Hispanic activists turn attention to single message: Help stop the spread of coronavirus

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Click here to read this story in Spanish

TAMPA — Jeannie Calderin is inching close to video stardom, not as an entertainer but for bringing a doctor in Puerto Rico to her organization’s Facebook page to help Spanish speakers get the information they need about the coronavirus.

Calderin and Somos Puerto Rico Tampa are among a dozen Hispanic advocates in the Tampa Bay area who spreading the information using social media and all the communication tools at their disposal.

“Let’s be responsible and be part of a solution,” Calderin said. "How? Take all the necessary precautions and stay home.”

A live video at Somos Puerto Rico Tampa Facebook page on Tuesday drew about 8,000 views, with Calderin holding up her camera to a laptop showing Dr. Karen Ruperto Rivera, director of the Ponce de Leon School of Medicine in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

Ruperto emphasized the importance of social distancing.

“This is a real situation and an epidemic because not everyone manifests the disease in the same way,” she said. “This type of virus can cause a major complication. Please stay at home.”

[The struggle to find information on coronavirus is even harder in Spanish]

Why reach all the way to Puerto Rico for help?

Somos Puerto Rico Tampa has close ties with the island territory and worked to deliver aid there following the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017 and an earthquake in 2018. What’s more, people of Puerto Rican heritage account for the largest share of the Hispanic population in Hillsborough County — 113,000 people, according to Census data from 2017. Cubans are No. 2 at 86,000 followed by Mexicans at 73,000.

Overall, 237,000 people identified as Spanish speakers in Hillsborough County,of whom 94,000 said they speak English less than “very well," according to Census data from 2015.

Local Hispanic advocacy groups are working to do “our part” as one community when it comes to coronavirus, Calderin said.

“If you can, please stay at home,” she advised. “I understand some people can’t work from home and that is when employers need to make sure employees have all the tools needed to be as safe as possible.”

Faith Florida and the Florida Migrant Coalition started spreading the word about two weeks ago through community meetings and partnerships. They stepped up their efforts this week with the announcement of major restrictions on crowd size.

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Norma Camero, president of Casa Venezuela Tampa Bay, is communicating from home using her social media platforms.

Her mesasage to followers: “We don’t need to follow people who think they are ‘experts’,” No, it’s time to listen to our local government and health authorities. Let’s stay in our homes. Let’s forget the beaches, restaurants and parks for now.”

Camero is posting recommendations and newsletters from the Florida Health Department on Facebook and WhatsApp. One Venezuelan immigrant contacted her Tuesday morning asking where she can get a coronavirus test.

Also reaching out is Roberto Pizano, a member of the Tampa organization Casa Cuba and a political prisoner in Cuba for 18 years. Pizano, 82, said he has been in contact by phone with friends and Cuban dissidents in Tampa and Miami to be sure that everyone is getting the word.

“Most of us are seniors, as you know, so it’s a delicate situation,” Pizano said. “My message was and is simple: Stay at home and follow the news. Be alert but don’t panic. ”

Lurvin Lizardo, a Honduran activist and a member of the Florida Migrant Coalition, said the group is sending text messages every day to members because she finds them more efficient than Facebook posts. Many members work in the service industry and only have access to cell phones.

Lizardo said Hispanics employed as migrant farmworkers are especially worried because they get work day to day and don’t have health insurance.

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