Coach’s Story:
“I first confronted the HIV/AIDS pandemic when I worked at a summer camp for kids effected by HIV/AIDS when I was 19. As a counselor I started to witness the complex layers and the wide reach of this devastating virus. I saw how entrenched so many things can be, like self-esteem, access to resources, sexuality, abuse, addiction, power in decision-making, all helping to explain the place at which we have arrived as a global community. Personal knowledge is of vital importance with fighting this disease; to know how to protect yourself is essential in curbing the spread of HIV/AIDS because that knowledge enables you to protect yourself while also being a guide to others, whether or not you are sexually active. Sports is, also, such a central tool in fighting HIV/AIDS as a constructive catalyst of community-building, self-esteem, communication, responsibility, and leadership. By playing soccer young people gain access to a healing tool in their lives, just as art can be or acting, dancing, singing, or writing. When I was young, great leaders inspired me like Frantz Fanon, Kwame Nkrumah, Walter Sisulu, and Paul Robeson. They inspired me to be an actor and writer and have faith in my voice. Hopefully, we can each help to inspire one another with the shining examples of ourselves.”
Bio
Carlos Andrés Gómez, an award-winning poet and actor from New York City, has been described as “raw and intense…a rebel Don Juan with a sensitive edge” (Underrated Magazine). A former social worker and teacher, he has performed at over 100 colleges and universities and toured across North America, Europe, the Caribbean, and Africa. He is the 2006 Toronto International Poetry Slam Champion and a two-time National Poetry Slam Finalist, as a member of the legendary Nuyorican Poets Cafe’s Slam Team that finished 2nd and with the NYC/louderARTS Slam Team that finished 3rd in the U.S. He co-stars in Spike Lee’s #1 box office smash hit film that was seleected as one of AFI’s 10 Most Outstanding Motion Pictures of 2006, “INSIDE MAN” (Universal Pictures), with a lead role alongside Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, and Clive Owen (www.theinsideman.net). Most recently, he appears on the sixth season of HBO’s “Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry.” To learn more about Carlos, visit his website, www.carloslive.com.A www.carloslive.com.
