The Barometer Online

Issue date: 2/14/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Molly Whiteside Emilio Magaña, center, participates in a game during a discussion of safe sex at the Centro Cultural César Chavez on Tuesday evening. Magaña helped the center coordinate the event.

It was beginning to sound like a Marcy Playground song, but the Centro Cultural César Chavez was not hosting a '90s pop band.

"Condoms and Candies" - not to be confused with the 1998 song "Sex and Candy" - was a night of sexual education hosted by the 4Cs.

Antonio Torres, a member of the Latino Outreach Program through the Benton County Public Health Division, led the night's activities.

Torres led an icebreaker game similar to the ones he would use in outreach to Latino residents of Benton County.

"There's a lot of myths that the Latino community hears," Torres said.

Torres asked the group, which consisted of more than just Latino community members, to find a word relating to sexuality for each letter of the alphabet.

"I'm going to go with 'dildo,'" an OSU student yelled from across the room.

"You guys are very appropriate," Torres said in reference to a group of students that preferred the word "marriage" to "masturbation" for the letter M.

Torres, who works with Latino communities in Benton County, explained that there is a stigma involved with talking about sex openly.

"More with the Latino community, it's something that's not talked about," Torres said.

HIV and AIDS are spread through four different bodily fluids: semen, blood, breast milk and vaginal secretions.

According to health officials, the best way to prevent infection is to use a condom. It is important to use a condom correctly, as that is the only way it will protect you from sexually transmitted infections, Torres said.

"Remember, they're not just for vaginal intercourse," said Stacey Edwards, Student Health Services Peer Advocates coordinator.

Edwards warned that STIs can be transmitted through anal and oral sex as well.

Torres and Edwards, at one time, worked together in the Benton County Public Health Division. Edwards explained that the 4Cs approached her, and she found Torres for them.

"A lot of Latinos don't know a lot about sexual health," said Emilio Magaña, the 4Cs coordinator of the event. That was why he wanted Torres to come and teach.

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