Out the Archives is a recurring feature diving into the Windy City Times collection, offering a look back at the rich history of LGBTQ+ Chicago.
In this edition, we look back at the February 2000 issue of En La Vida, which included coverage of LLEGO, an organization uplifting LGBTQ+ Latinos in healthcare and politics that was calling for increased financial support.
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As news continues to emerge from the White House about cuts to HIV research and prevention funding, advocates are speaking out and demanding that those resources be restored. The moment echoes scenes chronicled more than 25 years ago in En La Vida.
In the Feb. 2000 issue, an article ran on LLEGO—an organization aimed at uplifting LGBTQ+ Latinos in healthcare, politics and overall society—and its call for government and private funding agencies to increase AIDS resources for LGBTQ+ Latinos. Although Latinos were becoming a larger demographic in the United States, several years of inadequate funding levels had made the group disproportionately affected by HIV.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had released a report in January 2000 confirming AIDS had climbed to a “crisis” level amid gay and bisexual Latinos and continued to climb in the demographic, especially among youth. The report listed homophobia as a contributing factor to the group’s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.
“A sweeping anti-homophobia campaign is essential to addressing the silence and taboos about sexuality that make our community resist the prevention and treatment message,” Martin Ornelas-Quintero, then-executive director of LLEGO, said. “As long as Latino gay and bisexual men remain invisible in their community because of family and societal pressures, they will not receive the education necessary to shield themselves from the virus.”
In terms of youth infections, Ornelas-Quintero said homophobia among young people was contributing to higher rates of infection by instilling fear of being LGBTQ+ and making them more susceptible to risk behaviors.
LLEGO said the group and its affiliates around the country had and would continue to spread messages on AIDS prevention, and encouraged other grassroots organizers to do the same in their community. It also called for more resources to be created to expand the capacity for education and to decrease isolation in young LGBTQ+ Latinos.
Today, organizations still push for better sexual health education in the queer Latino community, with campaigns such as Chicago Queer Latine Collective’s PrEPárate focused specifically on the demographic.
Did you contribute to En La Vida during its 1996-2002 run? We want to hear from you! Email Managing Editor Jake Wittich at wittichjake@gmail.com to get in touch.