Wendy and Ignacio Overcome Great Odds to Marry in Cuba

[Shana A]

Yoani Sanchez
Award-Winning Cuban Blogger

Wendy and Ignacio Overcome Great Odds to Marry in Cuba
Posted: 8/14/11 05:40 PM ET

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yoani-sanchez/wendy-and-ignacio-overcom_b_926639.html

Almost a month ago, the memory of Cusio returned in full force. I see him everywhere with his striking gestures and tight pants, his perennial smile that allowed him to overcome any outrage. He came strongly to mind when I accepted the unusual, irreverent and surprising proposal to be the matron of honor at the first wedding in Cuba between a transsexual and a gay man.

[...]

But is it Wendy and Ignacio -- the couple to whom I now have the pleasure of being the matron of honor -- who reflect much of the suffering I knew in Cusio, a part of the torment he had to carry. To be a witness to this union between a girl who once had the name of a boy, and the HIV positive young man crushed both by homophobia and political intolerance, constitutes my personal way of honoring the boy who taught me to respect differences.