World AIDS Day vigil in Laguna Beach pays tribute to those who died

LAGUNA BEACH  For Daniel Garza, the candlelight vigil at Main Beach in commemoration of World AIDS Day was personal.
The 16-year AIDS survivor remembered many dozens who lost the fight over the years, including three who died this year as a result of the deadly virus that attacks the body’s immune system.
Names on paper hearts hang from a tree as AIDS victims names are read aloud during a vigil at Main Beach in Laguna Beach on Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)About sixty people gather for a World AIDS Day vigil at Main Beach in Laguna Beach on Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)People hold onto electronic lights and hold hearts with the names of AIDS victims during a World AIDS Day vigil at Main Beach in Laguna Beach on Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)People sing “Hallelujah” during a World AIDS Day vigil at Main Beach in Laguna Beach on Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)Names and messages are written onto hearts before being read aloud during a World AIDS Day vigil at Main Beach in Laguna Beach on Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)About 60 people gather at Main Beach in Laguna Beach on Friday, Dec. 1, 2017 for a World AIDS Day candlelight vigil. Since 1984 when the virus was identified, more than 35 million people have died of HIV or AIDS. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)Gina Mead writes down the name of Katie M., who she says would have been her sister-in-law, and adds it to a tree of hearts with names of AIDS victims during a vigil at Main Beach in Laguna Beach on Friday, Dec. 1, 2017 for World AIDS Day. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)People begin to gather, writing names of AIDS victims of hearts before reading them aloud at Main Beach in Laguna Beach on Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)Show Caption of Expand
“A day like this is an opportunity to remember their lives and their fight,” said Garza, 46, of Laguna Beach.
On Friday, Dec.1, Garza was among dozens who stood on the cobblestones at Main Beach at sunset. Participants held lights as the names of at least 280 men, women and children who have died from AIDS in Laguna Beach were read. Each name was punctuated with the ring of a bell.
World Aids Day was started in 1988 and is held each Dec. 1. There were 36.7 million people worldwide living with HIV at the end of 2016, according to the World Health Organization.
In Laguna Beach, the event has been held for more than 15 years and is organized by the city’s HIV Advisory Committee. While it pays tribute, it is also a push for awareness and education about a disease that continues to carry stigma and discrimination, said Garza, who chairs the committee.
In Orange County, about 13,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS and about 350 new cases are reported each year, according to data from Orange County Health Agency.
That number has been on the rise in the past five years with new cases diagnosed primarily in young people, ages 13-24, and among the older population of 65 years and up, Garza said.
“Kids are having sex a lot younger and parents aren’t talking about it,” he said. “There is still a lot of stigma. In the older population, the little blue pill allows people to have sex at an older age. We need to do more with education.”
Lori Landau, 60,of Laguna Woods, came upon the memorial by chance.
“I had a close friend we called Aunt Steven,” she said. “He passed away in 2000. I think of him once in a while but never as much as I did tonight.”
 
 
 
Source: Oc Register