Remembering Pedro Zamora on his Birthday

Pedro Zamora would have been 45 years old today. Fans of MTV’s The Real World: San Francisco grew to love the charismatic, intelligent, and handsome young activist, and his untimely death due to AIDS-related conditions rocked a generation over twenty years ago. He was only 22 years old when he passed away, but was able to make a huge and lasting impact of the public’s perspective of the condition. The openly gay Cuban-American bravely came out as HIV Positive on the show, at a time when stigma was at its peak and before retroviral therapy made the condition manageable. Zamora put a human face to HIV and by sharing his experience, was able to make an enormous contribution to breaking down stigma.

Former President Bill Clinton, who was in office at the time, personally called Zamora when he was on his deathbed, and thanked him for his contributions to the fight against HIV & AIDS. In an official statement released by President Clinton, he said of Zamora, “In his short life, Pedro educated and enlightened our Nation. He taught all of us that AIDS is a disease with a human face and one that affects every American, indeed every citizen, of the world. And he taught people living with AIDS how to fight for their rights and live with dignity.”