Every year thousands of people turn out for the AIDS Walk.
It's a show of solidarity and awareness that gives Raul Alonso a sense of strength. He was diagnosed with HIV in 1999.
"When I told my family my parents started feeding me on paper plates," said Alonso. "After I went to the bathroom they would clean it with alcohol. My sisters did not want me to touch their kids."
A doctor told him he had six months to live at the time. He was depressed, sick and hopeless. Now on a steady cocktail of drugs and working with HIV organizations, Alonso has turned his life around and his family supports him.
"I told myself since I was diagnosed that I was going to die, so why not save somebody's life?" said Alonso.
Alonso now has his own TV show, "Living Well With HIV," and holds public speaking events educating people about protecting themselves. He has been with his partner Curt Evans for 17 years.
"He is telling his side," said Evans. "He is giving the message that you can still live a nice healthy life, and it's all about helping people sometimes."
"The importance of doing the AIDS Walk is to let people know that we're still out there, there are still people getting infected. The servers are still needed," said Alonso.
The money raised for the AIDS Walk goes to a variety of resources for people living with HIV, including a drug cocktail that keeps patients alive.
"I'm hoping that I will live to see the cure. But if I don't, hopefully somebody else will fill in my shoes and keep on the good fight," said Alonso.
