HIV/AIDS Patients at the San José Hospice, San Pedro Sula, Honduras. April 1994/5

This is one of a series of photographic essays that document the principle transmission route of the HIV/AIDS epidemic from the city’s brothels into the wider population of San Pedro Sula.

I returned briefly to the San José Hospice once again in April 1994. These colour photographs were taken using transparency film and later digitised.

The hospice is run by Jospice International a UK based Catholic charity which opened in 1991 for all patients, however by 1993 it was devoted specifically for the care of HIV/AIDS patients.

Before the hospice opened many patients had been abandoned by the health authorities and their families, often leaving them to fend for themselves on the city streets. They were described as the living dead having suffered from exclusion, lack of empathy, understanding, ignorance and fear from their fellow citizens. Some patients were supported my family and friends, however most were never visited, dying alone and were buried in unmarked graves.

Contracting the HIV virus in 1995 meant a certain and swift death as no antiretroviral medicines or therapies were available at this time. As the general health of these patients was low, most died quickly from opportunist infections such as tuberculosis (TB) and pneumonia caused by the rapid breakdown of their bodies immune system.

The nursing staff at the hospice at this time could only provide basic medication, care, safety and spiritual support for their patients.

Each patient gave permission to be photographed in hope their images would put a human face to the HIV/AIDS global pandemic.

These photographs/text have been used worldwide by agencies, charities, university libraries and archives to record, illustrate and publicise the HIV/AIDS epidemic in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. 1993-95.

An exhibition featuring photographs from the San José Hospice and Hotel Fanny from 1993 was purchased by the Untied Nations Population Fund (UNFPS) and exhibited at the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994.

A selection of photographs were used in the C4 documentary film, the Bar Girl, the Catholic the Pimp and the Priest (1994) which documented the debt system which entraps girls into sex work.

Panos Pictures and the World Health Organisation.

In 2007 photographs were used The American Foundation for Aids Research (amfAR) in New York to help fund and promote their work. The resulting DVD was narrated by Elizabeth Taylor and Edward Kennedy.

During July 2026, 100 digital captioned photographs, diary excerpts and texts from all the projects listed below were acquired by the University of California San Fransisco digital Calisphere library for long term preservation, academic study and public accessibility.

Web pages that relate to this project:

[H 00] The corner perimeter wall and sign for the San José Hospice. The sign reads Dum Spiro Spero which is a latin phase for While I Breath I Hope.

[H 01] Héctor is a transgender sex worker and is now HIV positive with multiple health problems associated with the breakdown of her immune system. She was born male but identifies himself as both male and female. I asked her how he had lost the end of his thumb, he said he had been in a relationship with another man who believed he was female. Héctor said she never allowed him to see him naked and during sex he got into a position where his partner believed his anus was a vagina. However, her partner eventually discovered this deception and cut her thumb off to remind her… “everyday of what he had done”. #1

[H 02] Héctor makes a heart shaped smoke ring. #2

[H 03] This woman is the oldest HIV patient at the hospice, she is 60 years old.

[H 03A] A new patient in the TB isolation room. The nurses T-shirt reads El Hospicio De San Jose Da Esperanza A La Persona which translates, San José Hospice gives hope to the person.

[H 04] Two patients who have formed a relationship during their time at the hospice.

[H 05] Patient is visited by his sister.

[H 06] Crouching patient.

[H 06A] This patient holds the Miraculous Medal of Mary. The medal is a devotional item which symbolises the spiritual defeat of evil and Satan. It is also associated with miraculous healings, offering a sense of hope even when a medical cure is not possible.

[H 07] Despondent patients in the men’s ward. Both men contracted HIV from sex workers. #1

[H 08] Despondent patients in the men’s ward. Both men contracted HIV from sex workers. #2

[H 08A] These children contracted HIV from their mothers while they were pregnant. Both children have itchy skin caused by eczema and are being treated with a corticosteroid cream.

[H 09] This patient said he would be overjoyed if he could swim one more time in the Caribbean sea. Transport was arranged by the hospice for him to travel with two nurses to Tela a small town on the western Caribbean coast, 60 miles west of San Pedro Sula. With the help of the nurses who supported him in the water he was able to accomplish his final wish. #1

[H 10] As soon as other swimmers saw him being helped into the sea they quickly swam away and left the water. #2

[H 11] #3

[H 12] #4