Although many people may believe that the worst part of the HIV/AIDS era is in the past, one brave young man has provided a timely reminder of the need for youth education regarding the disease.

Ruben Barba Aguirre recounted his personal story at a recent Ajijic Cares fundraiser. 

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“I started my sexual life when I was 15 years old. I didn’t know how to use a condom and I didn’t worry about STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases).  When they mentioned AIDS, I thought, like so many other young people, that it was for older people.”

Barba only discovered that he was HIV positive after taking a routine test.

“Then comes the moment when you tell your parents,” he said. “When I told my mother, it was something simple like, ‘Remember when I went to take the HIV test? Well it came out positive.’ I didn’t know if it came from nerves or my being misinformed, but it sounded sort of like an anecdote. So, of course, my mother thought it was a joke until she realized it was true. And she cried as she had never before. My father was a totally different story – his prejudices and his stereotypes being apparent.”

Later, while surfing the web,  Barba came across an ad from the Guadalajara group VIHAS DE VIDA, inviting young people to participate in promoting awareness about HIV/AIDS.

“I learned all about the virus and many other things that have been a very important part of my personal growth. Now, I have become part of the answer to HIV. I now collaborate with other young people so that together we can share information about AIDS.”

“There are groups, associations, foundations and people committed to the cause, who have shown that HIV is not synonymous with death, that people can get medication on time and be responsibly sexually active. Those who once believed that death from HIV was inevitable can see that we are succeeding through education and medicine.”

Ajijic Cares, with the support of VIHAS DE VIDA, is working to bring the same understanding of sexuality, hope and support to young people at Lakeside.{/access}

Festivities linked to the 95th birthday of the Chapala train station (now the Centro Cultural González Gallo) get rolling on Thursday, March 26, 6 p.m., with the opening of “Vamos Pasajeros al Tren” and the formal re-inauguration of the center’s permanent display on the history of the short-lived Guadalajara-Chapala railway line. 

Right on cue for the March 20-24 run of Lip Sync 7 (see story page 20), Pro-Auditorio del Lago de Chapala (PACA) President John Keeling reports big advances in a feverish push to overhaul the lighting and sound systems at the Auditorio de la Ribera.

The Lakeside Fire and Red Cross Assistance Group declared “Mission Accomplished” Sunday after a gigantic shipment of goods donated by Canada’s Firefighters Without Borders arrived in Chapala, marking the happy ending of a year-long cross-border effort. The second-hand firefighting and emergency medical service equipment, head-to-foot uniforms and protective gear, bedding and other new and used supplies, was collected from fire departments across Canada by Firefighters Without Borders. It was shipped out of Ontario by train on March 2 on a journey that involved container transfers through the United States, at the Robstown, Texas border crossing into Mexico and a stop for a customs check in San Luis Potosi. The final leg was made in a semi-cargo truck for temporary storage in a sorting and distribution facility set up at the Hotel Perico on the Libramiento.   The bounty of valuable materials is being spread out between municipal fire departments in Chapala, Ixtlahuacan de los Membrillos, Poncitlan, Jocotepec, Tuxcueca, Tizapan, Manzanilla de la Paz and Amatitan and Cruz Roja Chapala.                        

Lakesiders have multiple attractions to get them out and about these days, with three unique festivals scheduled on the tail end of March’s calendar.

The Lake Chapala Society (LCS) will host a special meeting set for Friday, March 27, 10 a.m., delving into government procedures with Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de las Personas Adultas Mayores (INAPAM) and the Instituto Nacional de Migracion (INM).