Eli Reed traveled to the central Amazon region to follow several people living with HIV. In Peru, men who have sex with men, transvestites, and commercial sex workers are hardest hit by the disease. Stigma and ignorance-about sexual orientation or simply about HIV-make living a normal life impossible for those infected by HIV and prevent many people from testing for fear of persecution if it is known they are positive.

José Luis Tomajanbo, 60, is single and lives in Iquitos. Before becoming sick with AIDS, José Luis worked as a cook for 40 years and was a pillar of support to his family, but stopped working one year. Since starting treatment, José Luis has gained 45 pounds, sleeps better, and is back in the kitchen, now living with his 94-year-old mother so he can save money to open his own restaurant. "The fear-more than anything else, the fear! I cried a lot. But people who are seeing me again now that I am recovering are admiring my health and are already asking me when I will go back to work."

As long as she can remember, Ana María Quispé, 22, "felt more like a girl than a boy." In Pucallpa, she worked as a domestic worker, but since testing positive for HIV, she has feared losing her job, her home, and the possibility of reconnecting with her family. "I thought that was it. I wanted to take something so I could end my life." Her family has learned she is HIV-positive and, to her surprise, has invited her to return home. She has joined the support group for transvestites in Yurimaguas. "Now I am well, I have changed my life … I feel good."