The third season of MTV's Real World begins June 23.  This cast includes
Miamian Pedro Zamora, a high-profile AIDS activist.  The show and he are
profiled in an article in today's Miami Herald, which includes the
following by Rene Rodriguez:

     When the third season of "The Real World", MTV's reality-based soap
opera, premieres at 10 tonight, expect at least one major improvement: a
lot less bickering.

     So says Miami's Pedro Zamora, one of the seven young adults thrown
together by the network to live in an ultra-chic San Francisco pad for
five months and have their every word recorded.  The show's appeal comes
from watching the group adapt - sometimes loudly- to each other's
personalities.

.....

     When Zamora auditioned for the show last year, he saw it as a natural
progression of his work.  "It's a great way to educate people [about
AIDS], because when I go into a presentation, I'm only there for an
hour.  I talk about the times that I'm happy and have a lot of energy,
or I can talk about the times that I'm sick and that I'm scared, but
they can't *see* it.  They're just seeing me speak about it."

     "This was the perfect way to have people see it all.  I had cameras
following me when I was at the park playing soccer with Judd, and I had
cameras with me when I was talking to the doctor and not feeling well.
It's important, especially for young people, to see me living with six
other people and to see that we could get along.  Yes, some issues came
up about HIV and AIDS, but it wasn't a big deal.  We discussed them, we
talked about them, and we moved on."

.....

     Like the earlier shows, Zamora says the third season of "The Real
World" will have its share of twists - including his romantic
relationship with Sean, whom he meets during the third episode (and
eventually exchanges rings with), both surprising and delighting his
roommates.

"There were times when I asked the cameras not to follow me, and they
actually didn't," Zamora says.  "When I started dating Sean, they came
to the first date, and it was *really* weird.  [The next day] I called
them and said 'I want to go out with this guy again, but don't want the
cameras to be there, because I'm trying to figure out what's going on,
and it's *not* *going* *to* *happen* with the cameras there.'  They said
fine, and didn't follow us for a few days."

.....

The cast:

The cuban-born Zamora, 22, who learned at age 17 that he was HIV
positive; he since has garnered much attention for his work as an AIDS
educator, addressing high school kids across the United States.

Cory, 20, a cheery, somewhat naive junior for the University
of California at San Diego, where her major is undecided - like most
everything else in her life.

Mohammed, 24, a musician, writer and occasional poet, whose band
Midnight Voices is a popular fixture in the San Francisco area clubs.

Puck, 25, a San Francisco bicycle messenger whose personal grooming
habits - or lack thereof - shock the roommates.

Judd, 24, a freelance cartoonist/animator who rapidly becomes the
group's laid back wit.

Rachel, 23 a diehard Republican whose conservative views lead to many
heated discussions.

Pam, 26, a third-year medical student from Los Angeles who seems to be
the most mature and methodical of the group.

.....

Included is a beautiful color photo of the very attractive Zamora, and
another of the group.  Judd has his arm around Zamora.
-- 
Sim Aberson        AOML/Hurricane Research Division         Miami, FL