El Museo Gala 2013

NEW YORK - MAY 16: El Museo Gala 2013 on Thursday, May 16, 2013 at Cipriani 42nd Street, in New York City, NY El Museo del Barrio held it’s annual Gala on Thursday, May 16, at Cipriani 42nd Street, in New York City. The Gala honored actor Raúl Esparza with the Excellence in the Arts Award, Ramiro Ortiz Mayorga with the Trustee Leadership Award, and Ricardo Villela Marino, CEO, Latin America Banco Itaú Unibanco with the Corporate Excellence in the Arts Award. The Gala Chairs were Valentino D. Carlotti, Fe Fendi, Valentin Hernández, and Marie Unanue. The Gala raised more than one million dollars for the museum. Over 600 guests were greeted with a specialty cocktail created by MundoFox in honor of El Museo’s Gala; this replaced the Cipriani Bellini. MundoFox was the sponsor of the 2013 Gala. Jerónimo Gaxiola Balsa designed the event’s décor; the Gala featured music by The Bob Hardwick Sound, led by Bob Hardwick, and music by DJ Honey Redmond who was able to keep guests dancing till midnight. Artist Firelei Báez (Dominican Republic, 1980) painted the table clothes that were showcased on many of the dinner tables. El Museo’s Chief Curator Chus Martínez chose her for the gala's "art intervention" saying “Firelei Báez is an artist based in El Barrio. She produced a special project for all of us - a series of painted mantelpieces and ornamental elements. They are intense, colorful, and extravagant at moments. They convey the force of old myths from the Caribbean region. The paint should be understood as a being, full of force and the work produced for the night as a magical apparition to produce and perform a ritual communal event: the act of supporting, with our presence, art and its community.” The artwork (tablecloths) were auctioned off at the end of the evening and raised $20,000 with proceeds benefiting El Museo. Guest included: Maria & Alejandro Aguirre, Mariana & José Auriemo, Coromoto Atencio, The Honorable Michael R. Bloomberg, Lynda & Richard, Baquero, Dr. Joyce Brown, Tony Bechara (Chair of El Museo’s Board), Cathy Boyanovich, Estellita and Daniel Brodsky, Valentino D. Carlotti, Patricia & Patrick Callahan, Barbara Cirkva, Maria Cornejo, Jacqueline Weld-Drake and Rodman Drake, Michelle & Raul Esparza, Fe and Alessandro Fendi, Paola Fendi, Lucia Hwong Gordon, Yaz (President of El Museo’s Board) and Valentin Hernández, Paloma Herrera, Dr. William A. Haseltine & Maria Eugenia Maury, Michael Kaiser, Eleanora and Michael Kennedy, Alexandra Lebenthal, Kamie Lightburn, Laura Lie & William Lie Zeckendorf, Patricia Villela & Ricardo Villela Marino, Chus Martínez (El Museo’s Chief Curator), Jaime Mayol (host of MundoFox’s Atrevete a Cantar), Marlon Moreno (actor, MundoFox’s series El Capo), Gillian & Sylvester Minter, Enique Norten, Patricia Guardian de Ortiz de Ortiz & Ramiro Ortiz Mayorga, Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos, Angel Otero, Geraldine Paz, Enoc Perez, Carmen Ana & Joseph Unanue, Marie & Andy Unanue, Darcy & John Rigas, Marco Antonio Regil (TV host of MundoFox’s Minuto Para Ganar), Agatha Ruiz De La Prada, Narciso Rodriguez, Lady Cristiana Falcone Sorrell, Emiliano Saccone (President, MundoFox), Yolanda Santos, John Schumacher, Jean and Martin Shafiroff, Patricia & Tom Shiah, José Solis Betancourt, and Carlo Tunioli (President at Benetton USA). This year’s Honorary Committee included: Pedro Almodovar, Glenda Baily and Stephen Sumner, Hamish Bowles, Tania Bruguera, Edmundo Castillo, Maria Cornejo, Francisco Costa, Cameron Diaz, Pamela Herrera, David Maupin, Vik Muniz, Angel Otero, Enoc Perez, Liliana Porter, Narciso Rodriguez, Angel Sanchez, Hunt Slonem, Joses Solis Betancourt, Raul Suaraz, Mario Testino, Isabel & Ruben Toledo, and Stefano Tonchi. Junior Council included: Carolina Alvarez-Mathies, Chrissy Crawford, Rebecca Fuente, Paige Gamble, Susanna Hong, Andrew Huszar, Susan Jaramillo, Jerome Levy, Evan List, Norma Lujan, Christine