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Zac Efron and Claire Danes at the Impact Arts + Film Fund Me and Orson Welles Screening
Bailamos! The National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts (NHFA) hosted their annual gala celebrating Noche Musicál Tuesday night at the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
By Michael Clements
Photos by Tony Powell
Click here to view the full gallery of images from this event
Supreme Court Justice Sonio Sotomayor and Esai Morales, Photo by Tony Powell
The spicy Pollywood blend of Washington political power players included Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, and Reps. Xavier Becerra, Loretta Sanchez, and Charlie A. Gonzalez mingled with Hollywood’s top Latino entertainers like Jimmy Smits and Esai Morales. Morales, heartthrob of the classic 80’s film Labamba might have had his most important dance to date when he stepped out to do the Mambó with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor (http://www.washingtonlife.com/video/) who, sources tell us, had been practicing her mambo for the past month in preparation for the night. It was Sotomayor’s first foray into the Washington social scene since being appointed the Court’s 111th justice, its first Hispanic justice, and its third female justice. “Justice Sotomayor reinforces the notion that you can be successful and still retain your cultural identity. We all know she is a great judge, but, I think she just proved she has some swift moves on the dance floor as well as in the courtroom,” remarked the effervescent Morales. Music for the evening was supplied by Afro-Cuan jazz drummer Bobby Sanabria as well as La India. Sanabria played a rousing rendition of the “Sotomayor Mambó.”
From left: Kerry Troup, gala co-chair Annual Taste of the Stars Gala; Joseph E. Robert III, gala chair Fight Night; Don Peebles, gala co-chair 2009 Dare to Dream; Simone-Marie L. Meeks, gala co-chair Ambassadors Ball; Joe Solmonese, President Human Rights Campaign; Barbara Merola, gala co-chair Corcoran 1869 Society Fall Fête; Tiffany Gates, gala chair The Choral Arts Society Holiday Concert and Gala; Jimmy Smits, gala co-chair Noche de Gala; Nina Pillsbury, gala chair Sibley Hospital Gala; Ann Walker Marchant, gala chair The Washington Ballet Spring Gala.
Photographs by Clay Blackmore
Styling: James Cornwell, PR @ Partners
Makeup: Myken Garcia & Francesca Mastri, PR @ Partners
Hair: Alicia Renee Jones & Dyan Zurich Smith, PR @ Partners
Photographed at the Mandarin Oriental, Washington, D.C.
For full listings of all upcoming galas and events, please see our Social Calendar widget.
The 2009 Choral Arts Gala, Photo by Kyle Samperton
The 2009 Washington Life Guide to Balls and Galas.
SEPTEMBER
WNO’S OPENING NIGHT GALA
WL SPON
What to Expect: Join fellow opera enthusiasts for the Washington National Opera’s highly-anticipated Season Opening Night Gala dinner dance following the premiere performance of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, where the funds raised benefit the WNO’s performance programs and educational outreach projects.
Date: Saturday, September 12; 7 p.m.
Location: Performance at the Opera House, The Kennedy Center; gala dinner at the Hall of the Americas, Organization of American States Building
Attire: Black-tie
Price: Starting at $500; sponsorship packages starting at $5,000; performance tickets sold separately
Contact: WNO Special Events Hotline, 202-295-2449, specialevents@dc-opera.org; performance tickets, 202-295-2420
2009 WOLF TRAP BALL
What to Expect: The vast Filene Center stage transforms into a magical setting as Germany marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and celebrates “Freedom without Walls” at the performance venue’s annual ball. As the foundation’s largest fundraiser, proceeds benefit Wolf Trap’s arts and education programs.
Date: Saturday, September 12; 7 p.m.
Location: Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts
Attire: Black-tie
Event Chairmen: Mary E. Arnold and James C. Nesbitt III
Price: $500 to $1,000; tables from $5,500 to $25,000
Contact: Melanie Allan McCarty, 703-255-1944, events@wolftrap.org
NATIONAL HISPANIC FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS’ NOCHE DE GALA
WL SPON
What to Expect: Always high on the caliente chart, the evening brings A-List Hispanic entertainers together for dinner, dancing, and fundraising. Founded by actors Jimmy Smits, Sonia Braga, Esai Morales, and Washington attorney Felix Sanchez, the foundation offers graduate scholarships and programs to young Latinos pursuing careers in entertainment and media.
Date: Tuesday, September 15; 6:30 p.m.
Location: Corcoran Gallery of Art
Attire: Black-tie
Event Chairmen: Joaquin Bacardi III, Sonia Braga, Ginny Grenham, Merel Julia, Esai Morales, Felix Sanchez, and Jimmy Smits
Price: $1,000; corporate sponsorships available
Contact: Jennifer Castillo, 202-293-8330
Jimmy Smits, Miss D.C. 2008 Kate Marie Grinold, and Mauricio Fraga-Rosenfeld
Location: Gazuza
WL HOSTED – Photos by Tony Powell
THE SCENE: Noche de Gala may have come to a close, but Reston Limo was waiting to transport guests, including actors Jimmy Smits, Efren Ramirez, and Aimee Garcia, to Gazuza, where the party kept going at a WL-hosted afterparty. Big names socialized with guests at the bar, and everyone enjoyed Bacardi mojitos in the posh lounge and spacious patio, where the scent of hookah smoke filled the late-summer air. THE GUESTS: Actor Diane Minshall, Becca Glover and Pepper Watkins, Jessica Rich, Kristen Cook, and Jessica Gibson.
Celines Toribio and Jimmy Smits
Location: The Mayflower Hotel
WL SPONSORED – Photos by Tony Powell
MUY CALIENTE!: That’s the idea when it comes to the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts’ annual gala, the culmination of a series of glamorous events that consistently draws an A-List crowd of Hispanic actors, personalities, and community members to support Latino graduate students in the arts. After a spicy dinner, and between awards presentations, the well-dressed revelers danced to Latin super-star Willy Chirino’s band. THE GUESTS: Norman Dreyfuss, Secretary Carlos and Edie Gutierrez, Bacardi’s Kristin Bodenstedt, Joseph Warren, Bob Ghafouri, Julia Ehrgood, Ford Motor Co.’s Raquel “Rocky” Egusquiza, and American Airlines Juan Rios.
WL Photos WLTV
