Groundbreaking Ceremony for Eastside AIDS Monument on World AIDS Day Church Service Will Be Followed by Candlelight Walk to Groundbreaking Ceremony for AIDS Monument

As part of its 10th annual World AIDS Day program, Noche de las Memorias (Evening of Memories), The Wall-Las Memorias Project, a non-profit AIDS organization that serves the Latino community, will kick off the construction of an AIDS monument in the city of Los Angeles' Eastside with a groundbreaking ceremony. The monument design, and the artwork that will be part of it, can be viewed at the organization's website.

A groundbreaking ceremony for an Eastside AIDS monument will culminate the 10th annual Noche de las Memorias / World AIDS Day ceremony on Monday, December 1, 2003, which begins at a liturgical service at 6:30 p.m., at Our Lady Help of Christians Church, 512 S. Avenue 20, in Lincoln Heights. A candlelight walk after the service will lead to the groundbreaking at Lincoln Park where the monument will be built. Noche del las Memorias is sponsored by The Wall-Las Memorias Project, a non-profit AIDS organization that has led the effort to build an AIDS monument on the Eastside.
   On World AIDS Day, we come together to remember the loved ones we have lost to AIDS," said Richard Zaldivar, executive director and founder of The Wall-Las Memorias Project. We call it Noche de las Memorias or 'an evening of memories because memories are very powerful, and can guide us in healing or in action."
    The evening will begin with a liturgical service, with clergy of various churches and faiths. At end of the program, attendees will walk by candlelight to Lincoln Park, the future site of the AIDS monument. A groundbreaking ceremony will take place at the construction site of the AIDS Monument. A reception, hosted by El Gallo Giro, will be held immediately following the ceremony.
   For more information about the Noche de las Memorias, please call (323) 257-1056. To view the design of the AIDS monument, and the artwork that will become part of the monument, please visit www.thewalllasmemorias.org.
   The Wall-Las Memorias Project was founded in 1993 to educate the Latino community about HIV/AIDS, and to show how denial hurts families, communities, and people living with HIV and AIDS. The Wall-Las Memorias goal is the construction of a memorial in Lincoln Park to honor those who have lost their lives to AIDS, and to promote healing and understanding for their loved ones and the community.
   The Wall-Las Memorias Project has grown to include other programs which promote self-esteem, understanding and community, including discussion and support groups for men, young adults and mothers, an HIV/AIDS prevention program that reaches out to communities of faith, and a mens softball team. The not-for-profit organization also has a history of engaging in community activism and promoting community involvement.
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