Esteemed members of the Embassy of Cuba in the United States held meetings, visited with Cuban solidarity groups, and toured sites in the Los Angeles area on July 7th and 8th. Their trip included a tour of a local medical school that sends medical students to Cuba annually for trainings and cultural exchanges, as well as two events hosted by the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, The National Lawyers Guild Cuba Subcommittee, and U.S. Hands Off Cuba.
The first event hosted by the NLG was a dinner and roundtable of about 30 local progressive attorneys, community organizers, policy advocates, and law students. Deputy Head of Mission, Ambassador Tanieris Diéguez La O spoke about her role in drafting the 2022 Cuban Family Code, a remarkable piece of progressive legislation that completely overhauled the country’s previous 1975 family laws. It legally enshrined expansive LGBTQ+ rights (same-sex marriage and adoption), banned corporal punishment, allowed surrogacy, and recognized multiple types of families, including multi-parental structures. This massive 471-article law was approved by a popular referendum after extensive public consultation entailing over 135,000 public meetings nationwide. The goal of the roundtable was to understand how policy advocates in Cuba incorporated popular consultation and public buy-in to pass a large body of legislation with the aim of protecting human rights.
The second NLG event was a cultural show that was open to the public called “Cuba in LA: A Solidarity Assembly.” The event featured Afro-Cuban musicians, Omo Aché, and mariachi singer, Coral Alonso. Both performers shared education about the power of music and activism. Omo Aché also spoke about Cuban culture’s deep African, especially Yoruban, roots. Their performances were joined by Ambassador Tanieris who danced and showed off her incredible mariachi singing skills. Second Secretary and Commercial Attache Gabriela González García gave a powerful speech about Cuban values and about the resilience of the Cuban people.
This trip marks the first visit by the Ambassador and Second Secretary to California.
