The Latino
Players in the Prop. 8 Fight: Mayors and Models

Jose Eduardo Verastegui is tall, dark, and handsome, not to mention rich and famous. This Latino actor and sex symbol was a favorite of gay Mexicans and Mexican-Americans -- until he came out as one of the loudest proponents of California's Proposition 8.

The pitched battle raging between gay leaders and conservative Christians over the ballot initiative that could take marriage rights away from same-sex couples has spread beyond California's borders: The Utah-based Mormon Church has contributed the bulk of the money to promote Proposition 8, and many donors to the fight against the initiative live thousands of miles from the Golden State.

Now the fight has reached Mexico, where one of that country's biggest young stars is being recruited to convince California's Latinos to vote for Proposition 8. The voice and face of Verastegui -- a Mexican actor and model who was named by People en Espanol as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world -- can currently be found on airwaves and television screens calling for a yes vote on Proposition 8.

The 34-year-old actor garnered attention from roles in the English-language film Chasing Papi, the canceled Shannen Doherty series Charmed, and a Jennifer Lopez video. He's a devout Catholic who has urged Latinos to vote not only against same-sex marriage but also abortion rights and Barack Obama. Not surprisingly, gay fans and gay supporters have turned on Verastegui -- Mexican pop star Paulina Rubio is rumored to have called him ignorant. Latina.com said of Verastegui, "[he] used to make us weak in the knees, but lately he' s just making us sick to our stomachs."

While many Latinos are Catholic, it's not clear whether this voting bloc is being influenced by people like Verastegui. According to the Sacramento Bee, a Field Poll revealed 37% favored the same-sex marriage ban and 44% opposed it.

No on Prop. 8, the group fighting to defeat the ballot initiative, is not taking any chances. They just released a commercial to Spanish-speaking markets on Monday featuring three Latinos who appear on Ugly Betty -- star America Ferrera, along with Tony Plana and Ana Ortiz -- telling voters that Proposition 8 would hurt families, not help them.

Javier Angulo, No on Prop. 8's deputy political director, said the campaign is also taking advantage of Los Angeles's popular mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa.

The Democrat has donated $25,000 to fight Prop. 8 and will appear on robo-calls reaching out to Latino voters. Angulo's colleague at No on Prop. 8, Monica Trasandes, says, "We've gotten our message out there." She pointed to appearances by No on Prop. 8 officials on CNN Espanol, Telemundo, and the popular L.A. Spanish-language radio show Piolin por la Manana.

But Yes on 8 is fighting hard as well.

Los Angeles neighborhoods have been blanketed by Spanish-language fliers that call for the protection of California's children. Angulo says that No on 8 signs and posters are being distributed, but an effort to cover northeastern neighborhoods that are home to high concentrations of Latinos was fruitless because the signs were routinely stolen.

"We're not going to spend additional funds on that," Angulo says. "We're making the best use of our time. We're communicating with voters one-on-one." (Neal Broverman, The Advocate)