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Spanish-Language Radio Drama Tackles Gay Issues
FRESNO,
Calif. (AP) — A Spanish-language radio drama is aiming to break the
silence surrounding homosexuality and its acceptance in California's
rural communities, where thousands of agricultural workers toil in
fields while listening to the radio.
The radionovela, "Bienvenidos
a Casa," or "Welcome Home," which premiered Friday across the Central
Valley, tells the story of Carlos, a Latino teen who is rejected by his
friends and family for being gay then finds acceptance with his mother
and neighbors.
The show will air for nearly two months on Radio
Bilingue, a national Spanish-language radio network headquartered in
Fresno. A gay-rights group is working to air the series nationally.
Activists
say it's the first time information about lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender issues is reaching rural Latino farmworker communities in a
language and format that's accessible.
The three-episode
radionovela, developed in collaboration with San Francisco State
University and California Rural Legal Assistance, was based on input
from community focus groups and performed by community volunteers.
Many
Latinos grew up listening to radionovelas, which in some parts of Latin
America are more popular than television and have inspired the creation
of telenovelas — TV soap operas. The radio dramas depict life's
struggles through recurring characters and themes. In recent years,
short radionovelas have become an increasingly popular way to raise
awareness of various issues among Latino audiences in the U.S.
"People
identify with the characters," said Delia Saldivar, the Radio Bilingue
station manager who helped develop the program about gay Latinos.
Some
mainstream Latino media ridicule people with different sexual
orientations, Saldivar said, creating a need for positive stories.
Saldivar
teamed up with California Rural Legal Assistance's Proyecto Poderoso,
or Project Powerful, to engage California's hard-to-reach rural Latinos.
For the past three years, Proyecto Poderoso has provided legal services
to gay, bisexual and transgender individuals in farmworker communities.
Program
manager Dan Torres said the project has helped Latinos who were
ridiculed, beaten or even fired from their jobs because of their sexual
orientation. It also has shown the lack of resources, information and
awareness about such issues in farmworker communities, where the fear of
coming out is so much more intense, he said.
"These are small towns and people fear that they will experience discrimination, that their kids will be harassed," Torres said.
The
"Welcome Home" story line was guided by research conducted by San
Francisco State University's Family Acceptance Project and published in
the January 2009 issue of Pedriatrics.
The research found that
higher rates of family rejection were significantly associated with
poorer health outcomes among white and Latino lesbian, gay, and bisexual
young adults.
A young person who experiences high levels of
rejection is more likely to attempt suicide, use illegal substances, or
engage in risky behavior for HIV. The research also found that Latino
men reported the highest number of negative family reactions to their
sexual orientation in adolescence.
Jorge Sanchez, a researcher
with the Family Acceptance Project, said cultural issues make
homosexuality a difficult topic among Latino families and communities.
"For
Latinos, it's an open secret," Sanchez said. "There is silence about
family issues, and that silence helps protect family harmony."
Latinos,
especially in California, have a clear sense of discrimination, and
they fear that children who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender
may face more of it, Sanchez said.
"They say, I put up with enough
hardship, I want my child to have an easier life; that's why we came to
this country," Sanchez said.
Many Latino families change their behavior once they understand how rejection can harm their children, he said.
"Welcome
Home" shows the possible negative impacts of rejection as well as the
impacts of acceptance. Carlos is beaten up by friends for being gay, and
he isolates himself from the family that rejects him. His mother's
eventual acceptance and support help him come to terms with himself.
The
radionovela also features a positive, loving relationship between two
men, who live together and are respected and accepted by their families
and communities.
Joseph Belmont, a Monterey, Calif., tutor, said
he experienced ridicule and violence growing up in the rural town of
Santa Maria.
"I had to go through a lot of self-destruction before
my family tried to help and accepted me," he said. "I choose to speak
about my sexuality now. I love my family and am grateful for the
progress we made."
