EL VACILÓN DE LA MAÑANA, NY'S #1 MORNING SHOW, SUPPORTS NATIONAL LATINO AIDS AWARENESS DAY WITH ON-AIR TESTING

In recognition of National Latino AIDS Awareness Day, the crew of NY's number one radio morning show, Mega 97.9 FM/WSKQ's El Vacilon de la Mañana received HIV tests on the air today. Host Luis Jimenez, his co-host Moonshadow and the members of the morning show crew received tests administered by Dr. Freddy Molano of the Community Healthcare Network and individual pre-test counseling from Nilda Carrasquillo of the Latino Commission on AIDS.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2003
Contact: Judy Faber, 212-541-9200, x629

EL VACILÓN DE LA MAÑANA, NY'S #1 MORNING SHOW, SUPPORTS NATIONAL LATINO AIDS AWARENESS DAY WITH ON-AIR TESTING

NEW YORK – In recognition of National Latino AIDS Awareness Day, the crew of NY's number one radio morning show, Mega 97.9 FM/WSKQ's El Vacilon de la Mañana received HIV tests on the air today. Host Luis Jimenez, his co-host Moonshadow and the members of the morning show crew received tests administered by Dr. Freddy Molano of the Community Healthcare Network and individual pre-test counseling from Nilda Carrasquillo of the Latino Commission on AIDS.    

"We have a position in the community where people look at us as role models and we should take advantage of that to encourage people to test themselves for HIV," said Luis Jimenez. Although some members of the crew were initially apprehensive about taking the tests on the air, Luis' words convinced them that the opportunity to educate the public about AIDS first hand took precedence over their personal fears.

Dr. Molano explained on the air that the simple blood test is quick and easy and the results would be available within 10 minutes. In the event that a test came out positive, a second test known as the Western Blot would be administered to confirm the screening test results. During the show, each member of the crew received their individual counseling and then received their blood test. The results were announced on the air at the end of the show with each member testing negative.

"The radio personalities handled the whole thing with class and respect," said Dennis de Leon, President of the Latino Commission on AIDS. "They took the subject seriously and provided much potentially life saving information to hundreds of thousands of people."

HIV infection has been a fact of life in most Latino communities throughout the United States for over 20 years. Surveys of Latinos consistently find that AIDS is seen as the number one health issue in this country. In fact, in 2001, over 150,000 Latino AIDS cases have been reported and Latinos compromise 14% of the population in the United States but account for 20% (71,600) of all those living with AIDS.

For more information on National Latino AIDS Awareness day, log in to http://www.latinoaids.org or contact Nilda M. Carrasquillo at (212) 584-9303. Testing is also available through the Alianza Dominicana (212-927-6810) and the Hispanic AIDS Forum (212) 563-4500.

In this year's recently announced Summer Arbitron ratings, WSKQ jumped from 10th to second place overall in the competitive New York City market, averaging 4.5% of the audience compared to 3.5% in the spring. El Vacilón de la Mañana was also second overall, averaging 6.5% of the audience, and for the first time it beat Howard Stern among 18- to 34-year-olds, 11.7% to 11.2%.

Spanish Broadcasting, the largest Hispanic radio broadcasting company in the United States, owns WSKQ-FM. Spanish Broadcasting currently owns and/or operates 27 stations in seven of the top-ten U.S. Hispanic markets, including Los Angeles, New York, Puerto Rico, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco and San Antonio. The Company also operates LaMusica.com, a bilingual Spanish-English Web site providing content related to Latin music, entertainment, news and culture.

For more information and to arrange interviews with Luis Jimenez, please contact Judy Faber at 212-541-9200, x629. To hear today's show, log in to http://www.elvacilon.net.