Event Recap: Mariette Pathy Allen on Her Book TransCuba

On Wednesday, May 7th, PWP members and guests attended a presentation by Mariette Pathy-Allen (a past PWP President) about her new book TransCuba. The book captured an intimate picture of the lives of trans-gender women living in socialist Cuba.

Citing the work of Raul Castro’s daughter, Mariella, with LGBT rights, Ms. Pathy-Allen noted that a law was passed in Cuba in 2008 to allow sexual reassignment surgery for transgender people. Currently, a group of surgeons from Belgium comes to Cuba annually to perform the surgery, though the list is long, and many chose ultimately not to have it.

After a lengthy question and answer session, many audience members commended Ms. Pathy-Allen and thanked her for such a beautiful and comprehensive look into a world not often seen.

– Barbara O'Hare