Ole! Throwing a party for your health
Where can you listen to a rock band and get your cholesterol checked at the same time? And did we mention the Mexican food?
The fifth annual Binational Health Week Mexico/United States is coming to East Boston next Saturday. And you don't have to be Mexican to enjoy the free entertainment and medical consultations in Spanish.
''Everyone is welcome," said Rodrigo Marquez, deputy consul of Mexico in Boston, whose government has joined forces with area health organizations and a pharmaceutical company to launch the fair in Boston for the first time this year.
The gathering at the East Boston Social Centers in Central Square will also offer free cholesterol and AIDS tests, dental screenings, and information on preventing chronic ailments that strike Hispanics more often than other groups. But don't think of it like a trip to the doctor's. Since few people enjoy the doctor's office, organizers said they hope to inject some fun in the experience, starting with the name of the health fair -- ''A tu Salud!"
'' 'A tu Salud!' has two meanings," explained Marquez. ''It [literally] means 'to your health,' but it also means 'Cheers!' The consul general said, 'Oh, that's good. It's a health party.' "
The Spanish rock group Karma will perform after the opening ceremony about midday. Xuchipilli, a local Mexican folk dancing troupe, will dance. As of last week, consular officials were still working out the catering details but promised a Mexican feast.
While organizers are taking a light-hearted approach, they hope to draw attention to serious health problems among Hispanics, who are more vulnerable to chronic illnesses such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease but less likely to have health insurance than non-Hispanics. One in three Hispanics is uninsured, compared with a national average of 15 percent, according to 2000 Census data.
Besides often lacking health insurance, foreign-born Hispanics suffer health problems associated with changes in diet, work habits, and lifestyle, said Eduardo Aguilu, executive director of the Latin American Health Institute, a South End-based public health organization that is one of the event sponsors.
The Mexican government launched health week in seven California counties in 2001. Last year more than 115,000 people attended events in 16 states.
This year, the week runs from Oct. 8 to 16 with fairs in 23 US states, 17 Mexican states, and three Canadian provinces. Boston's inclusion is one sign of the growing Hispanic population in Massachusetts, where Hispanics are the largest minority group, at 6.8 percent of the population, according to 2000 Census data.
''Although there is not a large community of Mexicans here in Massachusetts as in Texas and California, it is growing very fast," Marquez said.
Dr. Ana Lilia Rodriguez Ventura, a Mexican endocrinologist who works at Harvard University's Joslin Diabetes Center, said the event offers an opportunity for Hispanics to check their risk for the disease before it's too late. She said research shows that many people with early symptoms of diabetes can stop its development by changing their diet.
''So these types of events are very important," Rodriguez said.
The health fair is scheduled for next Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at East Boston Social Centers, 68 Central Square, East Boston. 
