NIGHTLIGHT: El Museo Gala 2010 Oscar de la Renta Honored Placido Domingo latin society dazzled New York City Renee AND Alvaro Domingo, Yaz AND Valentin Hernandez Gala Chairs
On Thursday, May 27, Oscar de la Renta presented a special lifetime achievement award to Plácido Domingo at El Museo del Barrio’s annual gala at Cipriani 42nd Street, in New York City. Tony Bechara, the museum’s long-serving board chairman, was also honored with a special leadership award. Yaz and ValentÃn Hernández once again served as the gala chairs, this year joined by Renée and Alvaro Domingo. The 2010 gala also recognized the dedication and achievements of El Museo’s outgoing executive director Julián Zugazagoitia. The evening raised over one million dollars for El Museo.
Barbara Walters, who had planned to be mistress of ceremonies, sent a touching message that was read by Mr. de la Renta and brought tears to many, “Dear Placido: Only an injured heart would keep me from being with you tonight. You may have heard that I have had recent surgery to replace a faulty heart valve. I am doing very well but not quite ready to jump rope or go out. How I wish I could say these things in person. You are the musical genius of our time…that glorious voice…who else can sing both as a tenor or baritone…and conduct a symphony orchestra…and administer an opera company…and teach and encourage and inspire. You are superb in every capacity. Then there is your long marriage and companionship with the divine Marta…and the devotion of your children. A life so full. But not too full to always remember friends like me…whom you call Santa Barbara…the only time anyone has called me a saint. No wonder I love you. I said you were a genius, didn’t I? But I am hardly alone in my regard for you. In addition to your millions of fans, there are all those with you tonight thanking you for your devotion to the Museum. My hear may be aching a bit tonight but it is full of the happiest thoughts of you.”
As ever, the evening brought out some of the most extraordinary fashion. Chairman Yaz Hernandez was no exception wearing a one of a kind dress made especially for her by Brian Reyes, who said, “I chose a golden gown because the color embodies power and strength. I’m constantly drawn to the memories of pre-Colombian gold I saw growing up in Colombia. It's only fitting that Yaz would indulge my childhood fantasies by wearing gold to fête honoring one of the great tenors of our time. Yaz radiates - a perfect pairing.”
Peachy Deegan enjoyed meeting:
Marta Domingo
Alvadomor Domingo
Marcos Galvany
Jillian Rodriguez
Jillian Rodriguez
J. Carlos Merlo
David Patrick Columbia
Jackie Horowitz
Rene Rodriguez
Troy Johansson
Guests also included: Narciso Rodriguez, Angel Sanchez, Maria Cornejo, Moises de la Renta, Laura and Dick Parsons, Estrellita and Daniel Brodsky, Claudia Cisneros, Christian Cota, Jane and Calvin Catritz, Barbaralee Diamonstein and Carl Spielvogel, Olga and Tony Duke, Donald and Adelle Hall, Eleanor and Michael Kennedy, Alexandra Lebenthal and Jay Diamond, Ambassador John L. Loeb, Liz and Jeff Peek, Candy Price, Angel Sanchez, Gillian and Sylvester Miniter, Silvia Ortiz, Enoc Perez, Jane and Reed Rubin, John and Gaily Beinecke, and many more.
The gala’s stellar honorary committee included José SolÃs Betancourt, Rubén Blades, MarÃa Cornejo, Francisco Costa, Christian Cota, Benicio del Toro, Alex González, Carolina and Reinaldo Herrera, Marilyn Horne, Carlos Mota, Candy Pratts Price, Brian Reyes, Narciso RodrÃguez, Angel Sánchez, and Isabel + Rubén Toledo.
Always one of the most exciting tickets in the city’s social calendar, the evening began with cocktails at seven o’clock followed at eight o’clock by dinner and dancing. A dramatic white carpet ran not only up the entrance stairs but also on across the marble floors of the reception area and through the dining hall onto the dance floor. Tables were decorated with oversized silver and Lucite candlesticks. The 13-piece Bob Hardwick orchestra, all dressed in white dinner jackets, played a mixture of Latin and Café Society dance music late into the night.
The menu began with risotto with Spanish saffron, followed by seared scallops with black bean salsa garnished with micro greens and cilantro, and tostones. Desserts included guava, lemon, and coconut sorbet decorated with pomegranate seeds in a chocolate shell and passion fruit sauce, as well as flan.
The annual bash has come to symbolize the pride Latin Americans, Latinos, and non-Latino friends and colleagues in New York take in their cherished museum. Guests flew in from South America, Caribbean, and Europe in order to attend. The hugely successful event raised $1.1 million dollars that will go toward funding for El Museo’s art education and community outreach programs.
About Plácido Domingo: born in Spain, raised from age eight in Mexico, he is a world-renowned, multifaceted artist, recognized as one of the finest and most influential singing actors in the history of opera. He is also a lauded conductor and a major force as an opera administrator. But most admirable of all is the enormous good he has accomplished through his prodigious gifts. Mr. Domingo has dedicated himself to the support and education of young artists across the world, and has raised millions of dollars for the victims of Mexico’s devastating earthquake in 1985 and natural disasters in Guerrero, Yucatán, El Salvador, and New Orleans.
About Tony Bechara: an acclaimed artist represented in numerous private and public collections, he is featured in museum exhibitions around the world. El Museo honors him at this year’s Gala for his brilliance as a leader. During more than a decade as Chair of El Museo’s Board of Trustees, Mr. Bechara has guided the institution as it evolved into a thriving institution with a stellar international reputation.
About Julián Zugazagoitia: This year’s Gala is the last that he will attend as Director and CEO of El Museo. After remarkable eight-year tenure, he will soon take the reins at the prestigious Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City. The Board and staff of El Museo wishes him continued success.
Limited Edition Print: the international renowned artist Enoc Perez has created a limited edition print, which was unveiled at the Gala and sold to benefit El Museo. This beautiful new work is printed by the Lower East Side Printshop. Born in Puerto Rico and based in New York, Perez layers pictures selected from postcards, downloaded images, or his own Polaroid’s, by pressing paper backed with wet oil stick monochromes against a canvas or paper, and drawing on its surface. In 2007 Perez was the focus of a major survey exhibition at MoCA at Goldman Warehouse, Miami. He has exhibited in museums and galleries in the Americas and Europe, including the Centre Pompidou, Paris; The Collezione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia, Italy; The UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Connecticut; and El Museo de Barrio, New York.
About El Museo del Barrio: El Museo del Barrio, New York’s leading Latino cultural institution, welcomes visitors of all backgrounds to discover the artistic landscape of Latino, Caribbean, and Latin American cultures. Their richness is represented in El Museo’s wide-ranging collections and exhibitions, complemented by film, literary, visual and performing arts series, cultural celebrations, and educational programs. A dynamic artistic, cultural, and community gathering place, El Museo is a center of Latino pride on New York’s museum mile.
