VALLEJO – The Solano AIDS Coalition commemorated World AIDS Day on Sunday with a .85-mile walk from the ferry building to the Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum. The unusually specific distance served a somber purpose: it roughly equals 4,496 feet, which is a reference to the 4,496 AIDS-related deaths that happened in the U.S. in 2023. (The Centers for Disease Control has not published data for 2024.)
Mario Saucedo, the founder of the Solano AIDS Coalition, is hoping to make the walk an established annual event that both draws awareness to the day — which happens globally on Dec. 1 — and serves as a fundraiser for the organization.
This is the third year that Saucedo has held the walk. He said the first year only had about seven people walking, but this year it brought in around 40 attendees.
“Like everything, it’s growing,” said Saucedo. “A lot of people in the community support what I do, even if they can’t get out in the cold or can’t walk.”
AIDS is the last stage of HIV, which is a virus spread most commonly through unprotected sex or the sharing of drug needles. If an HIV infection progresses into AIDS, the life expectancy for the patient is about three years. Thousands of people died of AIDS during the 1980s and 1990s, but today, there are a number of medications that help reduce the amount of HIV in the blood so that it never progresses into AIDS.
But there’s still no cure for HIV, which is why Saucedo said testing and prevention is crucial — especially for teens and young adults. In 2022, over 30,000 people over the age of 13 in the U.S. received an HIV diagnosis.
“We can help our communities,” Saucedo told the crowd. “HIV is a virus that we can stop.” He said that although it’s uncomfortable for parents to talk to their teens about sexually transmitted diseases, it’s better that they are aware and safe.
Cesar Novelo, an HIV/AIDS educator who works with the Solano Public Health department, said that the mortality rate of AIDS has decreased by 58% since 2010, according to UNAIDS.
“But the rate of infection still is not in control,” said Novelo. “So we have to fight and we have to test [for HIV].”
Per the CDC, over 158,000 people are living with HIV in the U.S. and don’t know it, which is why it’s recommended that everyone gets tested.
The local event was particularly important because of cuts to HIV/AIDS programs at the federal level. The Trump Administration refused to acknowledge the day, stating that “an awareness day is not a strategy.” The administration cut $1.5 billion worth of CDC programming aimed at HIV prevention and monitoring, and some of these cuts have trickled down to the state and county level. It has also effectively dissolved the U.S. Agency for International Development, which used to send HIV/AIDS medications to places like Zambia, Ethiopia, and Kenya.
“Over the last year, we've noticed federal and state funding and support go down the toilet,” said Maria Stats, Saucedo’s niece and the president of the board for the Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum. “So we want to make sure that no matter going forward, we're here to support people.”
Saucedo said that he started the Solano AIDS Coalition 25 years ago, when he first moved to Vallejo. Prior to that he had been living in Los Angeles, where he worked in Hollywood as a special effects artist, his longtime dream. But his heart broke as he lost one friend after another to the virus.
“Every single one of my friends — hairdressers, actors, special effects designers, everybody — they weren’t showing up to work. Everybody was dying,” said Saucedo. “I lost every one of my friends to the AIDS pandemic.”
Through that experience, Saucedo developed a passion for educating the community about the dangers of HIV and AIDS. He also became determined to support the most vulnerable in Vallejo.
After moving to Vallejo in 2000, he decided to hand out condoms and $20 gift cards in Ziploc bags to sex workers around Georgia Street. In 2006, he opened a small thrift store at the corner of Marin and Georgia streets and provided clothes and food to low-income people and women who had been abused. From there, Saucedo began to hold toy and food drives, and eventually large-scale events like Dia de Muertos.
Meanwhile, he continued to spread the message about the importance of safe sex. He estimates that last year he handed out around 100,000 condoms in Solano County.
Saucedo said that the Solano AIDS Coalition used to have a wealthy benefactor who would support these various community initiatives, but he passed away three years ago. As a result, the group has had to pull back on a lot of their programming.
But Saucedo said regardless of the decrease in funding, he’ll find a way to continue his advocacy.
“Mario and the Solano AIDS Coalition do so much amazing work in this community,” said Mayor Andrea Sorce, who walked with attendees. “I’m grateful for the work that the Solano AIDS Coalition does, and I’m happy to support however I can with events like this.”
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