clearly established that all drag shows are inherently expressive.”

Kacsmaryk further argued that the High Court’s precedent-setting opinions protecting stage performances and establishing that “speech may not be banned on the ground that it expresses ideas that offend” was inconsistent with constitutional interpretation based on “text, history and tradition.”

Plaintiffs appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is by far the most conservative of the nation’s 12 appellate circuit courts. They sought emergency review by the Supreme Court because the 5th Circuit refused to fast-track their case, so arguments were scheduled to begin after the date of their drag show.

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