June 2010 Archives

"HIV Big Deal" is an ongoing HIV prevention and HIV testing multimedia campaign for men who have sex with men (MSM). It's a collaboration between the NYC-based nonprofit Public Health Solutions (PHS) and New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.

The main component of the campaign is a series of "video dramas" depicting the various issues MSM deal with surrounding HIV. PHS is developing another video for the series. "Ask Me, Tell Me" will feature stories about how MSM disclose their HIV status to their sex partners and how they negotiate safer sex.

The producers of the new video are seeking help from all MSM regardless of their HIV status. They're asking you to submit anonymous stories about HIV disclosure. If you're interested, please click here for more information.

Also, the producers will be holding a focus group in New York City about the new video at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 24. If you're interested, please directly contact Jose Nanin, EdD, by email at jnanin@kbcc.cuny.edu or by phone at 718.368.5705 for more information.

To watch the current videos, click here.


Oriol on:

"Marching Forward Together" was the theme of this year's annual New York City Council LGBT Pride event, which was held June 15. I had the honor of attending.

The vivacious Wendy Williams was master of ceremonies. Speaker Christine Quinn welcomed the crowd (and took over hosting duties when Williams had to leave early to attend another event).

Before the event officially started, a compilation video of the "I Talk Because..." HIV/AIDS awareness campaign sponsored by Quinn's office was shown to the capacity-filled crowd in City Hall.

A heart-warming invocation was given by the Rev. Jacqui Lewis and a defiantly patriotic Pledge of Allegiance was led by Lt. Dan Choi.

Three honorees were given recognition: the family of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, a young LGBT man who was murdered in a hate crime in Puerto Rico; Q-Wave, the first LGBT Asian-American group to march in the annual Lunar New Year Parade in Chinatown; and the Brooklyn Community Pride Center (BCPC), the first LGBT center in Brooklyn.

Quinn introduced the other three openly LGBT members of the council, who in turn introduced the honorees. Longtime council member Rosie Mendez from Manhattan introduced the Lopez Mercado family. Newly elected council member Danny Dromm from Queens introduced Q-Wave. Also newly elected council member Jimmy Van Bramer from Queens introduced BCPC.

Outstanding musical performances were given by Tony-award winner Audra McDonald and country singer Chely Wright, who recently came out as a lesbian in a national media blitz.

I admit that my eyes welled up more than a few times during the event. There were so many stories of courage and heartbreak and love. I'll share two moments that made me especially emotional.

One of those moments was hearing Jimmy Van Bramer speak. I've known Jimmy personally for years. When I first met Jimmy, I only knew him as the partner of Dan Hendrick, a friend I met through my association with the New York chapter of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA).

Over the years, I got to know Jimmy in his own right. His passion to serve the people of his district has always been palpable. So it was no surprise that he showed such humility and genuine gratitude during his speech. He's already an inspiration and I look forward to seeing his many future successes in public life.

The other moment was seeing the family of Lopez Mercado. Pictured above from left: Jorge Lopez (Lopez Mercado's father); LGBT and HIV/AIDS activist Pedro Julio Serrano; Myriam Mercado (Lopez Mercado's mother); Gabriel Lopez (Lopez Mercado's brother); and council member Rosie Mendez. Not fluent in English, the family was represented by Serrano.

The four council members led a delegation earlier this year to visit the Lopez Mercado family in Puerto Rico. The reciprocal visit to New York City by the family was in and of itself moving. What put it over the edge was when Myriam spoke and Serrano translated for her. Her simple yet profound message of hope continues to move me.

Events like these often can be all so much pomp and circumstance, but fortunately for me this event had all the flavor and none of the fat. I left feeling quite proud indeed.


Oriol on:

My boyfriend and I attended the annual LGBT Pride Parade in Queens, New York, on June 6. I was proud to celebrate among gay Latinos, who have a strong presence in the Jackson Heights neighborhood that hosts the event.

What's more, there seemed to be a strong supportive presence from the straight community at large. Vendors only cared about green, not that it was coming from pink and lavender.

I also was quite proud to see the outreach by the HIV/AIDS community. The Hispanic AIDS Forum and the Asian & Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS were providing free HIV testing and condoms. The AIDS Center of Queens County was a sponsor of the main stage (see pic).

I was born in Manhattan, but I was raised in Queens. When I was a teenager, the idea of walking down Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights with my arm around the man I love seemed like a dream. Well, dreams do come true sometimes.

Being around so many gay Latinos doing the same was a wonderful dose of reality.


Oriol on:

A friend offered me a last minute ticket recently to see the Yankees (his brother canceled) play the Orioles at the new Yankee Stadium (I had not been yet), so how could I say no?!

We took the subway up to the Bronx and walking through the underground labyrinth to the exit I noticed HIV testing posters in English and Spanish everywhere I looked.

They were from the "Bronx Knows" campaign, which has been successful so far in increasing HIV testing in the Bronx.

I hadn't seen them before, so that alone was enough to grab my attention. But what really grabbed me was the overwhelming sense of it as I walked up to the stadium.

Effective messaging is just as much about how the message reaches people as it is about what the message is. This is messaging that works.


Oriol on:

Rue McClanahan, the Emmy-winning actress best known as "Blanche" on the TV series The Golden Girls of the 1980s, died June 3. She was 76.

The show was a favorite of mine back then and remains so to this day. I catch reruns whenever I can (despite objections from my boyfriend).

The four women on that show were strong, talented and funny. Estelle Getty (a.k.a. "Sophia") died first, then Bea Arthur (a.k.a. "Dorothy") and now Rue McClanahan.

The last girl standing is Betty White (a.k.a. "Rose") and she's back in vogue, recently hosting Saturday Night Live after a grassroots campaign on Facebook to draft her as a host.

One of the many things I loved and still love about the show is how it wasn't afraid to handle the social issues of its day, including sex, condoms and HIV.

In this YouTube video, Rose is waiting for the results of an HIV test with her friends. It starts with Blanche giving Rose some advice:


Rue McClanahan, rest in peace.

Oriol on:

Former bareback porn star Brent Corrigan has completed two more safer sex public service announcements for the Washington, DC-based group Fuk !t, which promotes safer sex for the prevention of sexually transmitted infections.

As with the first video, these two new ones are also NSFW (not suitable for work--they are most definitely sexually explicit). Click here for more on his first safer sex video.

"Brent Corrigan Explains It All: Condoms and STDs" is the second video. It depicts him in a doctor's uniform describing in explicit language (and visuals) how sexually transmitted infections are passed on and prevented.

"Brent Corrigan's Oral Exam" is the third video. Playing off the style of 1950s instructional black-and-white videos, it shows Corrigan in a locker room being quizzed by his coach on how to use a condom. Of course, explicit language (and visuals) are aplenty.

As I said in my previous post about his first safer sex video, I am all for any HIV prevention messaging that will resonate with gay men, especially young gay men. I have no doubt that many young gay men will pay attention to these videos.


Oriol on: