Hector Soto has a strong message for teens who are having unprotected sex.
“Use a condom or die,” Soto said.
The 16-year-old participated Saturday in the third annual Abre Los Ojos (Open your Eyes) health fair held in La Alma/Lincoln Park in Denver.
The HIV and AIDS education and awareness event was organized by a coalition of 11 Denver health-care agencies and was part of National Latino AIDS Awareness Day.
“We need to work with other agencies and the community to get the word out and stop this disease,” said Roseann Prieto, a counselor at Denver Area Youth Services.
Sexually transmitted HIV and AIDS are on the rise in the Hispanic community, organizers of the event said. They said they’re also concerned about the number of Latina women between the ages of 18 through 35, who have become the fastest-growing risk group.
“Mainstream prevention is focused on men and not women, specifically Latina women, and we hope to change that,” said Jacinta “Jacy” Montoya , executive director of the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights.
Religion, machismo and the lack of communication within families about sex are among the reasons more Latinos are having unprotected sex and testing positive for HIV, according to Chris Medina, a program coordinator with El Futuro, which is dedicated to providing services and support for Latino men who are gay and bisexual.
While Latinos comprise only 12.5 percent of the national population, they have been diagnosed with 20 percent of AIDS cases, according to the Latino Commission on AIDS.
“People are not getting information. We need to remove the stigma of HIV testing,” said Wesley Rodriguez, director of health policy for the Latino Commission on AIDS.
The health fair Saturday offered free HIV, AIDS, glucose and blood pressure testing, food and entertainment. More than a dozen booths gave away condoms and information written in English and Spanish about HIV, AIDS and hepatitis C.
“It’s simply about being healthy,” said Oswaldo Lozano, clinic manager at La Clínica Tepeyac.
Staff writer Annette Espinoza can be reached at 303-820-1655 or aespinoza@denverpost.com.
