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Community Profile: Mario Rivera

November 23, 2017

How old were you at the start of the AIDS epidemic?
I was 17 when AIDS epidemic started.  

How did you first learn about HIV?
I lived in San  Salvador when I 1st learned about HIV I was really scared.

What does the 25th year of riding to end AIDS mean to you personally? 
25 years riding for fight HIV means I get to celebrate the life of a good friend I lost when I was new to the US.  This friend died within days of finding out he had AIDS.  I cried like a kid for him and he basically asked me not to cry as he has accepted his fate.  Ever since then, I promised I would get involved in the fight for HIV and to break the stigma at work, my family and friends .

What effect has the AIDS epidemic had on you or someone you know?
I have lived with HIV since 2002 and this experience has made me a strong fighter and I will bring this message to all… no more silence.  I have been discriminated against for being positive by people friends and co workers, I work in the medical field and a co worker claimed I should not be touching patients.  My answer to this was there are a lot of medical professionals who happen to be HIV positive and they are some of the most compassionate human beings I have ever come across.

What would the end of the AIDS epidemic mean to you?
Ending the AIDS epidemic means that I would live to see the end of this terrible illness that has taken many beautiful people gay straight and all size and shapes.  This illness does not discriminate. I will fulfill my mission in this planet by seeing this illness come to an end.

 

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