Ilka Tanya Payán
| Ilka Tanya Payán | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
January 7, 1943 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
| Died | April 6, 1996 (aged 53) Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States |
Ilka Tanya Payán (January 7, 1943 – April 6, 1996) was a Dominican-born actress and attorney who later became a prominent HIV/AIDS activist in the United States.
Payán was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and immigrated to the United States at the age of thirteen, settling permanently in New York City. She became widely recognized for her role in the Spanish-language telenovela Angelica, Mi Vida ("Angelica, My Life"). It was from her role on this serial that provided Payán with the experience to move on to bigger roles in Hollywood with a small role in the film Scarface, and a guest role on the television series Hill Street Blues. Prior to these roles, she had worked in local theatrical and television projects in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Spain.
She also worked hard to encourage New York's Latino theater community. She was a founder of the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA), and was heavily involved with International Arts Relations (INTAR).
Payán studied law at Peoples College of Law in Los Angeles, California, and became an attorney in 1981, practicing immigration law. It was around this time she contracted HIV from a former lover, for which she did not test positive until 1986. Caught completely off guard by the discovery, she revealed her status to her husband, her then 22-year-old daughter, her niece, and several friends. She and her second husband separated several years later, and ultimately divorced. He never contracted HIV.
Payán did not publicly disclose her status until 1993. Payán's announcement shocked many in the Hispanic community because she was one of the first Latino celebrities to do so. While it was widely believed that the death of singer Héctor Lavoe in June 1993 influenced her, Payán in an interview with the New York Times said that it was an encounter with a man who she liked that helped her make the decision to announce her status. She confirmed to having HIV upon being asked by the interviewer.
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