World
LGBTQ Cubans participate in July 11 protests
Community members took to the streets to demand their rights
HAVANA — Thousands of people took to the streets in Cuba on July 11 to demand, among other things, the government improve people’s quality of life and guarantee citizens’ rights.
The protests took place in cities throughout the country, but violence that had not been seen before broke out in some Havana neighborhoods. Protesters for the first time in Cuba with such magnitude overturned police cars, looted stores and threw stones at police officers.
Parts of the LGBTQ community joined the marches. They had particular reasons for protesting that were in addition to the protesters’ general demands.
“I came because I am tired of the repression that the police inflict upon trans people,” a transgender woman who was marching among thousands of people through Centro Havana told Tremenda Nota. “They don’t allow us to go out on the streets, they ask us for our ID cards, they take us in for prostitution.”
Adriana Díaz Martínez walked with other trans women. They chanted, along with the rest of the protesters, “freedom,” “Díaz-Canel must go” and “homeland and life.” This last slogan, one of the most popular in the protests, is the title of a song from artists Yotuel Romero, Descember Bueno, Maykel Osorbo, El Funky and Gente de Zona. It has in recent months become an anthem for those who oppose the government.
Analía Escalona, one of Adriana’s friends, cited the shortage of basic products as one of the reasons to protest.
“The first thing that has to be in a pharmacy is condoms in order to take care of yourself and not contract any sexually-transmitted infection, and there aren’t any,” said Analía.
Analía also mentioned police harassment of trans people as another reason to march.
“They bring us to police stations for no reason, they put us in ‘danger,’ families are working, bringing sacks to a prison without any need at the end,” she added.
When speaking of “danger,” she referred to the “dangerous state” provision of Cuban law that allows authorities to impose punishments against anyone who has not yet committed a crime.
“We are mistreated by the same police. It is bullying and abuse. Enough already,” stressed Chanel, another trans woman who participated in the march.
“I have a degree. I have a masters degree in cosmetology. There is no need to detain us, to put us in ‘danger’ without reason,” said Analía. “We are all not prostituting ourselves, damn it! Homeland and life!”
“I come in solidarity with everyone else who is here, because of hunger, necessity,” said Adriana. “There are no medications, there is no food. There is no water. There is nothing. Houses in Havana are collapsing and they are building hotels!”
The economic crisis in Cuba, which the COVID-19 pandemic and U.S. sanctions worsened, became extreme in 2020. Official sources say the economy has contracted by 11 percent.
The economic collapse is even worse for trans people. It remains difficult for these women to finish their studies or get a formal job in Cuba.
“We need workplaces for trans people, where we can go dressed as a woman,” said Adriana.
The Labor Code currently bans discrimination based on sexual orientation, but it does not afford the same protection to those who are fired because of their gender identity.
Tremenda Nota journalist Maykel González Vivero was detained during last Sunday’s protests and was transported to “El Vivac,” a provisional jail outside of Havana.
The reporter was held with two trans women. Both of them live in Arroyo Naranjo, a municipality in the outskirts of Havana, and participated in the protests in La Güinera, one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. Official media described the protests that happened there were among the most violent.
González Vivero told Tremenda Nota that the police from the start treated the trans women as men by addressing them by their legal name.
Both of them told the journalist that courts had previously sanctioned them and Cuban prison regulations ignore their gender identity. They cited, for example, the masculine hair cut they forced them to get.
Celebrity News
My evening with Madonna
Gay icon headlined the World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam
Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Photo Editor Michael Key will be on assignment in the Netherlands through Aug. 10. They will be covering World Pride in Amsterdam.
AMSTERDAM — Madonna and 6,000 of her closest friends celebrated World Pride at Amsterdam’s AFAS Live concert hall early Sunday morning. I was fortunate enough to be one of them.
Madonna last Wednesday nearly broke the internet when she said on social media in Dutch that “I got somethin’ I wanna talk about,” referring to an opening line in “Danceteria,” one of the tracks on her “Confessions II” album that has received rave reviews since its July 2 release. The track has been on near constant replay on my playlist since I first heard it.
— Madonna (@Madonna) July 28, 2026
MISTR — a telehealth platform that offers free access to PrEP, Doxy PEP, STI testing, and long-term care that has organized Madonna’s Club Confessions shows in the U.S. and the U.K. — later confirmed the rampant speculation. I woke up on July 30 to an email in my inbox from MISTR and the World Pride Music Festival PR team that said I was on the press list.
Madonna was indeed going to headline the World Pride Music Festival that Jake Resnicow and Insomniac produced, and I was going to be there. OMFG!!!!
