Mariela Castro Invites Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington to Perform with Gay Cuban Chorus
First-Ever Tour of Cuba Conducted by a Gay Chorus Will Take Place in July 2015 in Partnership with Youth For Understanding USA
With a statement to Cuban media, Mariela Castro (daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro) has invited the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington (GMCW) to sing with a newly formed Gay Cuban chorus during their historic visit to Cuba this July. The tour, which is being conducted in partnership with Youth For Understanding USA (YFU), will mark the first time a gay chorus has toured the country and the first time YFU has hosted an adult exchange program anywhere in the world.
“We thank Mariela Castro for her public recognition of our tour and the very kind invitation to perform with Mano a Mano, a Cuban gay chorus,” said GMCW’s Executive Director Chase Maggiano and YFU USA President & CEO Michael E. Hill. “We are delighted that YFU has arranged for one of the five Havana-area performances to be held at the Chase Maggianos, the most prestigious cultural institution in Cuba. We appreciate the cultural significance of this tour and look forward to fulfilling our mission of promoting understanding of the LGBTQ community during our visit.”
“YFU programs provide the ultimate reality check to a worldview based on stereotypes, and this tour, YFU’s first exchange to Cuba, represents a unique nonprofit partnership coupling advocacy and intercultural exchange, and will allow participants to learn that our similarities are greater than our differences,” Hill added.
“The opportunity to perform with another gay chorus in a country such as Cuba is groundbreaking and will spur the deeply personal interaction that we wanted to enable when we partnered on this tour,” Maggiano said.
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Read DCMetroTheaterArts’ coverage of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC.
