José Eduardo Verástegui, a Mexican soap opera star and fashion model whom People en Español magazine named one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world, is taking to the airwaves to persuade California voters on two emotionally charged social issues.

Verástegui is the face - and voice - of Spanish-language commercials calling for "yes" votes in favor of a parental notification law for abortion and a ban on same-sex marriage.

His presence in the campaigns for Propositions 4 and 8 underscores the fight for a critical constituency that could decide either measure.

Latino, mostly Catholic, voters overwhelmingly favor Proposition 4. Their turnout is considered key to whether the parental notification initiative passes after two previous ballot failures.

On gay marriage, Latino voters are split. They may well prove to be a critical swing vote on Proposition 8.

From Spanish-language television commercials to inserts in church bulletins, proponents of the initiatives are trying to reach voters such as Juan Navarro, a 44-year-old farmworker from Turlock.

Navarro read translated ballot arguments for Proposition 4 and decided he will vote in favor of the measure requiring doctors to give a parent or guardian 48 hours notice before performing an abortion on a girl under 18.

"There shouldn't be a situation where a girl is in a hospital or a clinic and nobody knows about it," said Navarro, a Catholic who strongly opposes abortion on religious grounds.

Navarro is also a "yes" vote on Proposition 8 because, he said, his faith teaches him that marriage between a man and a woman "is essential to procreation for the continuation of the world."

To reach similar voters, the Yes on 8 campaign is spending $1 million on Spanish-language TV and radio ads. One radio spot features Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles.

Frank Shubert, manager of the Yes on 8 campaign, said "we have tremendous involvement from the Catholic Church" in pushing the message that gay marriage is wrong and that "children need a mother and a father."

But other influential Latinos, including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and leaders of the United Farm Workers union, are spreading the word that Proposition 8 is anti-civil rights.

Villaraigosa, who contributed $25,000 to the No on 8 campaign, put out a statement describing his pride in officiating same-sex weddings since the state Supreme Court in June ruled that gay marriage is legal under the California constitution.

Yvette Martinez, political director of the No on 8 campaign, said bilingual phone bank volunteers are appealing to Latinos to be supportive of their family members, regardless of sexual orientation.

"Familia es familia - family is family," Martinez said. "We don't treat anyone differently in our families, gay or straight."

That appeal works for Aurora Rodriguez, a retired teacher in Contra Costa County who favors Proposition 4 but opposes 8.

Rodriguez, a volunteer at a Catholic church in Walnut Creek, agrees with church bulletins that say parents should be notified if a teen is seeking an abortion. On gay marriage, she said, "As a Catholic, I'm not supposed to be for it." But her life has told her otherwise.

"I have a brother who was gay," Rodriguez said. "He died of AIDS. I would support him if he had come to me and said he wanted to get married." Rodriguez symbolizes the complex emotions among many Latino voters over social and religious issues.

In a late September state Field Poll, 62 percent of Latinos supported the abortion notification measure. On gay weddings, Latinos were more divided. Thirty-nine percent favored the same-sex marriage ban and 44 percent opposed it. Gaston Espinosa, a Claremont McKenna College professor who studies Hispanic churches, said more Latinos may support Proposition 4 because of a cultural sense that "family issues are decided by the family, not by people outside the family."

Besides religious opposition to abortion, he said it is common for Latino parents to help daughters who become pregnant to raise their babies. But Espinosa said more Latinos are more indifferent to gay marriage as an issue.

While many Latino voters oppose gay marriage on moral grounds, many naturalized citizens from urban Mexico tend to be more accepting. Same-sex civil unions are legal in Mexico City and one northern Mexican state.

But at Our Lady of Guadalupe church in Sacramento, the 7,000 parishioners - virtually all of them Latino - are given "Catholics for Marriage Protection" pamphlets written in Spanish. And the church pastor, the Rev. Lino Otero, notes, "The Mexican government doesn't represent what the church teaches."

Meanwhile, Otero delivers sermons on Proposition 4 endorsing "the authority of parents" and "the right to know" about teen abortions.

The No on 4 campaign is running Spanish-language commercials featuring Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina. In the ads, she warns of nuestras hijas en peligro - our daughters in danger - who could be subject to abuse or unsafe, clandestine abortions if Proposition 4 passes.

While many official proponents of Proposition 4 also favor Proposition 8 and many opponents reject both measures, the correlation doesn't necessarily extend to voters.

Alejandro Madrigal, 30, a Shasta County real estate agent and father of three, said he believes the parental notification measure could spare a young girl from an "damaging," "life-changing" abortion and give time to explore options such as adoption.

But Madrigal said gays "should be able to marry just like everyone else."

"They're our policemen. They're our firemen. They fight in our wars," he said. "If they can run into a burning building ... they should have an opportunity to marry."

es familia – family is family," Martinez said. "We don't treat anyone differently in our families, gay or straight." That appeal works for Aurora Rodriguez, a retired teacher in Contra Costa County who favors Proposition 4 but opposes 8. Rodriguez, a volunteer at a Catholic church in Walnut Creek, agrees with church bulletins that say parents should be notified if a teen is seeking an abortion. On gay marriage, she said, "As a Catholic, I'm not supposed to be for it." But her life has told her otherwise. "I have a brother who was gay," Rodriguez said. "He died of AIDS. I would support him if he had come to me and said he wanted to get married." Rodriguez symbolizes the complex emotions among many Latino voters over social and religious issues. In a late September state Field Poll, 62 percent of Latinos supported the abortion notification measure. On gay weddings, Latinos were more divided. Thirty-nine percent favored the same-sex marriage ban and 44 percent opposed it. Gaston Espinosa, a Claremont McKenna College professor who studies Hispanic churches, said more Latinos may support Proposition 4 because of a cultural sense that "family issues are decided by the family, not by people outside the family." Besides religious opposition to abortion, he said it is common for Latino parents to help daughters who become pregnant to raise their babies. But Espinosa said more Latinos are more indifferent to gay marriage as an issue. While many Latino voters oppose gay marriage on moral grounds, many naturalized citizens from urban Mexico tend to be more accepting. Same-sex civil unions are legal in Mexico City and one northern Mexican state. But at Our Lady of Guadalupe church in Sacramento, the 7,000 parishioners – virtually all of them Latino – are given "Catholics for Marriage Protection" pamphlets written in Spanish. And the church pastor, the Rev. Lino Otero, notes, "The Mexican government doesn't represent what the church teaches." Meanwhile, Otero delivers sermons on Proposition 4 endorsing "the authority of parents" and "the right to know" about teen abortions. The No on 4 campaign is running Spanish-language commercials featuring Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina. In the ads, she warns of nuestras hijas en peligro – our daughters in danger – who could be subject to abuse or unsafe, clandestine abortions if Proposition 4 passes. While many official proponents of Proposition 4 also favor Proposition 8 and many opponents reject both measures, the correlation doesn't necessarily extend to voters. Alejandro Madrigal, 30, a Shasta County real estate agent and father of three, said he believes the parental notification measure could spare a young girl from an "damaging," "life-changing" abortion and give time to explore options such as adoption. But Madrigal said gays "should be able to marry just like everyone else." "They're our policemen. They're our firemen. They fight in our wars," he said. "If they can run into a burning building … they should have an opportunity to marry." Call Peter Hecht, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5539.