Thousands of people attended the Boston Gay Pride Parade on June 12, enjoying a fun and peaceful event and advocating for gay rights. Among them was an energetic crew from the Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS), spreading the word about HIV prevention.
“We were very glad to see how open the community was to learning more about such a delicate issue,” said Anabela C. Quelha, MAPS Director of the Disease Prevention and Education Program. “The parade is one of our largest outreach opportunities and our staff was there distributing free condoms and informational material.”
MAPS’ Men’s and Women’s Health Educators approached more than 500 individuals while following MAPS Carnival-themed float at the parade. The agency’s truck was specially decorated for the event, with colorful flowers made of recycled plastic bottles. The upbeat music from Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries, which attracted a huge crowd of followers, only stopped for a moment of silence to honor those who have lost the fight against AIDS.
The float incorporated the parade’s 2010 theme: ‘Riots for Rights.’ A lively Carnival group followed along throughout the parade route carrying 40 umbrellas decorated with civil rights demands from the gay community, such as nationwide legal marriage, adoption rights and legal immigrant status for foreign-born gay individuals married to American citizens.
The MAPS float was organized by a group of staff and volunteers, including special programs Ambiente Latino (MAPS’ program focused on gay/bisexual Latino men) and Siliga (specializing in Portuguese-language health education and prevention for men who have sex with men – MSM). MAPS promotes frequent outreach, education, risk reduction and referrals to testing, counseling and other services around HIV and other sexually transmitted infections for high-risk Portuguese speakers throughout the area, as well as Spanish-speaking men in the Framingham/Marlborough region. The program is funded by the Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health.
