Collection AGP - ACHL and G.A.L.E.E.S. papers

During the mid-nineties, Salvador who was in charge of Huellas, entrusted these documents to British activist Stephanie Davies who was visiting the island with the Queers for Cuba group. In August 2020, Librada González Fernández met with José Pineda, ex-general coordinator of G.A.L.E.E.S. and he put her in contact with Stephanie Davies who donated this collection to Cubanecuir two months later.

Records created by two Havana-based queer organizations during the 90's: fifteen issues of Huellas, the newsletter of the Cuban Association of Homosexuals and Lesbians (original Spanish acronym: ACHL) and a pamphlet about the Action Group for Free Expression of Sexual Choice (original Spanish acronym: G.A.L.E.E.S.).

Huellas focuses on topics such as queer Cuban identity, civil rights, education, health and culture during the last decade of the XX century. The issues available here were published between 1993-1996 and make-up what its authors call “the first publication to genuinely come from the scene, edited by and for entendidos” In other words, Huellas is the earliest surviving independent publication edited for and by openly queer people in Cuba.

Also included in this collection is a pamphlet detailing the mission, purpose, and leadership structure of G.A.L.E.E.S., an organization which included members from the ACHL after the latter dissolved.

To understand the importance of these documents, it is necessary to consider the difficulties of creating and circulating clandestine materials about 90’s homosexual/queer culture in Cuba. In 1993, the most thorough and government-approved reference to the subject was the recently premiered movie Strawberry and Chocolate (original Spanish title: Fresa y Chocolate) based on a story by Senel Paz. Existing social spaces for LGBTQ+ people (such as parties and nightclubs) were outlawed and especially those with sociopolitical ends. G.A.L.E.E.S. and especially the ACHL spread their ideas through publications that, according to the State’s monopoly of media in Cuba, were illegal.

Possibly this explains why the editorial team behind Huellas remained anonymous until the publication of issue # 21. They identified themselves as “Carlos, Salvador, Ivonne, Ricardo, Pedro (the Huellas five)”. None of them used their last name, but it is possible to assume that Pedro is the same Pedro Praderas that signed under the section titled “Nuestra canción” in issue # 21. It is also possible to associate Ivonne, the only traditionally feminine name, with the sections written under the pen name “Yo misma” (Myself). However, since according to issue # 13, “Yo Misma” retired after the prior issue, it is possible that the pen name was used by more than one person. Finally, the donor of this collection states that Salvador was the leader of the publication and who entrusted her with these copies so that they could be preserved.

The members of the ACHL understood the risks associated with participating in a clandestine organization. One of them, Jorge Flores, was quoted by the gay U.S. magazine The Advocate as saying: “The government will never permit a gay organization in Cuba […] A small minority of the group wanted the project to go ahead, but the majority had an enormous fear-a fear that only gay Cubans can feel. I certainly don't want to be the leader, because they will cut my head off. You see, I don't mince words: They will cut my head off."

The newsletter was first distributed on a trimonthly basis beginning December 1st, 1993. Out of the fifteen issues available here, only the first two are explicitly affiliated with the ACHL. After the second issue, the newsletter was distributed monthly and all references to the organization disappeared.

The last section of every issue, entitled Apretaditas (which can be translated to “Tight Ones”) offers the readers an authentic glimpse at the queer world of the time through personal messages, funny commentary, and brief news for and about queer/homosexual folks in Havana.

More information on the Gay and Lesbian Association of Cuba (pp. 197–198) including a public manifesto by the organization (Appendix C):

Lumsden, I. (1996). Machos, maricones, and gays: Cuba and Homosexuality. Temple University Press. https://doi.org/10.3362/9781899365852

Another documentary on gay and lesbian life in Havana during the Special Period. Includes many interviews with members of G.A.L.E.E.S. and more interviews with some of the subjects from the 1993 documentary Looking for a Space:

De Vries, S., Centro Félix Varela, & Frameline (Firm). (1995). Gay Cuba. Frameline.