Last week I was invited to attend the Latino Commission on AIDS' Reunion Latina in Albany, NY. This annual training institute brings together AIDS service providers, activists, and people living with HIV/AIDS mainly from New York state but also other communities.

What an amazing experience!

I arrived after Teatro El Puente's performance during the opening.  While I was sad to miss the performance, it was incredible to walk into a room of 200 of the most diverse group of Latinos I've ever seen, nearly all in tears, giving thanks to the performers for sharing stories they all knew too well.  Teatro El Puente is a bilingual HIV/AIDS educational theater troupe by young people and for young people. I saw what everyone was talking about when they performed at the Pachanga that night.  This piece was about two young men who fell in love and soon learned they were a HIV-discordant couple.  Choosing to stay together, the audience saw a story about the power of love.  And yes, I think most of us teared up...again.

During the conference, I attended workshops on community mobilization, educating young people, outreach to Latino MSM, and legal issues facing PLWHA (people living with HIV or AIDS).  What made this conference different from many others I've attended was seeing peoples' lives change during the workshops.  During the community mobilization workshop, staff from an ASO were literally planning how to reach out to religious institutions with their newfound knowledge.  During the workshop on legal issues, presented by an attorney, PLWHA were learning how to be better advocates for themselves when it comes to supplementary income and housing assistance.

However, the most powerful part of the conference, of course, involved the youth participants. I heard from young men and women who were born with HIV or were diagnosed later in life. They were part of Teatro El Puente or the Adolescent AIDS Program at the Children's Hospital of Montefiore in the Bronx. What was amazing was how committed they were to not only improve their own lives, but the lives of other young people. Whether it was providing a safe space for other HIV positive youth to come out and learn to be greater than their diagnosis or wanting to teach other young people how to remain HIV negative, their stories and struggles were incredibly inspiring.

It was so humbling to be surrounded by these amazing Latinos, many of whom had been part of the struggle against HIV/AIDS when no one else would touch this fight.  I heard stories of the "old days" when a positive diagnosis was a death sentence and stories of people who had passed.  But I also heard stories of survival from people who had contracted HIV over twenty years ago.

This was the first Reunion since the passing of Dennis de Leon who headed the Latino Commission on AIDS since its inception.  A tireless advocate for HIV positive people and especially the Latino community, I encourage people to take a minute to learn about his courageous life.

All in all, this was an incredible experience. Every now and then it's good to be reminded why we do the work we do.  This was one of those moments. 

I was asked to attend Reunion Latina because the Commission is eager to involve more young people in their work. After this experience, I cannot wait to work with them and see what the future holds!