Juani Santos, heralded as the first transgender man in Cuba to undergo government-funded gender reassignment surgery, has passed away.
The announcement was made by Francisco Rodríguez Cruz, vice president of the Cuban Journalists Union (UPEC), through a heartfelt message on his Facebook page.
"Juani has passed, the first transgender man in Cuba who, even as a senior, had the courage and satisfaction to undergo gender reassignment surgery in our country," wrote Rodríguez Cruz, a regime spokesperson for the weekly publication Trabajadores and an advocate for the LGBTI community.
Born on September 20, 1949, in Matanzas province, Juani Santos identified as male from the age of five.
At around 20 years old, in 1969, he formally sought help from the Cuban government to begin his transition and was diagnosed as a male transsexual in 1972, marking one of the earliest documented cases on the island.
After nearly four decades of waiting, Santos was able to have the surgery in 2010 at the age of 61, under the Ministry of Public Health's Resolution 126, approved in June 2008, which allowed for free gender reassignment surgeries.
This marked the first time the Cuban government funded a sex change operation, establishing Juani as a symbol of perseverance in the face of a system slow to act.
Alongside another transgender man who chose to keep his story private, Juani was part of the first two male gender reassignment surgeries performed in Cuba.
Rodríguez Cruz recalled a touching moment during one of the Cuban Days against Homophobia and Transphobia—first held after Juani's surgery—when they found themselves together at a urinal during the so-called Diversity Party.
"For Juani, achieving the ability to urinate standing up, a basic wish for someone who has always been a man but previously couldn't, encapsulated his lifelong struggle in a simple biological act," the journalist wrote.
Juani worked for 48 years in a factory in Matanzas and, in 2018, at the age of 68, became the first Cuban transgender man to speak openly about his experience, granting interviews to publications such as Vance magazine.
His story was especially significant as it highlighted the experiences of transgender men, a group historically far less visible than transgender women in Cuba. In 2018, while there were 4,447 registered transgender women with 37 surgeries performed, there were only about twenty transgender men in the entire country.
"I didn't ask to be born this way; nature or God made me like this. Why should I be rejected if I don't harm anyone?" Juani stated in an interview in 2018.
Rodríguez Cruz concluded his tribute with words that encapsulate the legacy of this man from Matanzas: "Hardworking, humble, wise, honor to that Matanzas man who taught us so much about strength and kindness."
Frequently Asked Questions about Transgender Rights in Cuba
What was Juani Santos' significance in Cuban history?
Juani Santos was the first transgender man in Cuba to undergo gender reassignment surgery funded by the government, making him a symbol of perseverance and change within a system that was slow to acknowledge transgender rights.
When did the Cuban government start funding gender reassignment surgeries?
The Cuban government began funding gender reassignment surgeries in 2008 following the approval of the Ministry of Public Health's Resolution 126, which allowed for free surgeries.