Being Latino and HIV-Positive | Living y Ready

When sex and sexuality isn’t talked about at home, it’s fair to say that sexually-transmitted infections are not discussed either. In these environments, kids end up learning about sex in the streets and make uninformed decisions about sexual partners and safe sex. Sometimes, it’s too late.

In the next installment of Living y Ready, Vol. III, three HIV-positive Latinos get real about what it’s like dealing with stigma, fear, and faith in the Latino community—how the lack of sex education made them more vulnerable to HIV, and why talking about it after being diagnosed wasn’t easy.

For Marilynn Ramos, an HIV-positive mother of five, HIV was reserved for street workers up to no good. In her community, where Latino families are often religious and thereby don’t openly talk about sex, that’s the narrative she was told. So, when she was diagnosed, she didn’t understand how she could fit this profile she had made up in her head.

“Now that I see it, a lot of women [who] are positive don’t have multiple partners, are not on drugs, are not on the streets, are not [partaking in] risky behavior,” Marilynn says.

In her journey post-diagnosis, Marilynn has reclaimed what it means to be HIV-positive and Latina—and aims to break down these unfair stigmas in her home and in the community.

Daniel Garza—raised in a Catholic, Latino family between Texas and México—also had little understanding of HIV as he came of age.

“In 2000, the best information we ever got was from Cristina in her show,” Daniel says, “and in those shows they were talking about [how] HIV = MUERTE, so when my family found out about my status they immediately thought: se va a morir.”

Twenty-five years later, a spirited Daniel Garza is more than alive. Now an advocate, he is determined to spread proper information about being gay and engaging in safe sex so young queer Latinos can prevent contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

When knowledge is power, you have to first want to learn. That means being open to changing your mind.

“Everything gets blocked along the way,” Daniel goes on to say. “Between parents and young people, there are barriers and blockages … and if parents aren’t going to talk about [sex and sexuality], then it’s up to us advocates to be able to put that information out.”

For Jose Ramos, stigma runs deeper than having HIV. Within his family and the ways they expressed their Latino religiosity, being gay was unaccepted and feared.

“When I came out to my brothers, many of them didn’t talk to me,” Jose says, “and they were afraid that I was going to take advantage of their kids, so I couldn’t see many of my nieces and nephews. There’s this thought that [gay people] abuse children—or at least back then.”

Conversely, despite being silenced by the Latino community as a gay HIV-positive man, Jose believes his superpower is inherently Latino. Like his mother who faced countless obstacles moving to this country and restarting life for her family, Jose’s secret to life has been toughing through the challenges: overcoming the stigma, fear, and lack of understanding

It wasn’t easy, but Jose found his voice.

Check out the whole episode of Living y Ready to understand firsthand how Marilynn, Daniel, and Jose all reclaimed their Latinidad as HIV-positive members of the community.