Si, Somos Lesbianas

Si, Somos Lesbianas (Spanish for "Yes, we are lesbians.") is a banned love story written by an underground Cuban author under the pen name "Maria Fuentes-Perez". This work, due to homosexual, capitalist and Catholic content, has been banned and Censored in Cuba. Nonetheless, it has gained a cult status in Cuban literary circles. Little is known of this woman other than she was born on Christmas day. Her style of writing has been compared to Armistead Maupin who wrote Tales of the City.

Plot summary

Maria is a forty year old seamstress in 1950s Havana who is unmarried and lonely. One day Ina, a beautiful girl, comes in to be fitted for her Quinceañera (fifteenth birthday) dress. As the woman measures the girl for the dress the two realize a mutual attraction and begin a clandestine affair under the cover of Ina working at the dress shop. Most strangers simply think that they are mother and daughter.

Ina's wealthy family quickly makes plans to escape the Castro regime but is shocked that the now adult Ina refuses to leave with them. Her older brother Pupi demands to know why she will not leave and refuses to marry. After a protracted and heated confrontation Pupi demands to know if the rumours that she and her employer are lovers. He slaps and punches her until she admits: "Si, somos lesbianas." Ina and Maria hide until the family leaves for Florida.

After the revolution the entire area is forced into work in factories and both Ina and Maria are sent to a Coconut Candy factory where they work the same assembly line wrapping the candy in Russian language wrappers. The two are caught sharing a kiss in the factory spare room. As a result Ina is forced into a [...] relationship with her male supervisor as blackmail. Ina has little choice as homosexuality would mean lifelong imprisonment in Cuba. Ina quickly becomes pregnant and this forces Maria to find an underground abortionist.

Ina does not want an abortion because of her Catholic beliefs. The cunning abortionist is also a human smuggler and arranges for the two to be smuggled out of Cuba in a fishing boat for the same price as an abortion. Ina keeps the baby and a dramatic moment results when both are on dry land and they realize that they are US citizens and that there is a lesbian community in Miami where they will be accepted. Ina reunites with her wealthy family who beg forgiveness for the past. Pupi who is now an openly gay business man sets Maria and Ina up with a state of the art dress making company as an apology.

The extended family raise Pedro and the dress company becomes internationally successful. Ina and Maria march in an early 1970s gay rights parade with matching lavender T shirts that declare in six inch letters: "SI, SOMOS LESBIANAS".