El Museo del Barrio Director Patrick Charpenel, El Museo del Barrio Chair Maria Eugenia Maury, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio and Tom Finkelpearl attend El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Aurora Rose/PMC)
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio proclaimed from the stage of the Plaza Hotel Dia de El Museo Del Barrio at El Museo’s 50th anniversary celebration, May 2, 2019. “The creation of El Museo is one of the moments where history started to change,” said the Mayor as he presented an official proclamation from the City. This was only one of the surprises in a Gala evening that honored Ella Fontanals-Cisneros, Craig Robins, and El Museo’s founding director, artist Raphael Montanez Ortiz and raised in excess of $1.2 million.
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Monica Vidal, Ella Fontanals-Cisneros and Cecilia de Grelle attend El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Aurora Rose/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Yolanda Santos, Tony Bechara and Guadalupe de la Vega attend El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Aurora Rose/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Maria Eugenia Maury and William Haseltine attend El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Aurora Rose/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Bill de Blasio attends El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Aurora Rose/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Maria Eugenia Maury and Bill de Blasio attend El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Aurora Rose/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Craig Robins and Rirkrit Tiravanija attend El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Krista Kennell/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Alina Carmelita Tropicana, Raphael Montanez Ortiz, Ela Troyano and Patrick Charpenel attend El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Krista Kennell/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Tony Bechara and Ella Fontanals-Cisneros attend El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Krista Kennell/PMC)
El Museo board chair Maria Eugenia Maury opened the evening with spirited remarks invoking Latina activist Dolores Huerta who said, “Walk the streets with us into history. Get off the sidewalk.” The evening was MC’d by WNBC TV Lynda Baquero with nearly 500 guests dancing in black tie. Executive director Patrick Charpenel expressed the feelings of many when he shared, “El Museo del Barrio is a museum created by and for the community in response to the cultural marginalization faced by Puerto Ricans in New York…Today, issues of representation and social justice remain central to Latinos in this country.”
Artist Rirkrit Travanija introduced longtime supporter Craig Robins who received the Outstanding Patron of Art and Design Award. Craig graciously shared, “The growth and impact of this museum is nothing short of extraordinary.”
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Gabriela Palmieri attends El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Krista Kennell/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Manny Cabo attends El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Aurora Rose/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Patrick Charpenel and Raphael Montanez Ortiz attend El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Aurora Rose/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Atmosphere at El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Aurora Rose/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Atmosphere at El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Aurora Rose/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Atmosphere at El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Aurora Rose/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Atmosphere at El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Aurora Rose/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Atmosphere at El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Aurora Rose/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Atmosphere at El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Aurora Rose/PMC)
El Museo chairman emeritus and artist, Tony Bechara, introduced Ella Fontanals-Cisneros who received the Outstanding Patron of the Arts award, noting her longtime support of Latin artists including early support Carmen Herrera, both thru acquiring her work and presenting it at her Miami intuition, Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO). With her family around her, Fontanals-Cisneros accepted the award elegantly in Spanish.
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Leana de la Cruz, Maria de la Cruz, Jeannie Lewin and Bealy Battle attend El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Aurora Rose/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Jean Shafiroff and Omar Hernandez attend El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Aurora Rose/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Irene Rodriguez and Agatha Ruiz de la Prada attend El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Aurora Rose/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Gloria Benitez, Roxana Matienzo and Jeannie Lewin attend El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Krista Kennell/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Elizabeth Steimberg and David Weiner attend El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Krista Kennell/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Elizabeth Keyes and Mike Keyes attend El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Aurora Rose/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Maria Eugenia Maury and Ella Fontanals-Cisneros attend El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Aurora Rose/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Diana Morgan attends El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Krista Kennell/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos attends El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Krista Kennell/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Claudia Cisneros and Andres Capriles attend El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Aurora Rose/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Bia Rosa and Daniel Roesler attend El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Krista Kennell/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Atmosphere at El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Aurora Rose/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Pedro Reyes, Maria Gonzalez, Javier Rivera and Sarah Kislingbury attend El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Aurora Rose/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: River Callaway and Hannah Rowston attend El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Krista Kennell/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Susana Fontanals attends El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Aurora Rose/PMC)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 2: Richard Lewisohn and Jackie Weld Drake attend El Museo del Barrio’s 50th Anniversary Gala at The Plaza on May 2, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Krista Kennell/PMC)
Sisters Ela Troyano and Carmelita Tropicana Troyano warmly welcomed their friend, Raphael Montanez Ortiz to the stage and read from a message from Chon A. Noriega that noted his importance to the Latinx community as well his remarkable body of work in many genres. From a seat on the stage the handsome 85 year old artist led guests in his signature audience participation concert first activated in 1966. With the assistance of Executive Director Patrick Charpenel, the entire Plaza Ballroom audience took white paper bags, wrote on them “whatever garbage or worries they have,” inflated the bags and “popped their worries away.”
A live auction was conducted by Gabriela Palmieri, Senior Vice President of Sotheby’s, and daughter of legendary jazz artist Eddie Palmieri. Gabriela made a loving donation on behalf of her mother Iraida Palmieri. Guests enjoyed magnums of Moet & Chandon at every table, danced to Latin music by Avenida B and a special performance by La Voz contestant Manny Cabo.
ABOUT EL MUSEO DEL BARRIO
El Museo del Barrio, founded by a coalition of Puerto Rican educators, artists, and activists, is the nation’s leading Latino/Latinx and Latin American cultural institution. The Museum welcomes visitors of all backgrounds to discover the artistic landscape of these communities through its extensive Permanent Collection, varied exhibitions and publications, bilingual public programs, educational activities, festivals, and special events.
The Museum is located at 1230 Fifth Avenue at 104th Street in New York City, and open Wednesday to Saturday from 11:00am – 6:00pm, and Sunday from 12:00 to 5:00pm. Admission is suggested.
Currently on view at El Museo is “Culture and The People: El Museo del Barrio,1969-2019”, a two-part exhibition featuring selections from the Permanent Collection.
New York Rag 