Houtson’s Latin Ladies’s Initiative pulled off a tres stylish triple menace — type, celebration, and critical giving — throughout its thirtieth anniversary luncheon and trend present, drawing greater than 850 supporters to the Hilton Americas-Houston ballroom. The occasion blended tradition, group, and catwalks into one spectacular noon affair.
Occasion chairs April Ramirez Fabre and Julie Garza, alongside board president Jovanny Orellana, welcomed company to a ballroom teeming with fashionistas, philanthropists, and an entire lot of Latin sass. The annual luncheon, present, and bustling market marked a serious milestone for the nonprofit, which has supported Houston’s Latin group for greater than 20 years. This 12 months’s honorees, Lisset Garza and Naimeh Salem, had been acknowledged for his or her years of devoted assist to the group and past.
Festivities kicked off early with a buying market that opened within the morning and rapidly grew to become standing room solely. Fashionable attendees sipped tequila samples from native model Titanium Tequila whereas looking distributors. A specialty cocktail bar and music from DJ Freddy B saved the vitality festive. Occasion designer Johanna Terry delivered a chic setting, infusing the ballroom with wealthy emerald inexperienced tones, a nod to the group’s thirtieth anniversary, paired with lush florals.
This system started with Orellana welcoming the gang from a dramatic Y-shaped runway, as Mariachi Reyes de Mexico stuffed the room with music that hushed the gang for a heartfelt invocation.
Then got here the second each trend lover waited for: Lo Mejor de Saks Primavera 2025 (The Better of Spring Saks 2025), a luxe runway present offered in partnership with Saks Fifth Avenue, led by Heidi Turney and Hasina Starks. Applause echoed as fashions and some courageous Houston firefighters confirmed off the season’s must-haves. However the true showstopper? Actor and TV host Julián Gil, who shocked the viewers by strutting the runway himself, incomes whoops and cheers from the gang. His look was generously sponsored by Salem.
The catwalk got here alive with Latin beats and big LED screens flashing colourful visuals, due to a manufacturing staff led by Lenny Matuszewski and Tamara Bonar. Behind-the-scenes storytelling and movies, created by unique media companion Telemundo Houston, added a poignant layer to the spectacle.
As company settled in for lunch, anticipation constructed for the raffle, which included a stunning diamond tennis necklace from Zadok Jewelers. Helene Zadok herself took the stage to crown the fortunate winner. All that pleasure translated into influence: the occasion raised greater than $500,000 to learn Justice Ahead, Rebuilding Collectively Houston, Segundo Barrio Kids’s Refrain, El Centro de Corazon, and Naba Sneakers for Children.
And what’s a Latin social gathering with out a correct toast?
Friends clinked glasses in a tequila-fueled cheers to a few many years of trend for a trigger, then danced the afternoon away to reside music from Grupo Kache. The grand finale included extra market buying and lite bites, with plans already introduced for subsequent 12 months’s fête on Could 1, 2026.
Houston’s Latin glitterati confirmed up, together with Ceron, Patricia Herrera, Leticia Fallick, Rosi Hernandez, Gloria Luna Bounds, Trini Mendenhall-Royalty, Vicky Dominguez, Becky Reyes, Maritza Gonzales, Vicki Luna, Chree Boydstun, David Cordua, Frances Castañeda Dyess, Patricia Garcia, Alba Huerta, Daisy Mendoza, Arcy Muñoz Marshall, Jolene Treviño, Mari Salazar, Leanne Schneider, Hoda Sana, Xochitl Ljuboja, Jackie Garcia, Cathryn Martinez, Mariangeles Orti, Vanessa Ramirez, Matty Restivo, Lisa Flores, Susan Dray, Marilu Garza, Conchita Reyes, Lorena Gomez, Lucia and Michael Cordua, and Leisa Holland-Nelson.
