FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 2, 2009
Keith Malone, (323) 514-3282


Los Angeles World AIDS Day Observance
Honors the Memory of AIDS Activist & MTVs The
Real World Star Pedro Zamora

With Zamoras sister and niece in attendance, organizers of the event will launch a
campaign to ask the U.S. Postal Service to honor Zamoras legacy with a stamp.


Los Angeles - With more than 500 people in attendance, AIDS educators and activists gathered at the AIDS monument Las Memorias in Lincoln Park to unveil names recently added to its granite panels and to remember those lost to AIDS. Among the names added is Pedro
Zamora, the late AIDS activist who captured the hearts and minds of the American public and the world when he appeared on MTVs The Real World series in 1994.
As part of the evenings ceremony, attendees were asked to launch a petition drive to honor Zamoras legacy with a U.S. postage stamp.
Pedro Zamora was a hero. Through his passion and intelligence, he compelled us to see AIDS through the eyes of someone living powerfully and without shame, said Richard Zaldivar, executive director and founder of The Wall Las Memorias Project.
Tonight, we come together to honor his memory and his message of AIDS prevention and acceptance, as well as to remember our loved ones lost to AIDS.
Approximately 60,000 people are estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles
County and 15,000 of them are not aware of their status. Latinos now account for the biggest proportion of cases of AIDS. Complicating the issue is the fact that Latinos and Blacks have high rates of late HIV detection, often get an AIDS diagnosis within 12 months or less of finding out they are HIV positive.
The silence of AIDS is fed by fear, shame and, worst of all, apathy. Pedro Zamora showed us that to fight AIDS, we must shatter the silence and love unconditionally, said Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina. He achieved what few could do, but we cannot wait for another Pedro Zamora. Each of us has a role to play in educating our friends, family and community.
For too long we have let the silence of AIDS destroy families, said State Senator
Gilbert Cedillo (D-Los Angeles).
We created this AIDS monument and gave it a name - Las Memorias or Memories - to remind us that we cannot fight AIDS unless we come together to remember with love, with compassion and without shame.
Pedro Zamoras name was unveiled along with other names that have been added recently. They join more than 400 names that already grace the granite panels of Las Memorias, a 9,000 square-foot monument.
Zamoras sister Mily and her daughter, Melissa, attended the evenings ceremony.
My family loved and accepted Pedro for who he was, and it hurts to see so many people who are rejected by their families because they are gay or HIV positive, said Mily Zamora, his sister.
Pedro refused to hide. He wanted people to understand that you dont have to fear AIDS. He wanted to be sure that no one went through what he went through.
On April 1, 2009, MTV, MTV Tr3s, mtvU and Logo channels simultaneously premiered the movie Pedro, based on the life of Zamora. Several of the cast members attended the World AIDS Day event Noche de Las Memorias, including star Alex Loynaz (Pedro), Dajuan Johnson (Sean), Jenn Liu (Pam) and Karolin Luna (Rachel), along with The Real World creator and executive producer of Pedro Jonathan Murray.
Over 15 years ago, Pedro Zamora set out to educate our nations youth about HIV and AIDS, and his message of awareness and acceptance remains just as powerful today as it did the day he moved into The Real World house on Lombard Street, said Bunim-Murray
Productions Chairman, Jonathan Murray. We are all honored to have had him touch our lives and we remain grateful for the heightened awareness he brought of HIV/AIDS.
The Los Angeles City Council also declared December 1, 2009 as Pedro Zamora Day.
For sixteen years, Noche de las Memorias or Evening of Memories, has taken place at Lincoln Park and uniquely combines spirituality and faith, education and prevention, and advocacy as a means to reach the Latino and Los Angeles communities through culturallym relevant messages. This years master of ceremonies is Francisco Pinto, sports anchor at Univision 34. The event is sponsored by Time Warner Cable, Southern California Edison,
State Senator Gil Cedillo, American Airlines, The Good Girl Dinette, The Mexican Consulate,
LA Orbe Magazine, Delicias Bakery and A-MED Health Care.
The programs of The Wall Las Memorias Project are funded by the County of Los
Angeles Department of Public Health, Office of AIDS Programs and Policy and the California Department of Public Health, Office of AIDS.
The Wall Las Memorias Project (www.thewalllasmemorias.org) is dedicated to promoting wellness and preventing illness among Latino populations affected by HIV/AIDS by using the inspiration of The AIDS Monument as a catalyst for social change.

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