Yesterday at a yearly event  organized by President Raul Castro’s daughter, Mariela Castro; The Eighth Annual March against Homophobia and Transphobia, well over 1000  LGBT Cubans marched through the streets of Havana to protest against LGBT discrimination and call for same-sex marriage to be allowed in the ever evolving country,

Although same-sex marriage remains illegal, dozens of couples took part in symbolic gay weddings presided over by religious leaders from Cuba and the US.

“Same sex marriage is already legal in Argentina and Uruguay and in Mexico City. And we’ve always celebrated their achievements,” said Mariela Castro, who is head of Cuba’s Sexual Health Institute.

“So we’re not interested in being the first. For us, it’s just about achieving it in the first place,” she added.

Two years ago, Cuba did something that the United States has not been able to achieve and enacted a law banning workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Cuba once sent gays to labor camps in the early years after the 1959 revolution have made great strides in recent years with help from Mariela Castro, the daughter of current President Raul Castro and niece of Fidel.