On one side of the monument that remembers thousands of people who died from Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in the 1990s, the organization The Wall las Memorias organized the “Night of Memories.”
The event was part of the commemoration of World AIDS Day, a date that raises awareness about the Acquired Immunodeficiency Virus HIV/AIDS and celebrates the progress that science has made against the disease.
Globally, an estimated 88.4 million people have acquired HIV since the beginning of the epidemic in the early 1980s.
Nearly 40 million people around the world are currently living with HIV and more than 42 million people have had it and approximately 630,000 people have died from HIV worldwide in 2023.
The Wall Las Memorias monument, located in Lincoln Park in Lincoln Heights, features six murals depicting the life of AIDS in the Latino community, and two granite panels are inscribed with the names of 1,600 people who died from AIDS. the disease.
“I think it is important to remember that World AIDS Day is a time to remember those who dedicated time to the tremendous fight we face [contra la enfermedad]“Richard Zaldívar, executive director of The Wall las Memorias, told La Opinión.
“We have been fighting for rights and for medical care,” he added, but warned that in the coming months there will be a new federal administration “and we will not stop fighting for our community. We will do it until we end HIV.”
Zaldívar considered that it could be analyzed that President-elect Donald Trump feels hatred towards the LGBTQ community, although he and the supporters of The Wall Las Memorias think that their fight will be strong “because we are powerful, we have a powerful voice and community.”
“If we unite, we will be more powerful than the president who arrives [Donald Trump]”, he stressed. “We will come with power; “We have a sense of democracy, freedom of expression and we know that our work and our struggle will not rest.”
The battle with the Trump Administration for federal funds for preventive medical services and education destined for organizations that help and serve the LGBTQ community would be protected, according to Congresswoman Nanette Díaz Barragán.
“First, we have to see that in the House of Representatives the Republicans only have a small majority; It only has about three more seats than the Democrats, and we have to use our power,” Díaz Barragán told La Opinión.
“We are going to fight for those funds and work with the new secretary of health,” he indicated.
The loss of a great friend and mentor
Emilio Flores, an ally of The Wall las Memorias, recalled the death of his friend and professor David Morris.
“He died of AIDS and the truth is, for many years I never knew he was sick,” Flores said. “I knew him since I was in high school and even when I started college, he was always making sure I did well in my studies.”
Flores recalled that Professor Harris gave him advice and on one occasion that he asked him for help with a move. He did it without expecting anything in return, although in the end the professor gave him $300, which was precisely the amount he needed to pay the rent for the apartment where he lived.
That relationship of friendship and mutual respect helped Emilio Flores forget the derogatory stereotypes that he had learned in his native El Salvador, against homosexual or non-binary people. David Harris died in 2000.
About 52,000 people with HIV live in Los Angeles County and, according to Department of Public Health officials, an estimated 1,400 new HIV infections are reported each year, with a disproportionate number of cases seen among gay men. , African Americans, Latino individuals and transgender people.
“This year’s theme of collective action is central to the spirit of World AIDS Day and our goals,” DPH Director Barbara Ferrer said in a written statement. “We are committed to working with multi-sector partners to end the transmission of HIV and create a future where all people affected by HIV receive the support they need.”
As part of its Initiative to End the HIV Epidemic, DPH offers more than 35 HIV-related programs and partners with organizations for outreach and education, HIV/STD testing [Enfermedades de Transmisión Sexual] community-based, linkage to care and intensive street assistance.
Education and taboos
Gabriel Redondo, a worker in the entertainment industry and contributor to The Wall las Memorias, shared that his family lost a maternal uncle, Francisco Javier Ruiz Gutiérrez, a victim of AIDS.
“I didn’t really know him. He passed away before I was born. He was my mother’s younger brother,” said Redondo, who was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco and emigrated to the United States five years ago. “He died of AIDS.
Gabriel expressed that in his house his mother’s family, his aunt or his grandmother all knew, but they did not say the cause of Francisco Javier’s death, until his mother told him when he had grown up.
“I was surprised by the fact that they have hidden that part of my uncle’s life, because in the end, who am I to judge him? Whatever he did with his life or not, it was him. “It’s not my turn to say or give an opinion.” His uncle died at age 29, in the 1990s.
Gabriel Redondo said that, currently, in the Latin community there are still many taboos or “a lot of judgment” against the LGBTQ community.
“I believe that educating and informing ourselves allows for prevention, but I also say, if someone close to your family becomes ill with HIV, then they should learn that the disease can be treatable, and that it should not be like the story that happened with my uncle, when “There were no great medical advances, but there was a lot of shame and guilt.”
“We must continue seeing the people we love for the value they have as people and not for what they do,” he concluded.