Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Miami Herald - December 16, 2003
Steve Rothaus, srothaus@herald.com
Their latest tool is a 20-minute bilingual video of "personal testimonies" called Nuestras Historias, Nuestras Voces, which will be previewed tonight in Coconut Grove, said Martin Ornelas-Quintero, executive director of LLEGO, the National Latina/Latino Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Organization.
LLEGO, a nonprofit group based in Washington, D.C., spent about $60,000 of a federal grant to produce the video.
The documentary -- narrated by bisexual actor Gabriel Romero of the Telemundo sitcom Los Beltran -- is also being previewed this month in five other major U.S. cities. After the final edit, it will be given to Hispanic AIDS groups across the nation.
"We'll be working with local community-based organizations as a tool," Ornelas-Quintero said. "The can use it as part of their arsenal."
Several South Florida groups, including Care Resource, Liga Contra SIDA and Union Positiva, will get copies.
"The video they are launching is aimed at improving the awareness among Latinos, not just about HIV, but how to access healthcare services," said Jesus Felizzola, Care Resource's principal investigator of federal grants.
"Miami Beach, particularly South Beach, is becoming the heart of the Latino gay and lesbian population. And Latinos represent 55 percent of Care Resource clients on South Beach," added Felizzola, who recently became executive director of Florida International University's new HIV/AIDS Latino Behavioral Sciences Center. The center will open Jan. 15 at the University Park campus.
"It will be an educational forum for graduate students to become researchers in the HIV field, with the emphasis on the Latino population," he said.
Luis Penelas of Union Positiva said Miami is a particularly important city in the AIDS war because so many people travel between here, Latin America and the Caribbean.
"There is a human bridge," said Penelas, noting that 1.5 million people have been diagnosed with HIV in Latin America and the Caribbean.
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