Paul A. Aguilar is a fourth generation native San Franciscan on his mother's side. His father was first generation native born, his grandparents having immigrated from Mexico to San Francisco in the early 1920's. When the first reports were released by the CDC in June 1981 about a mysterious disease that killed five otherwise healthy gay thought men, Paul had just turned 18. That August 1981 his first close friend died...and they haven't stopped. In October 1988, at the age of 25, Paul tested positive for HIV.
Paul began volunteering at the AIDSWalks and Dance-a-thons becoming a keynote speaker sharing the stag with the late, great Robin Williams at the tenth AIDSWalkSF in 1996. Paul's message in his keynote speech was about becoming a person "living with HIV" as opposed to "someone dying of AIDS," a novel concept at that time, and, thanks to the advent of protease inhibitors, Paul (and millions of others) was able to do just that.
In 2022, Paul completed a workforce development program (a collaboration of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and The Felton Institute) which resulted in being offered the position of "Long-term Survivor Community Liaison" within the San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s Aging Services Department where he represents and advocates for the concerns of long-term survivors in a number of community, city, and statewide coalitions. Paul is the co-chair of the HIV and Aging sub-committee of San Francisco's Getting to Zero Project and was selected to be a member of the Program and Planning committee for the United States Conference on HIV/AIDS in 2025. Paul is a co-author of The San Francisco Principles 2020, a manifesto defining the needs of those living and aging with HIV. He has been a member of the HIV Advocacy Network (HAN)since 21018 and a member of it’s Leadership Team since 2020. HAN is a grassroots group of activists and community members organized under the SF AIDS Foundation. It is primarily a volunteer-led force in the San Francisco Bay Area dedicated to political and social change regarding HIV/AIDS policy and harm reduction practices.
Paul is a resident and board member of “Marty’s Place”, the only self-governing low-income housing cooperative for people with HIV & AIDS in the United States. A documentary entitled: “Marty’s Place:Where Hope Lives” was nominated for a Northern California Emmy Award (https://pluslifemedia.com/2023/12/06/martys-place-where-hope-lives/) in 2022.
Paul was named “Lifetime Achievement Grand Marshal” for SF Pride 2023, is in the process of developing a four-part workshop/presentation to high school aged students about the AIDS pandemic and his unique perspective of being a teenager at “ground zero” of that pandemic and currently working on finishing his memoirs. When asked to describe himself, his response is: Artist, Advocate, Activist, Author. Antagonist.