Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Havana, Cuba on Friday to raise the U.S. flag on Cuban soil for the first time since 1961.
“We are gathered here because our leaders made a courageous decision to stop being prisoners of history,” Kerry said in a statement. According to NBC, he is the highest-ranking U.S. government official to set foot on the island since World War II.
"My friends, it doesn't take a GPS to realize that the road of mutual isolation and estrangement that the United States and Cuba were traveling is not the right one and that the time has come for us to move in a more promising direction," Kerry said. "In the United States, that means recognizing that U.S. policy is not the anvil on which Cuba's future will be forged."
As history is being made between the U.S. and Cuba, another sort of history is taking shape — that of gay rights in Cuba. Long considered to be an unsafe place for LGBTs to travel, Cuba is emerging as a welcoming spot for gay travelers.
Much of this progression can be attributed to Mariela Castro, the daughter of Cuba’s president Raul Castro and an LGBT activist. Beginning in 2010, Mariela Castro began pushing for increased rights for Cuba’s LGBT community, participating in International Day Against Homophobia festivities in Havana, among other things.
While Yahoo Travel suggest that there is still work to be done before Cuba can truly be considered a “go to” destination for LGBT tourism, today marks the beginning of a new era — and with tourism companies specifically catering to LGBT travelers looking to book a trip to Cuba, GayTravel.com is eager to stay… start doing your research now.
Truly, a new day has come.
