Hank M. Tavera

Henry M. Tavera (January 19, 1944, East Los Angeles, California – February 27, 2000) was an AIDS activist, artistic director, and archivist based in the Mission District of San Francisco, California; his 1979 move to the region put him at the forefront of the AIDS epidemic via his involvement in various HIV/AIDS service organizations as well as AIDS theatre. He also did work around Chicano Gay Activism and teaching/advising.

Career In a lifetime dedicated to advocacy and activism, Hank Tavera was heavily involved in work surrounding the AIDS epidemic.

Tavera continued his activism in the theatrical world, in which he engaged with Mexican American theater and worked in creating the newsletter for TENAZ Talks Teatro, a publication in La Revista Literaria de El Tecolote, a San Francisco publication that showcased Latina/Chicana women in theater. In addition to this, Tavera was a well-known director of plays, directing nine consecutive years of the Performing Arts Shows of Latina/o Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Artists at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts.

Third World AIDS Advisory Task Force (TWAATF) Along with running Client Services at SFAF, Tavera was a member of the Latino Coalition on AIDS and chaired the Third World AIDS Advisory Task Force. TWAATF was founded in 1985 in an effort to address the distinct ways men of color accessed AIDS prevention and treatment resources. This included an understanding of "the historical reality of racial discrimination in gay institutions," venues that AIDS service organizations like SFAF mainly targeted. Their mission was to "[assist] existing AIDS organizations with providing educational material that is relevant, culturally sensitive, and can be understood by our communities".

"Just Say No to Mandatory Testing of Prostitutes" San Francisco 1988 Campaign Hank Tavera participated in the campaign against the passing of Assembly Bill 2319 in 1988, which ultimately aimed at the mandatory testing of prostitutes, prisoners or new born babies for HIV/AIDS.

AIDS theater Teatro Gusto (San Francisco) In the spring of 1983, Tavera directed The Leash and a two-act version of Reunion with San Francisco's Teatro Gusto. Reunion is Filipino-American Edgar Poma’s play about a young Chicano’s coming out story.

National AIDS Theater Festivals In 1989, Tavera became the artistic director of the National AIDS Theater Festivals.

Awards and honors In 1989, Tavera received the "Excellent Leadership Award" from the Third World Counselors Association of California. In 1997, Tavera was the first to be awarded the "Premio Cultura Award" from the National LLEGO (Latina/o Lesbian and Gay Organization) in Puerto Rico at their Quinto Encuentro event.

Featured work and publications Tavera's poem "What Is AIDS Theater?" was used in Sandoval-Sanchez's book José, Can You See?: Latinos on and off Broadway as an exemplary definition of AIDS Theater. Sandoval-Sanchez states that AIDS Theater is "an act of mourning… solidarity… survival and creativity for those living with and affected by AIDS."