Cuba's been going through a bit of a political puberty as of late. Last February, after 49-years in power, long-time leader Fidel Castro stepped aside and handed the presidency to his brother, Raul. Though still all in the family, many see Raul's ascension as a positive move for the island, a sign that the communist government could evolve.

A little over a month later, Mariela Castro, the president's daughter and leader of the government-backed Center for Sexual Diversity (CENESEX), took a progressive step when she called on the government to rewrite the 70s-era Family Code and pave the way for civil unions.

The “revolutionary redefinition” of family, says CENESEX spokesperson Alberto Roque Guerra, goes straight to epicenter of Cuba’s gay problem: “Family is the core of society. Homophobia and transphobia are first seen within the family. The fight against homophobia awareness is focused on the family as the main goal.” However true that may be, Guerra's declaration purposefully ignores decades of state-sanctioned homophobia. What’s more, CENESEX's push for equality eschews the true goal: assimilation.

The government’s modest progress – as well as its dubious explanations – has as much with political survival and public relations as it does with cultural evolution. Sifting through the various truths, one finds a debate shaded by political ideology, Cold War-inspired misconception and not a small amount of spin.

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John McCain looks more and more desperate as the days go on.

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In the wake of Cuban president Fidel Castro's resignation earlier this year, the balance of power has shifted not only to his brother, Raul, but to another Castro, Mariela, Raul's daughter.

An outspoken gay advocate and head of the National Center for Sex Education, Mariela Castro uses her position to affect positive social change. Now, with her uncle out of power and her father in, Castro's gearing up for a lavender invasion, proposing legislation that will bring bent boys and girls closer to their heterosexual peers.

And she may be making all the right moves.

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Cuba's in mourning today after word spread that revolutionary hero Vilma Espin has died.

The 77-year old wife of acting President Raul Castro, Fidel's brother, Espin won countless Cuban - and international - fans after fighting for women's and gay rights. Al Jazeera reports:

Espin earned her revolutionary credentials by joining the armed struggle against Fulgencio Batista, the military ruler, in her hometown of Santiago, on Cuba's eastern coast, in 1956.

Rebelling against her wealthy upbringing - her father was an executive at the Bacardi rum distillery - Espin joined Castro's guerrillas in the Sierra Maestra mountains where she met Raul.

With her brother-in-law in power, Espin helped to establish and then lead [The Federation of Cuban Women] to fight illiteracy and bolster women's political participation, also campaigning on issues such as abortion, contraception and children's rights.
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Espin also successfully pushed for the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1979.

Had it not been for Espin's social conscience, Cuban gays would never have the space to negotiate more inclusive family rights - a battle they began yesterday.

Say what you will about Fidel Castro – we've been in is company, and we say: he talks for too long – and his Communist Cuba, but he's got one progressive offering even the U.S. can't claim: a state-sponsored soap opera with prominent gay characters. In La Cara Oculta de la Luna (The Dark Side of the Moon), feelings of attraction between men and dealing with the HIV crisis are all fair game and have become crucial to the show's storylines.

In a recent episode of "La Cara Oculta de la Luna," ("The Dark Side of the Moon"), Yasel, who is married and the father of a little girl, is as surprised as viewers are to discover he is physically attracted to another man named Mario.

The attraction leads to a sexual relationship and Yasel's subsequent contraction of the HIV virus that causes AIDS.

Keep in mind, Cuban society is in line with the rest of Latin American society: machismo rules, and feminine men are outcasts. So to see gays on Cuban TV is nothing short of revolutionary. But there will always by cynics. Given the AIDS storyline, some argue the show simply perpetuates the stereotype that AIDS is the punishment gay men deserve.

Cuban soap's gay story starts dialogue [AP]