Pedro Zamora left us all too soon in November of 1994. I got to know him through my television, and boy did he open himself up, appearing on the then socially relevant reality show The Real World. I’d just graduated high school, and had no idea what laid ahead for me in terms of life goals and how I’d feel however much time I’d be given.
Pedro was a huge influence and help in getting me to get comfortable in my own skin with HIV- I hung on every word when he appeared on the show. He was only three years older than me, but at that time he may as well have been the President in terms of how I looked up to him. On the show, he fell in love with fellow positoid Sean Sasser. They normalized love with HIV in the mix. After his passing, his Real World roommate, Judd Winick, wrote the incredible graphic novel Pedro & Me. For anyone who wants to learn more about him, I highly recommend this book. MTV also aired a biopic called Pedro a couple of years ago, which is definitely worth a view.
Born in a leap year, today would have been Pedro’s 40th birthday. I would be remiss if I didn’t pay homage to one of my biggest influences. Happy birthday, Pedro, and thank you from the bottom of my positoid heart.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
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