ABSTRACT
Looking back to 1995, the first year of my fieldwork, it is clear that while much has changed in Cuban gay life since then, its essence and philosophy have remained the same. Los Van Van’s 1995 hit “¡Ya empezó la fiesta!” (The party has already begun!) was one of the popular timba tracks played at the many fiestas I attended. Its title can be interpreted in the context of this book in more ways than one. Throughout my fieldwork period, there was always some party beginning somewhere in Havana and on many occasions abruptly interrupted by a police raid or a power-cut. But what about the “big party”?
