Castro’s daughter sponsors blessing of gay couples in Cuba

HAVANA – The daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro sponsored a blessing ceremony Saturday for gay couples on an island where gay marriage remains illegal.

Nearly two dozen gay couples held hands or embraced, some crying, as Protestant clergymen from the U.S. and Canada blessed them as part of official ceremonies leading up to the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia 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 gays.

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 and cheered.

“It’s a step to strengthen our relationship because we’re both religious, believers,” said Mederos, 47, a graphic designer. He said he saw the ceremony as an important step toward the eventual legalization of gay marriage in Cuba.

Mariela Castro, the most visible gay rights advocate on the island, uses her position as a member of Cuba’s ruling family to push for reforms.