Latinxs and HIV/AIDS: Resisting Silences in the Personal Collection of Alberto Sandoval-Sánchez
Who is Alberto Sandoval-Sánchez?
Professor of Spanish at Mount Holyoke College, Alberto Sandoval-Sánchez is the author of José Can You See?: Latinos On and Off Broadway and co-editor of Puro Teatro: A Latina Anthology. Originally from the island of Puerto Rico, Professor Sandoval-Sánchez immigrated to the United States in 1973 to attend college. In 1990, Professor Sandoval-Sánchez collapsed in New York City and soon discovered that he had contracted HIV/AIDS. Following this life-altering diagnosis, Professor Sandoval-Sánchez was coerced to reinvent his notion of home and confront the inevitable suffering of an ill body, including the potential onset of premature death.
Latinxs and HIV/AIDS: Resisting Silences in the Personal Collection of Alberto Sandoval-Sánchez is a digital tool narrating the personal experiences of Professor Sandoval-Sánchez as a queer, HIV-positive Latino in the United States. By centering Professor Sandoval-Sánchez's survival with HIV/AIDS and highlighting his intersecting identities, this archive seeks to dismantle hegemonic understandings of HIV/AIDS in the U.S. and locate the body as a potential archive and site of knowledge-making.
Objects from the personal collection of Professor Sandoval-Sánchez that document the HIV/AIDS awareness-raising efforts of community organizations in cities across the U.S. from the 1990s to 2000s.
Often included in Professor Sandoval-Sánchez's class syllabi, these academic publications written by other HIV-positive scholars discuss HIV/AIDS and its widespread impact on vulnerable populations, specifically queer Latinxs.
Written scholarship that identifies the HIV-positive body as a site of knowledge production is one of Professor Sandoval-Sánchez's main academic interests as demonstrated in his numerous publications theorizing the topic in Latinx studies.
Quotes that have come out of Professor Sandoval-Sánchez's courses and personal interactions with students; this documents Professor Sandoval-Sánchez's experience, including his attitude, humor, and feelings around surviving with HIV/AIDS.
A set of potential guiding questions designed to provide teachers and educators, as well as other community leaders, with the resources to facilitate potential discussions about the intersections between HIV/AIDS and Latinxs.
A list of citations in MLA format that details the original source of each object included in this digital archive, including photographs and academic publications. Refer to this page when including certain resources in personal research endeavors.