{"id":343575,"date":"2026-06-02T23:11:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T23:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/343575\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T23:11:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T23:11:09","slug":"lincoln-heights-aids-memorial-holds-candlelight-vigil-after-restoration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/343575\/","title":{"rendered":"Lincoln Heights AIDS memorial holds candlelight vigil after restoration"},"content":{"rendered":"

LINCOLN HEIGHTS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — The Wall Las Memorias<\/a> in Lincoln Park has been a pillar of the Lincoln Heights neighborhood since 2004.<\/p>\n

It served as the first publicly funded AIDS monument in the nation. For close to three decades, the organization has worked to reduce stigma expand access to care and also create a healthier community across Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

The organization provides HIV, substance abuse, and mental health services to the LGBTQ+ and Latino community. Richard Zaldivar, Founder and Executive Director of The Wall Las Memorias championed the project.<\/p>\n

“People on the west side said why would you do it there? You know the people are not going to appreciate it there and I think any cultural community would appreciate it, if you create a project that speaks to their soul and that’s why we built it here,” said Zaldivar.<\/p>\n

The memorial includes a community health and wellness organization dedicated to serving Latino, LGBTQ+ and other under-served populations. Back in February of 2025, the memorial was vandalized by a man who destroyed portions of it with a sledgehammer.<\/p>\n

With help from supporters of the memorial, money was donated to restore the wall and keep the names and memories of those who died from HIV and AIDS alive.<\/p>\n

“Children, gay men, mothers, babies with AIDS, but the walkway is more about a journey. A journey to reflect on the impact that HIV has had in our community,” said Zaldivar.<\/p>\n

With June recognized as Pride Month, The Wall Las Memorias stands as a safe space to remember those who passed. An area for the LGBTQ+ community and entire public to reflect, educate themselves and feel welcomed for years to come.<\/p>\n

This Thursday at 7 pm, Zaldivar will host Sunset at Las Memorias AIDS Monument bringing together HIV advocates, public health leaders, faith communities, and residents for an evening of prayer, reflection, music, testimonies, and a candle-lighting ceremony honoring the right to health and dignity for all.<\/p>\n

Attendees can light candles one by one in a shared expression of hope and remembrance, the gathering will create space for healing, solidarity, and community connection.<\/p>\n

The event coincides with the 45th anniversary of the first reported AIDS cases in the United States on June 5, 1981, honoring those lost to the epidemic while reaffirming the need to protect access to healthcare, HIV services, and public health programs.<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2026 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LINCOLN HEIGHTS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — The Wall Las Memorias in Lincoln Park has been a pillar of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":343576,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[141296,682,1280,83188,48,52,51,47,50,49,141295],"class_list":["post-343575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-141296","tag-aids","tag-health-care","tag-hiv","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-the-wall-las-memorias"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/343576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}