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Pandora's Box has survived as a gay establishment in Guatemala for over 20 years
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by Richard Stern SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, OCTOBER 16, 2000. Gay life has begun to emerge from its closet in Guatemala in the last few years. The evolution is due in part to persistent, activist bar owners and gay HIV/AIDS prevention pioneers. But thousands of gay and lesbian Guatemalans still have to hide their sexual identity to survive in this Roman Catholic, macho, and very violent society.
Guatemala City For Douglas, things are not so bad. He shares a two-bedroom apartment with his lover Byron, has a job where he doesn't fear discrimination, and also has a comfortable support group of gay, lesbian, and even a few straight friends who accept him. He can go to the discos at night, visit a gay-friendly restaurant for lunch, and shop at commercial centers offering the latest designer products, although he can't do much buying on his $250-a-month salary. Pandora's Box, a recently remodeled discotheque, has survived as a gay establishment in Guatemala for over 20 years, although it was understandably less popular in the days of the civil war that ended in 1996. It was filled to capacity on a Saturday night. There were two dance floors, as well as a rooftop patio, and even a "dark room." A fashion show sponsored by a local boutique was programmed for 1 a.m. Outside, parked cars lined the streets for blocks. Almost everyone inside was under-30, and relaxed. You would have thought you were in New York. But leaving the bar, the bone-chilling wind of the Guatemalan night reminds you of the culture of violence in Guatemala and its hostility toward men and women who do not live up to the cultural stereotypes of how they are supposed to be. Several transvestites and gay men have been killed in recent years.
Public cruising is a popular, if dangerous, way for gay men in Guatemala to link up. In the area surrounding the capital's Cathedral square it is easy to meet men, if you're willing to take a risk. Many are reportedly young, "gay for pay" immigrants from Honduras and El Salvador, desperately in need of cash. El Encuentro, Ephebus, and Eclipse, Guatemala's three other major gay bars, are also in this area.
El Encuentro Bar: Hotbed of AIDS Activism "Gays here are learning to accept themselves. That is the first step. We have created some spaces. Now we need to continue to receive respect from the heterosexual community," Andrade said. Besides running two businesses, Andrade heads APAES, an AIDS prevention and support organization that helps people living with AIDS in Guatemala, both straight and gay. For years, he has traveled to Miami to seek the donated medications that APAES distributes. Only about 15% of Guatemalans living with AIDS have access to anti-retroviral medications. The rest rely on infrequent donations. There are 4,000 registered AIDS cases in Guatemala. Half of them are probably gay or bisexual men, although the official figures are much lower. Says Ruben Mayorga, of OASIS: "The 'machista' culture in Central America forces most gay men to remain underground. They are too afraid and too repressed to report their actual sexual preference to anyone, much less government health care authorities." Douglas Lara told me that more than twenty of his gay friends here have died of AIDS. "It is a shame," he says, "because in the U.S. these medications are readily available, but who in Guatemala can afford to pay $800 per month? Corporate greed and international indifference are killing my country's gay men." Richard Stern is Director of the Agua Buena Human Rights Association in San Jose, Costa Rica. He works to improve access to treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS in Central America. Mayorga photo: Jorge Lopez Sologaistoa Related links: For basic, accurate facts on Guatemala, peruse the CIA Factbook. For a look at Guatemala's rulers, see John Ward Anderson's Guatemala Swears In New PresidentAdmitted Killer Makes Pledge To Fight Crime in The Washington Post. For the Human Rights Watch report on Guatemala.
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