A Series Without Shame: Episodes and Interviews From HIV-Focused Telenovela Sin Vergüenza

JM Longoria III (Credit: Patrick Maus)

Joanna Zanella (Credit: Ernesto Olivares)

Paco Farias

Hilda Sandoval and Natalie Sanchez

Family secrets ... betrayed trust ... condom usage?

The classic, persistent themes of Spanish-language soap operas, also known as telenovelas, get a refreshing, enthralling update in Sin Vergüenza (Without Shame), the new telenovela that is taking the Internet by storm. Presented in English as well as Spanish, and imagined and realized by California's vast AltaMed health care network, the aim of the show is to "educate without being educational." The project is a unique endeavor -- it combines a fresh narrative format with the ability to tackle real-world issues such as HIV, stigma, lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender (LGBT) issues, family issues, infidelity, shame, aging, dating and more.

Acting Without Shame: HIV-Focused Bilingual Telenovela Informs and Entertains
Two of the actors from Sin Vergüenza, JM Longoria III, who plays gay son Enrique Salazar, and Joanna Zanella, who plays doting daughter Christina Salazar, spoke to TheBody.com about their experiences as part of this unique project. Both are performances not to be missed, and in this interview they discuss the honor of spreading HIV awareness through this project, why timing is essential and what they took away from playing Latinos who are dealing with issues of sexuality, condom usage, HIV and family secrets.

Haz clic aquí para ver la telenovela Sin Vergüenza, capítulo 1, en español.

Directing Without Shame: Bringing HIV-Focused Telenovela Sin Vergüenza to Life
In the second interview of this four-part series, Paco Farias, director of Sin Vergüenza, speaks about his history and admiration of telenovelas. Farias knew he wanted to pay homage to the format while updating it for a modern audience. Here, he talks about the lengths to which the actors went to perform scenes in English and Spanish; the privilege of being a Latino director taking the helm of this unique project; and his favorite scenes to shoot throughout the process.

Haz clic aquí para ver la telenovela Sin Vergüenza, capítulo 2, en español.

Creating Without Shame: Care Providers Turn Real-Life Stories Into an HIV-Focused Telenovela
In Part Three of this series of interviews, Sin Vergüenza's creators, Natalie Sanchez (HIV prevention program manager) and Hilda Sandoval (HIV psychosocial unit program manager) of AltaMed, talked with TheBody.com about every aspect of the process of creating this hard-hitting series. They discuss how they planned to make the series accessible for people of all backgrounds, and what it was like to try on the shoes of TV producers for six months.

Haz clic aquí para ver la telenovela Sin Vergüenza, capítulo 3, en español.

Coming Soon: Advocating Without Shame: Thinking About HIV-Focused Telenovela Sin Vergüenza
A review of the entirety of Sin Vergüenza and thoughts from the interviews with the creative team behind the series.