T A B L E+T A L K What did you think of William Bennett's "The Death of Outrage"? Discuss the author, his books and his philosophy in the Politics area of Table Talk ___________________ Don't know much about history? Find out more at barnesandnoble.com! ___________________   R E C E N T L Y Oral history By David Friend Sound bites from three scandals (12/24/98) Blood money By Suzi Parker An Arkansas prison-plasma business protected by Clinton cronies led to a scandal that almost toppled the government -- of Canada (12/23/98) Portrait of a political "pit bull" By Russ Baker Rep. Dan Burton has a few questions to answer about his own history of womanizing and alleged campaign finance irregularities (12/22/98) What if it were President Packwood? By Andrew Ross Liberals must face up to their hypocrisy in backing a president who lied under oath in a sexual harassment lawsuit (12/22/98) Life of the party? By Joshua Micah Marshall With Livingston gone, Tom DeLay runs the party (12/19/98) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Newsreal Archives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
		Letter from Havana Gays, Catholics and transvestites find their place in the new Cuba.   BY FRANK SMYTH Che Guevara would have been puzzled by the joy of this past Christmas in Cuba, the first time this traditionally Catholic island has officially celebrated the holiday since the revolution. But Christmas isn't the only thing that might confuse Che as 1999 begins, marking the 40th anniversary of the Cuban revolution. Imagine him walking into, say, the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) No. 12, a Communist Party meeting hall in central Havana. Back in the old days -- meaning anytime while Cuba's economy was still being subsidized by the Soviet Union -- he might have found party loyalists gathered beneath its stucco arches discussing what it would take for an aspiring individual to become a truly selfless communist or what Che called "The New Man." There was certainly a new man down at CDR No. 12 one sweaty Friday night last year. Calling herself "Dianna," she wore a retrograde, psychedelic multicolored dress with gold glitter while waving a plastic fan by her face to keep her blue mascara from running. Her dark hair was tied up in a bun with a gaudy plastic ornament, at the center of which was a rose. Dianna, one of 12 contestants waiting to perform in a transvestite lip-syncing competition -- now held at CDR No. 12 twice a year -- fretted back stage behind a curtain made of plastic sheets painted black. Facing the stage, wooden benches were filled with people of all ages and genders. Behind the curtain and backstage area, families with children perched atop what remained of the CDR's crumbling rear wall and nearby falling buildings. Everyone waved whenever a BBC camerawoman panned them. Organizers of the event tested the sound system, briefly playing a song by Pat Benatar in Spanish. The festive mood was intensified by warm rum sold in plastic cups. "This doesn't have any political significance," explained "El Rey" (The King), the master of ceremonies. A big, bearded man wearing a long-sleeve, ultramarine shirt, he declined to further identify himself. "This is a natural development that has finally come," he went on. "Everything has its moment." But it wasn't long ago -- certainly within the last five years -- that Cuban Communist Party officials harassed, arrested and even imprisoned transvestites and homosexuals, whom they considered "social deviants" who do society no good. Not any more. With nearly all Cubans fuming about their declining standard of living, the party needs to release lots of steam. Today nonconformists from cross-dressers to Catholics are embraced by party officials -- the first ruling Communists anywhere to celebrate Christmas. Catholics and gays are even allowed to evangelize, as long as they do not allow themselves to become platforms for dissent. What constitutes dissent in a country still under the strict control of the Communist Party is far from clear. But it is obvious that Cuba is changing dramatically. On any given day, La Epoca, the largest dollar store in Havana, is packed with people perusing everything from American brand-name hair coloring to disposable diapers. Everyone on the island either has dollars or wants them. Not unlike the wild market forces that were unleashed in Russia following the breakup of the Soviet Union, supply and demand in Cuba are already rushing to meet. They don't always do so respectably. Stimulated by rising demand, mainly from foreigners, prostitution has become commonplace. Cuba is now second only to Southeast Asia as a sex tourism destination. To advertise their services, some professionals wear huge platform heels, even on the beach. More than a few there and elsewhere look like teenagers. In Old Havana, near the Malecon, Havana's seaside boulevard, I saw one girl, maybe 14, sporting bright green Spandex; she stood wantonly near two uniformed Cuban police. N E X T+P A G E+| A steady exodus from traditional employment