Zamora's romantic relationship with Sean Sasser was also documented on the show; their relationship was later nominated by MTV viewers for "Favorite Love Story" award, [ 4 ] and the broadcast of their commitment ceremony in , in which they exchanged vows, was the first such same-sex ceremony in television history, and is considered a landmark in the history of the medium. President Bill Clinton credited Zamora with personalizing and humanizing those living with HIVβespecially to Latino communitiesβwith his activism, including his testimony before Congress.
This earned him an unfavorable reputation with local informants. As a result, life became increasingly difficult for the Zamoras, who lived in a small house with a dirt floor. Zoraida traded on the black market for food. In , when Zamora was eight, his family left Cuba for the United States during the Mariel boatlift. After five days of processing in Cuba, the entire family was to board when, hours before boarding, Cuban officials ruled that his four older brothers were too close to draft age and had to remain.
The Zamoras settled in Hialeah, Florida , a suburb of Miami. Zamora's mother died of skin cancer when he was He was an honor student , president of the Science Club, and captain of the Cross-Country team. At 14, Zamora's father discovered that he had a boyfriend. His father was accepting of Zamora's homosexuality, but concerned about homophobia and its potential dangers. In late , in his junior year of high school, year-old Zamora donated blood during a Red Cross blood drive.
A month later, he received a letter from the Red Cross informing him that his blood tested "reactive", though it did not specify for what. His family was devastated but remained supportive. Zamora's goal was to graduate from high school before he died, and he did so in Soon thereafter, he began to talk about his condition to others, wanting to raise awareness in his community. Zamora soon became a full-time AIDS educator. In five years, he spoke nationwide hundreds of times, attended an international AIDS conference, and even served on the board of a charitable trust endowed by insurance companiesβdespite being denied insurance for himself.
Sasser was moved by Zamora's presence and conviction, recalling, "I was kind of like, 'Wow. Zamora sent an audition tape for the show, thinking that he could reach more people simply by the national exposure than by constant travel. The producers had informed the other six castmates that one person was HIV-positive, but did not specify whom.
