(background context written by Julian de Mayo)

Puerto Rico:

At the beginning of the 1990’s Puerto Rico had the highest rate of new HIV infections of any state or territory in the United States - three times the national average. Within Latin America, Puerto Rico had more reported cases of AIDS than Argentina, Colombia and Venezuela combined. The reality for Puerto Ricans on the mainland was no better. They were disproportionately afflicted in comparison to other Latinx communities.

This was no coincidence. Crack cocaine appeared in black and brown neighborhoods in cities throughout the U.S., igniting an AIDS epidemic among people using drugs. Needles were used to consume crack and heroin, a practice called intravenous drug use, which put them at high risk of acquiring and transmitting HIV once needles were shared.  

Without proper education and access to new, clean needles, intravenous drug use became the primary cause of HIV transmission in Puerto Rican communities on the island and the mainland. Frequent travel between hard-hit cities like New York, Newark, Philadelphia, and San Juan exacerbated an epidemic in Puerto Rico that was compounded by its status as a U.S. territory as well as mediocre political and religious leadership.  

As a colony, Puerto Rico’s Medicaid funding was restricted to $79 million, nowhere near enough to cover medical bills for the growing number of people who needed treatment, but could not afford private insurance. This left the Puerto Rican health system underfunded and forced many people to move to the mainland for healthcare.  

Governor Hernandez Colon failed to push Congress for more funds, as he feared a crash in tourism if a public health emergency were declared. Local health officials would not implement effective prevention programs because of homophobia and stigma around drug use. To make matters worse, the Catholic church held to its stance that using condoms was a sin. 

The Latina/o Caucus, with strong roots in Puerto Rico, decided to take action against the unfolding catastrophe, which they coined Hurricane SIDA (AIDS). 

Hurricane SIDA

In August of 1990 an AIDS conference was announced to take place in San Juan, with Louis Sullivan, U.S. Secretary of Health, and the National Commission on AIDS in attendance. This was seen as a perfect opportunity to deploy ‘Hurricane SIDA’ .

While Puerto Rico had organizations providing services to people living with HIV, there were no activist groups doing the type of targeted political work that ACT UP represented. With the financial support of the organization, a small group traveled to San Juan to mobilize Puerto Ricans and prepare for the actions that would take place in late summer.

The organizers were able to gather support from diverse sectors of health care workers, LGBTQ organizations, students and other HIV affected people. With a keen sense of urgency, they used the skills they had learned in New York to do outreach and teach-ins in gay nightclubs, community centers, schools and media outlets. Eventually, ACT UP Puerto Rico was created, but not without some push back as some were skeptical of the idea of a group from the north telling those living on the island how to manage the crisis. 

In the end, the activists were able to mobilize Puerto Ricans for the first time around AIDS. During the week of the conference, they took to the streets en masse, spoke on television, visited neighborhoods with high concentrations of intravenous drug use, met with politicians, and brought to light the crude reality of the island: women, children, and men getting sick and dying in silence, abandoned by the government and often alienated from their communities. 

Around 30 - 50 members from all factions of ACT UP flew to Puerto Rico to participate in the actions that week, which culminated in a large protest through Old San Juan. The impact of visibility was felt not only in relation to AIDS, but also for a burgeoning LGBTQ movement that had never claimed public space in such a bold manner. The following year, many of the same activists would organize Puerto Rico’s first Pride parade.

ACT UP Puerto Rico remained active until 1996 and was crucial in building a coalition of small organizations doing HIV/AIDS work that was able to secure funds from federal HIV programs like the Ryan White Program that had previously been out of reach for Puerto Ricans. 

La Perla

ACT UP members visited La Perla in Old San Juan - a neighborhood with a high concentration of open-air drug use.   Activists gave workshops on cleaning and exchanging needles, as well as safe sex to avoid transmission of the virus. This was the first time that this type of information was being shared in Puerto Rico. 

Protest from Capital to La Fortaleza

More than 200 people gathered on August 25th in the first large HIV/AIDS protest in Puerto Rico. It began at the Capital building and ended at La Fortaleza - the residence of the Governor - a historically significant route that has been used throughout the island’s history to bring issues and demands to the doorsteps of the powerful. As the activists passed the San Juan Cathedral, they staged a die-in in front of the church to protest Cardinal Luis Aponte Martinez’s flagrant comments about condoms and HIV both being sinful.  

Baquiné

Throughout the week, activists rallied in front of the hotel where officials were staying and staged baquinés - a traditional funeral held for the death of a child.