More than 100 people gathered on Monday at Plaza de La Raza in Lincoln Heights for Noche de las Memorias, a commemoration event marking World AIDS Day.
The event, back for its 32nd year, was organized by The Wall Las Memorias Project, a health and wellness organization in Los Angeles focused on serving the LGBTQ community.
During a candlelight ceremony, the names of 36 people who died of AIDS-related illnesses were unveiled on the AIDS Monument. United by loss and remembrance, friends and families gave testimonials throughout the night and shared memories of their loved ones.
Many wore red ribbons to show solidarity with people living with AIDS and sat through a prayer to urge families to remember the names and laughter of the partners, friends and family they’ve lost to AIDS and to always “love without reserve.”
Fox 11’s Laura Diaz hosted the event and also featured a performance by Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles.
A promise to continue the fight
Richard Zaldivar, founder of the Wall las Memories, has dedicated decades to honoring those lost to HIV/AIDS. He said he feels a sense of urgency to continue to advocate for research to end the epidemic, especially after a recent move from the Trump administration to stop officially commemorating World AIDS Day in the United States.
“People are still dying of AIDS. With a cutback of federal funds to do HIV testing, we’re going to possibly see additional names on these monuments,” Zaldivar said. “No matter what leader in this world says, we know what’s right and just and we’re not going to stop in our tracks. We’re going to continue to stop AIDS.”
As people hugged and enjoyed conchas and champurrado, the night was especially significant for Monterey Park resident Edgar Castagneto. He lost his brother, Humberto, to AIDS in 1997 and his name was unveiled on the memorial Monday night.
Due to the stigma and shame related to being gay in Latino families, Castagneto said, he and his mother were the only two people who knew the truth about his brother’s death. When his mother died last year, he became the sole keeper of the secret.
Through years of doubt, Castagneto decided to publicly acknowledge his brother by adding his name to the memorial.
“It’s kind of a breath of fresh air to actually acknowledge it on the memorial,” Castagneto said. “Doing this was one way to acknowledge it. It’s in stone. It’s not just on his tombstone, it’s here on the memorial to acknowledge what happened to him.”
Led by mariachis playing “Remember Me” from the film “Coco,” the crowd walked together from La Plaza to the AIDS memorial, each person carrying a candle to honor a loved one lost.
Castagneto ran his fingers over his brother’s name as others did the same for partners, friends or family members past.
Zaldivar said the names inscribed onto the memorial represented “the best of humanity.”
“It’s through the darkness where we find shame and guilt,” Zaldivar said. “We have to bring brightness to that and that’s what this day was all about.”
A shifting national backdrop
The ceremony came as federal and state leaders took sharply different approaches to World AIDS Day.
Last month, the State Department instructed employees and grantees not to use U.S. government funds to commemorate the day as part of a broader policy “to refrain from messaging on any commemorative days, including World AIDS Day,” according to The New York Times.
On Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation officially recognizing Dec. 1 as World AIDS Day in the state for the first time. “With the federal government pointedly not acknowledging World AIDS Day, we face a jarring return to that dangerous silence,” the proclamation reads. “California will not be silent.”
