A Brief History…
… OF THE FRENTE COMÚN CONTRA EL SIDA
1992
"Arte Contra el Sida," at the La Mano Mágica art gallery, was the first activity by a group of Oaxacan artists which would later become the Frente Común Contra el SIDA, an auction of donated works of art by around 25 artists, with the support and planning of various galleries in the Historic Center, it raised money and awareness about AIDS in our community. Since that time, the work of HIV education and prevention has received extensive support from the artistic community.
1992
“Primer Encuentro Sobre el SIDA,” First Encounter About AIDS, at the invitation of the mayor of Oaxaca and the Municipal Health Secretary, in which around 85 persons in the fields of medicine, education, the arts and the press committed themselves to form a “common front” against AIDS. Note artist Rubén Leyva's mural, “Juntos Podemos” (Together We Can), which would become the logo of the Frente Común Contra el SIDA in the years ahead.
1993
The first AIDS talks by the Frente Común, entitled “SIDA y sus Consequencias,” were given to groups of teachers in collaboration with the State Education Department. Here Nancy Mayagoitia presents the Frente's life-saving information to be replicated in schools throughout the state. The teachers of Oaxaca have been a key factor in the spread of our message and in our first AIDS Walk, teachers represented the largest group of walkers in support of our work. To date, over 3,600 AIDS talks have been given by the Frente Común.
This year, too, the Frente Común received its first support from USAID (Foreign Aid) from the United States, for its AIDS Education Program. It would continue until the year 2001.
1994
"Camina por la Vida" (Walk For Life), was the Frente Común's first AIDS walk, in which over 500 persons walked 10 kilometers, showing their support for the work of the Frente and calling attention to the fight against AIDS in Oaxaca. The event made extensive national news coverage.
The second year of support from USAID, in Washington, D.C., saw a steady advance in our programs of AIDS education and prevention.
1995
The 1,000 th AIDS talk by the Frente Común was given in the public school of the nearby community, San Andres Huayapan, Oaxaca. A local marching band, municipal officials and state-wide press and media were on hand for the event. Here Nancy Mayagoitia, accompanied by Bill Wolf and Lilia Palacios, among others, stresses the importance of life-saving AIDS education and prevention, for the first time, spoke “…it is the responsibility of every oaxaqueño to inform themselves about AIDS and get involved in the fight against it!”
1995
This year saw strong media support for our second AIDS Walk, "Camina por la Vida-‘95", where over 800 walkers from around the state walked ten kilometers through the Historic Center of Oaxaca. This was also the third year of support from USAID, Washington, D.C.
1996
This year, the Frente Común sponsored the first meeting of AIDS organizations in the state of Oaxaca, held in the coastal city of Puerto Escondido. Four groups attended: Gunaxhii Guendanabani (Love of Life), from the city of Juchitán, Costa Unida Contra el SIDA from Puerto Escondido, a new group from La Ollaga in the Isthmus of Tehuatepec, and the Frente Común from the state capitol. Colaboration among the various organizations would grow in the coming years and continue to be a major force in AIDS work in southern Mexico.
This was the fourth year of support by USAID, Washinton, D.C.
1997
In collaboration with the AIDS group, Gunaxhii Guendanabani, and a grant from the Panamerican Health Organization of the UN., the Frente presented a tour of eleven cities in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, in the didactic drag show, “Las Intrépidas Vs. SIDA,” where it was well received by huge crowds at every stop.
1998
In the huge state theater Macedonio Alcalá, the international pianist presented her benefit concert, “Cicely Winter …Con Amor" , to a sell out crowd. She called upon the population of Oaxaca to “contribute directly to the most important work we can be doing today!” Cicely has continued to be a major advocate of our work and in 1999, she inaugurated to Frente's five-city tour to the Central Valley of Oaxaca.
1998
This year too, the Frente Común opened the first condom store in southern Mexico, Condón-Manía, offering quality condoms at economic prices. Peruvian singer, Tania Libertad, presided over the inauguration while the city mayor closed traffic for a three-hour street party. The press called it “… a pioneering effort in Mexico!” It was a popular and accessible source of AIDS information and protection for Oaxaca's youth until the year 2006 when it was closed by the government of Ulises Ruiz.
1999
The Frente Común's street poster campaign featuring safe sex icons, including here “AMOR,” is well received in the city of Oaxaca to great media attention. It has continued for years on posters, banners, billboards and T-shirts around the city.
