Thousands of protesters formed a river of white as they marched around a lake at a Los Angeles park Sunday, joining other marchers around the world to expose the plight of political dissidents in Cuba and support the wives, mothers and other women who defend them.

Before the procession at Echo Park northwest of downtown Los Angeles, a crowd estimated at 3,000 to 5,000 people heard speeches by actor Andy García, comedian George Lopez, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton and others.

(...)

The Los Angeles demonstration was one of several marches over the weekend, from New York City to Madrid. They followed in the footsteps of the tens of thousands who walked Thursday down Calle Ocho in Miami, led by Cuban American musical icon Gloria Estefan.

All sought to show solidarity with the Ladies in White -Las Damas de Blanco- who have protested in silence in Cuba since the 2003 jailing of 75 Cuban dissidents, and who were violently confronted by government security forces earlier this month.

(Read more: The Miami Herald)