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| The Update Interviews Outspoken
Academy Award?Nominated Actress Rosie Perez, Fresh
From Her Gig as Keynote Speaker at the National
Conference on Latinos and AIDS |
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| August 3, 2007 |
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| Perez at a rally outside
the United Nations on the 25th anniversary of the
AIDS pandemic in 2006 |
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| AIDS Issues Update: What's the origin of your
AIDS activism? |
| Rosie Perez:Twenty years ago, I got invited
to an AIDS dance-a-thon, which was more about fundraising than
activism. When I told a close friend who had AIDS about it,
he got so angry at me. He said, "If you're going to be serious,
then be serious." Ever since then I've committed myself wholeheartedly.
He passed away at 45. |
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| Then 15 years later, I found out my mother
had AIDS. She didn't raise me, but it broke my heart. I remember
thanking God I had chosen to focus on AIDS activism. She didn't
want to use my help, and she passed away in 2000, but I feel
like I was able to help her in a way through advocacy. It was
much better for her then it was for my friend back then. |
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| At the National Conference on Latinos and
AIDS, you spoke about being culturally aware of differences
within the Latino community when it comes to HIV/AIDS. What
are some of those differences? |
| For example, the Cuban cultural world is
completely different from the Mexican cultural world. It's very,
very necessary to share this information with healthcare providers.
I get a lot of complaints from Latin people saying, "My doctor
was very rude," or, "I went to the clinic and they were talking
so fast, and I didn't understand." |
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| I've done a lot of work with the Latino
Commission on AIDS, and we keep saying, "Why are the numbers
rising when we're trying to doing anything we can?" |
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| I remember telling Dennis deLeon, "They
have the information, but we need to change the way we deliver
the information." If you're giving a senior citizen an AIDS
pamphlet, he'll be offended. That's part of the Latin culture.
There's Puerto Rican men, where machismo is extremely high.
If we ask, "Are you having straight sex or homosexual sex?"
he might not get tested. |
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| In the Mexican community, they have this
way of just saying, "Yes, yes, no" to whatever's asked. We have
to take a much more personal, one-on-one approach. Even with
young people. We need to be mature, like, "We got your back."
We need to be like one of their aunts and uncles that they can
sneak away and tell secrets to. |
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| What should you and other Puerto Rican celebs
such as Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony do to address the crisis
in Puerto Rico? |
| I don't know what Marc Anthony or Jennifer
Lopez should be doing. What I have learned is humility. I still
am angry -- and not just at celebrities but regular people --
that are not doing more. But we just have to roll up our sleeves
and not worry about what other people are doing. And the ones
that are doing it, I stand up there and applaud them. In a machismo
world where someone like Ricky Martin, with all those rumors
floating around about his sexuality, can still stand up there
and speak up about AIDS, I would say to him, keep going. |
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| And what about your involvement with Puerto
Rico? What needs to be done to address the AIDS crisis there? |
| Puerto Rico is the first U.S. territory
that has become bankrupt. Don't get me wrong, I love my country,
but Puerto Rico is struggling. And the meds are just not getting
down there. There's still that 25-year-old stigma that it's
a gay disease, or you did something bad or God is punishing
you. There are some wonderful organizations down there. But
their resources are extremely limited. They need money and meds
and a real grassroots movement. But mostly money and meds. |
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| This article was provided by Housing
Works. It is a part of the publication Housing Works AIDS
Issues Update. |