2000
The Frente Común presented “Noche de Velas” on Day of the Dead, with the lighting of 845 candles in commemoration of the 845 AIDS deaths in Oaxaca. The Frente's president, Lilia Palacios, lit the final candle as thousands of the city's residents and visitors filed silently past. The following day, Oaxaca's seven daily newspapers covered their front pages with moving photos of glowing flames of remembrance in the dark night of southern Mexico.
2001
FIRST SURVEY OF PATIENTS
In 2001, the Frente Común began an informal survey of COESIDA patients we knew, around thirty-five, with a simple form we made, what medicines they had received, how they rated their attention, what was the name of their doctor, and such. The patients were more than happy to answer our questions and even show us the bottles of medicines they had received.
We calculated the results immediately: around 30 per cent were receiving a full “cocktail of three,” 9 per cent were receiving the cocktail “irregularly,” that is not every month, 24 per cent receiving only one or two medicines and fully 36 per cent were receiving no AIDS medicine at all.
With the strong support of the daily newspapers in Oaxaca, the Frente published its results. It drew the attention of the general public as well as the Secretary of Health, Rafael Aragón Kuri.
2002
SECOND SURVEY OF PATIENTS
As a result of the previous survey, it was arranged through the Secretary of Health, Rafael Aregón Kuri, that the Frente Común would conduct a complete survey of all the patients of COESIDA; that we would be standing in the entrance to the clinic and that they would present each patient to us after each appointment. We would be there from 8:00 in the morning until 4:00 in the afternoon, everyday for one month, starting on the first of March.
In all, 145 patients were interviewed. Many expressed their deep thanks that we were doing this and wished us well.
We were able to show that still only around 41 percent of the patients were receiving a full cocktail of three, very close to our original survey. On the first day of April, we sent four pages of graphs and numbers to all involved and Dr. Miguel Angel Ramírez Almanza planned a follow-up meeting.
As a result of this survey, the director of COESIDA, Dr. Gabriela Velásquez Rosas, announced that the clinic was purchasing enough medicines to cover the full sixty percent who had not been receiving medicines. At the same time, it was made clear that the Frente Común would no longer publish any information about the COESIDA patients or their treatment.
2003
This year, the speakers of the Frente Común passed 3,400, the number of AIDS prevention talks given in schools and workplaces. Invitations continue to come in as teachers and administrators around the state have high appreciation for our message of life-saving AIDS information.
2004
"A NECESSARY ANALYSIS"
In 2004, the Frente Común noticed that the official AIDS statistics provided by the Secretary of Health appeared to contain confusing and misleading information. In addition, there were several serious omissions in the reports.
The Frente Común enlisted the help of Dr. Nilda Alverio of the Mission Center AIDS Clinic in San Francisco, California, who was visiting Oaxaca in a collaboration between the Frente Común and the Mission Center clinic. Dr. Alverio reviewed the official statistics of the Secretary of Health and advised in the “analysis” of those data by the Frente Común. We at the Frente Común Contra el SIDA greatly appreciate her visit and her valuable advice in this analysis.
In the end, the Frente Común published one hundred copies of a small booklet of about 20 pages entitled “A Necessary Analysis, How to Interpret the Official Statistics.” It was sent to 100 state and national health officials.
(NOTE: You can read the complete booklet on our Main Menu “How to Interpret the Official Statistics.”)
2005
THE NATIONAL CONVENTION
In 2005, Oaxaca was chosen to be the host of the National AIDS Convention in Mexico, to take place December 1.
One week before the convention, the Frente Común sent an “open letter” to national health officials and news media protesting this decision.
At the urging of the Secretary of Government, Javier Fuentes Valdivieso, the Secretary of Health, Martín Vásquez Villanueva, and the director of COESIDA, Gabriela Velásquez Rosas, the Frente felt required to sign the following document:
“...the Frente Común Contra el SIDA, Oaxaca, A.C. will not participate in any way in these events (Northamerican Forum on AIDS, National AIDS Convention of México to be held in Oaxaca), ... the members of the Frente Común will not comment to the communications media or to any others, nor will involve themselves in any public debate about this subject (HIV/AIDS).”
2006
GOING TOO FAR
This year saw the breakdown of the political/social order in Oaxaca. State and federal troupes moved in open and violent attack against the population.
Word has come down from the highest levels of government. It is a green light to move against all opposition leaders. Plain-clothes policemen were sent to our Information Center and condom store. Our young workers began to feel threatened and worried. We felt the responsibility for their physical safety.
On December 26, we closed our Center for the final time and ended a long, brutal and unjust year.
2007
CONTINUING ...
