Services in O.C., Region Mark World AIDS Day

Marking World AIDS Day, solemn events Tuesday in Orange County and across Southern California were a bittersweet mix of hope and gloom.

At Chapman University in Orange, hundreds of students and residents viewed four panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt.

Produced by families of AIDS victims across the country, it is one of the world’s largest textile works. Another 36 of the 12-by-12-foot personalized sections will be displayed Sunday on the first floor of Argyros Forum.

Meanwhile, at an East Los Angeles memorial, Margaret Santos of Corona wept quietly as she spoke of her son, Ron Santos, who died of AIDS in July at the age of 32.

“He lives in my heart and in my memory,” she said.

In Pasadena, about 100 high school students waved signs at morning commuters to remind them that for all the good news about AIDS treatments, the disease has hardly vanished.

Buzz Young needed no reminder.

“Sometimes people who are unaffected have heard about [the new drugs] and treatments and think it’s over,” said Young, a 55-year-old Silver Lake resident who has AIDS. “But it’s not. I’ve been in the hospital six times this year. I’ve had four good friends die this year. So it’s very real to me.”

New drugs have transformed life for many with AIDS, but new infections and death continue.

Globally, the disease is exploding in some sectors, particularly in Africa, where a quarter of the adult population in some countries is infected with HIV, the AIDS virus. This year’s World AIDS Day initiative focused on 15- to 24-year-olds and preventing infection.

In Los Angeles County, about 12,000 people have AIDS and another 12,000 have HIV, the virus that causes the disease. Between 1,500 and 2,000 are infected annually. The number of AIDS deaths has dropped sharply, but AIDS cases are rising significantly among minorities and women.

Armando Garcia, 24, learned two months ago that he has the AIDS virus. “It makes me angry that even after I told my friends I’m HIV-positive, they’re still practicing unsafe sex,” Garcia said at a scantily attended safe-sex presentation at Los Angeles City College.

As part of the day’s observance at Chapman University, a dozen elected officials, community leaders and medical volunteers were honored by members of the HIV Planning Advisory Council.

The group gave Red Ribbon Hero Awards to thank the leaders for their “efforts in securing prevention, education and treatment for HIV-infected individuals,” said Laura Jonson, a university spokeswoman.

Among those honored were Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove), and Bobbi Keenan, a nurse at UCI Medical Center who has helped hundreds of patients gain access to clinical treatments that she said have improved their quality of life.

Chris Prevatt, who helped organize Orange County’s World AIDS Day events, said the occasion served to strengthen the global effort to face the challenges of the AIDS epidemic.

“It encourages people to have compassion for and lend support to those affected by HIV and AIDS,” Prevatt said.

Times staff writers in Los Angeles contributed to this report.