The gay icon had one more surprise in store.
The Dutch internet on Saturday once again broke over speculation that Kylie Minogue was going to appear alongside Madonna. I was getting ready to leave our hotel in Amsterdam on Saturday night when I saw a video of the two of them together.
“Madonna is now teasing Kylie Minogue on her social media … she may be one of her ‘special guests’ tonight,” I wrote in a text to Washington Blade Editor Kevin Naff at 8:46 p.m.
“Have fun! This is turning into the gayest concert ever,” he responded.
I arrived at AFAS Live shortly before 11 p.m. My press contact walked me and two other Dutch journalists into the venue’s cavernous main room known as the Black Box. We made small talk for a few minutes before I started to walk around and listen to Josh Harrison who was on the decks.
Madonna was scheduled to take the stage at 1:30 a.m., but she is known for being late — she is Madonna and she does what she wants. Hayla, a British singer, and Bebe Rexha are among those who performed ahead of Madonna. Thousands of sweaty men — including a group of Australians next to me who were eagerly awaiting Kylie’s anticipated appearance — packed the Black Box and were dancing, anticipating what was to come.
MISTR CEO Tristan Schukraft at one point came on stage and declared Madonna was indeed in the building. The moment for which we were all eagerly waiting finally came shortly before 2:30 a.m.
“Mother is here and this is gay heaven,” said Madonna when she took the stage.
Stuart Price, who produced her “Confessions on a Dance Floor” album in 2005, manned the decks during Madonna’s set.
She opened it with “I Feel So Free” from “Confessions II.” Madonna then sang “Bring Your Love” and “Danceteria” to which this reporter — and everyone else — sang along.
Madonna then teased a surprise before she began to perform “Love Sensation.” Kylie soon appeared on stage. It was nearly too much for my fellow partygoers from Australia. It was indeed the gayest concert ever!
Madonna and Kylie performed “Love Sensation” together. They then sang “Hung Up” and “Sorry” from “Confessions on a Dance Floor” to round out the set that ended shortly after 3 a.m.
Madonna and I share the same birthday — Aug. 16 — and I would like to think she and Kylie gave me an early birthday present. In all seriousness though, it was an amazing night for me and for everyone else who was fortunate enough to be there.
“On the dance floor I feel so free,” says Madonna in the opening of “I Feel So Free.”
For those few precious hours at AFAS Live I did not think about the Trump-Vance administration and the myriad ways it is destroying the U.S. I did not think about the National Guard troops deployed to D.C. I did not think about the pointless wars that continue to ravage Ukraine and other countries around the world. I simply lost myself on the dance floor and celebrated an icon who has always stood with my community.
Thank you, Madonna.
Netherlands
Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade draws hundreds of thousands
Gay Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten among participants
Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Photo Editor Michael Key are on assignment in the Netherlands through Aug. 10.
AMSTERDAM — Hundreds of thousands of people lined Amsterdam’s canals on Saturday for the city’s annual Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade.
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, who is openly gay, is among those who participated in the parade that featured more than 80 boats. Participants held signs and posters that, among other things, read “proud to be intersex” and “lesbians love you and a free Palestine.”
The Washington Blade saw at least two attendees holding fans that read “fuck Trump.” One of the boats also compared President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin as “the kissing couple.”
(Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)
(Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)
The parade took place a week after a terrorist attack at Berlin’s Christopher Street Day left one person dead and more than two dozen others injured.
It passed the Homomonument, a memorial to gays and lesbians who have suffered persecution. The Homomonument has been transformed into a makeshift memorial to the victims of the July 25 terrorist attack in the German capital.
View on Threads
The Canal Parade took place during World Pride, which will end in Amsterdam on Aug. 9.
European Union
Poland’s top court rejects recognition of same-sex marriages from other EU countries
Ruling sets up potential clash with bloc
Poland’s top court this week rejected the recognition of same-sex marriages legally performed in other EU countries.
The EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg last November ruled in favor of a same-sex couple who challenged Poland’s refusal to recognize their German marriage. Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court in March reaffirmed the decision.
The couple, who lives in Poland, brought their case to Polish courts in 2019. The Supreme Administrative Court referred it to the EU Court of Justice.
The Polish government in May announced it will recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other EU countries. Polish President Karol Nawrocki on July 17 vetoed bills that would have extended rights to same-sex couples.
The Constitutional Tribunal ruling, which it issued on July 28, was unanimous and final. It also sets up a potential clash between it and the EU Court of Justice.
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