Miller Martin, Jennifer Mora, Carlos Ponce, Leticia Presutti, Camila Rachmanis, Joseph Rivera, Gabriel Rivera-Barraza, Oscar Rodriguez, Amanda Van Voorhees, Sabrina Wirth and Lisa Yom. This event is always one of the most exciting tickets in the city’s social calendar. El Museo’s Gala is a festive soirée where international guests linger late into the evening. ABOUT THE 2013 HONOREES Raúl Esparza recently starred in the Broadway production of LEAP OF FAITH. He made his New York debut in the Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show. Broadway: Arcadia, Speed-the-Plow (Tony, Drama Desk nominations), The Homecoming (Tony nomination, Drama Desk Award - Ensemble), Company (Tony nomination, Drama Desk Award), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Taboo (Tony nomination, Drama Desk Award) and Cabaret. He appeared in Shakespeare in the Park’s Twelfth Night and Off-Broadway in The Normal Heart, Comedians and tick, tick... BOOM!, which earned him an Obie Award. In 2005, he received the HOLA José Ferrer Acting Award. Outside New York, Esparza portrayed Che in the National tour of Evita, and starred in the 2002 Kennedy Center Sondheim Celebration: Sunday in the Park with George and Merrily We Roll Along. In addition to numerous guest star appearances, his television credits include recurring roles on “A Gifted Man”, “Pushing Daisies”, and “Law & Order: SVU.” Ramiro Ortiz Mayorga Born in Leon, Nicaragua, Ramiro Ortíz Mayorga is married and has five children with his wife Patricia Gurdian de Ortíz. He is the President and Founder of Grupo Promerica, a group of banking institutions in ten countries of Central, South America and The Caribbean. He is a lover of his hometown, Leon, and has made important investments in his city of birth especially in the cultural industry. In 1996 Patricia Gurdian de Ortíz, Ramiro Ortíz Mayorga and their parents and children decided to create the Ortiz Gurdian Foundation as a not for profit institution, with the objective to co-assist in the development of Nicaraguan Culture in general and specifically in the area of visual arts, to provide and fortify their projection at a local, regional and international level. In 1991 the Ortiz-Guardian family founded The Americas Collection, which participates in the Ortiz Guardian Foundation and dedicates its efforts to the endorsement of Contemporary Latin American Art in the US. The Ortiz Guardian Foundation has endorsed a number of biennials in Central America over the past 12 years. ABOUT THE 2013 CORPORATE HONOREE Ricardo Villela Marino, CEO, Latin America Banco Itaú Unibanco. Banco Itaú Unibanco, Itaú is the largest Latin American bank and one of the fifteen largest banks on the planet, with approximately 100,000 employees and operations in 20 countries throughout the Americas, Asia and Europe. The bank has been a pioneer in supporting art and culture since the creation of the Instituto Itaú Cultural in 1987, and Itaú currently owns one of the world’s largest private Latin American art collections. ABOUT THE 2013 SPONSOR MundoFox is the new choice for American Latino families with breakthrough content, a fresh on-air look and a message of advancement in everything they do to engage the Latino community in a new way, all backed by the power of FOX. ABOUT EL MUSEO DEL BARRIO El Museo del Barrio, New York’s leading Latino cultural institution, welcomes 250,000 visitors annually to discover the artistic landscape of Latino, Caribbean, and Latin American cultures. Their richness is represented in El Museo’s critically acclaimed exhibitions and wide-ranging collections, film, literary, visual and performing arts series, cultural celebrations, and educational programs. A dynamic artistic and community gathering place, El Museo is a center of cultural pride on New York’s museum mile. For additional information, go to www.elmuseo.org. 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