Organization plans more social activities for Guadeloupe’s LGBT community
Guadeloupe activist says regular events help build LGBT unity
2025 should be a year rich in LGBT-friendly events for Guadeloupe, with Secret’s Out, Queer Gang, and Lovo Nova partnering to offer social activities for the island’s gays and lesbians.
76crimes spoke with Secret’s Out president Leïla about her organization’s work to build community on Guadeloupe.
76crimes: In November, a flyer circulated on social media announcing the holding of a Pride march on the quiet and discreet island of Marie-Galante, renowned for its exquisite rum products. What was the experience like there?
Secret’s Out: I went there, but there was no Pride march in the streets of Grand-Bourg, Marie-Galante. It was a festive, gay-friendly time, from noon to midnight.
76crimes: Are you working to build synergies with the Guadeloupe Islands Tourism Committee (CTIG), given that each year this body receives a generous budget without any apparent emphasis on developing gay-friendly tourism?
Secret’s Out: It’s a matter of time, resources, and priorities for Secret’s Out. We’ll approach them once we’ve better defined the projects we can offer them.
76crimes: What are the association’s most notable recent activities?
Secret’s Out: In 2024, every 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month, we held a session from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in a third space called Île Y A Kaz to organize talks and liberate our participants’ expression and speech, by deconstructing certain stereotypes or engaging them in dialogue and questioning them.
In 2025, we would like to repeat this activity, but in a city other than Pointe-à-Pitre, in order to offer more leisure spaces to our audience.
Also, every Tuesday, we organize an after-work event called Kaz Queer in conjunction with Queer Gang and Lovo Nova. It is regular events like these that help to unite social groups and communities, and during these times of distance, we encourage confidences, storytelling, advice, leadership, as well as times for games and fun.
Finally, more occasionally, I am invited to speak in prisons or schools. Each time, the issue of religion is extremely pressing, but nevertheless, I find that the audience is eager for discussion while respecting everyone’s beliefs.
The prisoners’ testimonies about how their way of thinking has evolved are what moves me most, and it gives me the strength to continue my activism alongside my professional activity.
Other events are planned for 2025, but we want to keep the suspense going.
