Casita Maria Center For Arts & Education Fiesta! Gala At The Plaza Hotel

Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education, with Chairs Jackie Weld Drake, Jean Shafiroff, and HRH Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia, brought its annual Fiesta! Gala back to The Plaza Hotel, where longtime friends, artists, philanthropists, and supporters gathered to celebrate the organization’s 92nd anniversary.

The sold-out benefit was the highest-grossing in its history, and honored artist Hunt Slonem and philanthropist Sonia Gutt de Haime, along with Ben Rodriguez-Cubeñas, who received the Jackie Weld Drake Living Legend Award. Supported from the audience by her three sisters, Estrellita Brodsky, Martha Bograd, and Mercedes Levin, said Jackie Weld Drake, “Kids have come to us from underserved communities, with limited vocabulary and opportunities. Your support here helps us improve the quality of life for countless children, adults, and their families.”

Added Executive Director Felix Urrutia, “For 33,790 days, Casita Maria has been the heartbeat of East Harlem and South Bronx, a home for dreamers, doers, and storytellers. Our mission is to enrich and help elevate the lives of those we serve so that they may have a fighting chance of realizing the American Dream.” It was a quintessential New York evening–a beautiful ballroom filled with familiar faces, including Shafiroff in a Malan Breton turquoise ballgown, and in true Fiesta! fashion, light on speeches and heavy on dancing, with music by Bob Hardwick Sound.

“I am proud to announce that the Rockefeller Brothers Fund just committed $100,000 to Casita Maria, a number I challenge us to match tonight,” said Ben Rodriguez-Cubeñas, Casita Maria’s longtime Vice Chair. His challenge was met with enthusiasm, fueling the evening’s lively paddle raise led by Paul Florez. Over $200,000 was raised on the spot. Continued Rodriguez-Cubeñas, “For years, I have watched Casita Maria help the next generation of artists, teachers, doctors, and scientists from our own community. They teach our kids to read, learn, but also to imagine, create, and see themselves in their own story. These are the gifts Casita Maria gives our kids every single day.”

Hunt Slonem, recognized for his exuberant paintings of bunnies and butterflies, was celebrated not only for his extraordinary career (with work displayed at The Met, Guggenheim, Whitney, and more), but for the spirit of creativity he shares with Casita Maria’s mission. “For the last 35 years I have attended and supported this Gala and Casita Maria,” he said. “As a child, I wanted to be an artist due to the support I received in school. Casita Maria provides that same support, opening windows into the arts for many students in New York. Every child deserves a chance to dream, and together we can turn those dreams into reality.”

“For 98 years you have touched the lives of so many. You have taught us how to love, how to give, how to persevere, and how to live a life of purpose,” said Daniel Haime Gutt, presenting the award to his mother, Sonia Gutt de Haime, who was surrounded by her entire family. A respected philanthropist involved in healthcare, education, and the arts, she has long been part of New York’s art world and a devout supporter of Casita Maria.

Fiesta! has a history all its own. Over the years, the celebration has honored a remarkable roster of artists, designers, performers, philanthropists, and cultural figures, including Audrey Hepburn, Margot Fonteyn, Oscar de la Renta, Paloma Picasso, Gloria Estefan, Mary McFadden, and Baz Luhrmann.

Guests included Board Members George Corton, Alberto Mariaca, Patrick Moran, Gautam Patel, Darlyn Portes, and Thomas Quick, as well as Casita Maria’s Executive Director Felix Urrutia and Artistic Director Gail Heidel. Further guests included Frederick Anderson, Martha Bograd, Jimmy Borynak, Halim Bulos, Gabriel Rivera Barraza, Estrellita and Daniel Brodsky, Sharon Bush, Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin, Fe and Alessandro Fendi, Gloria and Carey Fieldcamp, Sissi Fleitas, Roberta Houghton, Kamie Lightburn, Alicia Lubowski-Jahn, Elizabeth Meigher, Juan Montoya, Lauren Day Roberts, Victor Roquette, Marc Rosen, Mary Snow, Adrienne and Gigi Vittadini, Saundra Whitney, Hal Witt, and Adolfo Zaralegui.

Founded in 1934, Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education is the first charitable organization to serve the Latino community in New York City, with a nearly century-long legacy of strengthening children, families, and communities through arts and education. For further information, visit casitamaria.org.