Pedro Zamora; MTV Celebrity, AIDS Activist

MIAMI —  Pedro Zamora, a Cuban refugee who at 17 learned he was infected with the AIDS virus and became a nationally known activist and then a cast member of the MTV video verite “The Real World,” died Friday at a Miami hospital.

Zamora, 22, died of complications of the disease.

Zamora arrived in the United States with his parents and two siblings in 1980, one of more than 100,000 Cuban refugees who rode to freedom in the Mariel boat lift.

After Zamora learned he had HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, he went on a lecture tour, telling audiences at high schools and other organizations that he was infected through unprotected sex.

He testified at congressional hearings, gave interviews and made a television commercial about AIDS for the national Centers for Disease Control.

“Knowing that I could die has been scary,” he said in the ad. “But what’s even worse is knowing that my friends didn’t learn a thing from all this. They’re still doing what I did that got me infected.”

President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton expressed sadness at the death, saying Zamora taught young people that the real world includes AIDS and that “each of us has the responsibility to protect ourselves and our loved ones.”

Zamora was probably best known as a member of the seven-person cast of “The Real World.” The show features the experiences and problems of a group of young people who live together in front of cameras. Zamora’s sexuality and AIDS activism became plots in the show and his celebrity spurred letters from young people nationwide.

Two months ago, Zamora became severely ill during a visit to New York for an appearance on a morning television program. He was hospitalized for two weeks, then transferred to Miami where his condition deteriorated.