Dolzura Cortez
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Ma. Dolzura Cortez | |
|---|---|
| Born | Maria Dolzura Cortez 1960 or 1961 Mindanao, Philippines |
| Died | 1992 |
| Cause of death | AIDS |
| Known for | First publicly Filipino AIDS victim |
Ma. Dolzura Cortez (1960 or 1961 – 1992) was a Filipino who died of AIDS. She was the first Filipino with AIDS to publicly discuss her life and her experience living with HIV/AIDS.[1][2] Cortez responded to a newspaper ad looking for a person living with HIV/AIDS who was willing to have their life serialized in print and later developed into a movie.[3]
Her life story was made into the 1993 Filipino film Dahil Mahal na Mahal Kita (English "Because I Love You: The Dolzura Cortez Story"), directed by Laurice Guillen, screenplay by Ricardo Lee, starring Vilma Santos, Christopher de Leon, Charito Solis, Maila Gumila, Mikee Villanueva, and Jackie Aquino.
Born somewhere in Mindanao, Cortez, through a publicized newspaper story, revealed that at age 14, she first went into a relationship with an army corporal—a married man—"twice her age"; they had three children. She then migrated to Angeles City, Pampanga, where their relationship became complicated.[4]
She later worked at decent jobs, and with the help of an Australian businessman, she continued pursuing her education and started a business through a bar in Ermita, Manila. While managing a bar, she gave birth to two more children, each with a foreign contact—a Qatari and a Bahraini—one of whom is believed to have infected her with HIV.[4]
Her failure to seek refuge in her home town later forced her to live her remaining days in San Lazaro Hospital in Manila.[4] There Cortez, responding to a request by journalist Ceres Doyo of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, made her story public,[4] becoming the first person with AIDS (PWA) to openly admit suffering from the disease.[5]
Cortez died in the hospital[6] on October 12, 1992, at age 31.[4] According to the Department of Health she was the 50th person in the country to die of the disease.[5]