October 22, 2013 was
the annual “2013 Fiesta” gala at The Mandarin Oriental
in New York City benefiting the Casita Maria Center for
Arts & Education. This year’s honorees were John
Demsey, France Chrétien Desmarais,
and Eddie
Palmieri. The
Honorary Fiesta Gala Chairs were Ana
Cristina Alvarado, Alina
Cho, Eddie Palmieri II, Gabriela Palmieri. The 2013 Honorary Jr.
Chairmen, the “Pachanga” chairs were Jane
Bloomingdale de Cisneros and Henrique
Cisneros. As
has become the tradition, Jacqueline
Weld Drake, Aileen
Mehle, and Prince
Dimitri of Yugoslavia again
served as the Dinner Chairmen. Cocktails began at 7:30
PM followed by dinner and dancing to the music of The
Bob Hardwick Sound.
Mayor Michael
Bloomberg made a special appearance during cocktails to
congratulation his friend France
Chrétien
Desmarais on
her new honor. Mario Buatta and Alina Cho divided the
master of ceremonies duties. Sarah
Calderon, Casita Maria’s Executive Director, spoke
movingly about the charities programs. Two students who
are currently in Casita’s arts and education programs
introduce Chairman Jackie Weld Drake.
Of the 2013 honorees
Jacqueline Weld Drake said, “Each
year we honor three outstanding individuals who, through
their work, exemplify excellence in philanthropy and the
arts. This year marks Casita Maria’s 79th year
in New York City, no
small feat for any organization and one of which I am
very proud. We are honoring John
Demsey, Group
President of the Estée Lauder Companies, France
Chrétien Desmarais for
her extensive philanthropic work with One Drop, and
world-renowned musician Eddie
Palmieri, upon receiving the 2013 National Endowment
for the Arts Jazz Masters Award.”Gala Chair Alina Cho
presented all three honorees with their Gold Medal
Award.
The event will
host over 400 hundred guests included: Gabriel
Alonso-Mendoza, Luis Alvanez, Marcela Alvarado, Daniel
Annese, The Honorable Maria del Carmen Arroyo, Yanna
Avis, Anne Bass, Edgar Batista, Joseph and Janeen
Bartning, Tony Bechara, Enrica and Fabrizio Arengi
Bentivoglio, Violaine and John Bernbach, John Paul
Bernbach, The Honorable Michael Bloomberg, Jonah Boeker,
Martha Brogad, Benny Bonilla, Geoffrey Bradfield, Kate
and Alexander Brodsky, Estrellita and Daniel Brodsky,
Rita and Charles Bronfman, Mario Buatta, Sarah Calderon,
Maritza Chateau, Mariana Cuevas and Emmanuel de Chaunac,
Mary Cunney, Massimo and Diana d’Amore, David Dean,
Elaine Delgado, Oliver Desmarais, Alexandre Desmarais,
Madeleine Desmarais, Gaston Terrones Deminant, Tita and
Anthony Dimartino, Philip Dorian, Rodman L. Drake,
Frederick Eberstadt, Gaetana Enders, Claire Enders and
Christopher Thomson, Mark and Anelise Engel, Fe and
Alessandro Fendi, Paul Friedberg, Monica Fornier, Martha
Kramer Fox, Eugenia Gonzalez, Marjorie and Ellery
Gordon, Audrey Gruss, Nohra Haime, Candace and William
Hamm, Erika Harrch (Secretary of Mexican Consulate in
New York), Pablo Henning, Marife Hernandez and Joel
Bell, Jane and Cliff Hudis, Anthony Jordan, Roy Kean, Me
Andrew Kepler, Kathi Koll, Michèle Gerber Klein, Lanao
de la Sota, Juan Larrain, Christian Lawless, Mercedes
Brograd Levin, Pierre Levai, Marcia Levine, Christine
Licata, Mayra Linares, The Honorable and Mrs. John Loeb,
Toni and Paul Lubetsky, Peter Lyden, Alberto and
Annabelle Mariaca, The Duchess of Marlborough,
Christopher Mason, Mary McFadden, Grace and Chris
Meigher, Muffy and Donald Miller, Malu and Sergio
Millerman, Nicholas and Lady Victoria Papanicolaou,
Gordon and Dailey Pattee, Carlos Picon, Liz and Jeff
Peek, Courtney and Tim Quinlan, Encarnita and Robert
Quinlan, Ann Rapp, Dayra Rivera, Marta Rivera, Ben
Rodriguez- Cubenas, Paul and Leon Root, Prince and
Princess Florence and Samir Sabet d’Acre, Prince
Constrantin Sabet d’Acre, Yolanda Santos, Frances G.
Scaife and Tom McCarter, Pepita Serrano, Irina Movygna
and Andres Serrano, Jean and Martin Shafiroff, Claire
Anne Stroll, Joan and Michael Steinberg, Monsignor Kevin
Sullivan, Marcello Tallarigo, Tatyana and David Tisch,
Barbara and Donald Tober, James van der Kloke, Carolina
Vazquez, David Vázquez, Saundra Whitney and Paul
Wallace, Kristina and Guy Wildenstein, Kristi Witker,
and Alexis Zambrano.
The Pachanga (Jrs.)
Committee included: Fabiola
Arias, Suzy
Biszantz, Nora and Ryan Tamras Barr, Melissa
Berkelhammer, Hayley Bloomingdale, Alexandra and Jorge
Bonetti, Jamie Biden and Amy Bracco, Kate and Alexander
Brodsky, Katherine Brodsky and Simone Falco, Melina and
Eduardo Cisneros, Flora Collins, Andrea and Ed Dale,
Ashley Fina and Guillermo Drew- Bear, Carolina Escobar,
Alejandro Esteve, Siddharth Kasliwal, Elizabeth Jacoby,
Alicia and Maximilian Jahn, Di Mondo and Eric M. Javits,
Berry Bloomingdale and Steve Keller, Christian Leone,
Bame Fierro March, Elena Martinez and Bobby Sanabria,
Erika and Mike Marino, Brit Marling, Jana Pasquel de
Shapiro and Adam Shapiro, Karina and Pedro Palma, Life
Anne Stiles, Gonzalo Mendoza and Camila Restrepo, Jaime
Restrepo, Gabriel Rivera- Barazza, Bettina Santos
Domingo, Bobby Sanabria, Daniela Perez and Luis Scull,
Roslyn and Paul Taylor, Samantha Thompson, Heloise
Thomson and Christopher Wirth, Alexandra and Jose Maria
Trullols, Christopher Trump, Serra Cerikci and Alexander
Vinograd, Kate Werlein.