Washington D.C. – On Monday, May 21, 2018 at 6:30 pm, GALA Hispanic Theatre will host its annual Noche de Estrellas benefit event at the Organization of American States honoring three extraordinary leaders. The 2017 honorees are:  Luis Salgado, director of In the Heights en Español, for Artistic Excellence and Inspiration; Craig Pascal and Victor Shargai for Service to the Arts and Philanthropy; and Ana Recio Harvey for Arts and Business. Proceeds from the event will support GALA’s youth education programs, which include the Paso Nuevo program, an arts and academic enrichment program for Latino teens in the District of Columbia that was recognized with a 2012 National Arts and Humanities Youth Arts Program Award by First Lady Michelle Obama. 

In addition to the Honoree Awards, Noche de Estrellas will feature performances of Puerto Rican Bomba and Plena by Gabriela Ponce of Repitando; Tango by the Emmanuel Trifilio trio; and music and poems by Paso Nuevo students. Erika González, NBC Channel 4 news anchor, will be Master of Ceremonies; and the guest auctioneer is award-winning actor Lawrence Redmond.

Silent and live auctions will offer up exotic get-aways to Mexico, tickets to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton at the Kennedy Center, and more. The event is black tie and will be attended by several Latin American ambassadors and international diplomats, leaders of DC’s arts and business communities, city officials, and philanthropists.

The Noche de Estrellas event will be held at the Hall of the Americas of the Organization of American States (OAS) at the corner of 17th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW.

The Honorees

Luis Salgado / Artistic Excellence and Inspiratio

Luis Salgado is a Puerto Rican director, choreographer, and educator based in New York City who has worked internationally. He was the Assistant Latin Choreographer of In the Heights on Broadway, which won four Tony Awards, and performed in the Gloria Estefan musical, On Your Feet as well as served as associate director to the Holland production of the same title. Among the productions and festivals he has directed/choreographed in the United States and abroad are Ragtime, TO BE OR NOT TO BE... a Shakespearean Experience, Amigo Duende the Musical), Bountiful, Zuccotti Park, Song of Solomon, Speed the Plow, In the Heights, and Candela Fuerza y Pasion in Lima, Peru. At GALA Salgado choreographed DC-7: La historia de Roberto Clemente, and directed and choreographed last season’s hit, In the Heights en español. He has appeared on Broadway in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, ROCKY, and In the Heights, as well as Off-Broadway shows and Broadway try outs The Mambo Kings (Frankie Suarez), Fame on 42nd Street (Joe Vegas, understudy) and Aida, among others.  Film credits include: "American Gangster"; "Dirty Dancing 2”, the television remake of "Dirty Dancing"; and "Enchanted" and "Step Up 2; The Streets" (Alejandro), for which he also was assistant choreographer. Salgado is the founder/C.E.O of R.Evolución Latina, an organization that utilizes the arts to empower the Latino community to discover its full potential.

Craig Pascal and Victor Shargai / Service to the Arts and Philanthropy

Craig Pascal is a fourth generation Washingtonian who is passionately committed to improving the lives of the underserved. As a Senior Vice President and Community Development Manager for BB&T, he directs a team of specialists in a range of activities to assure the bank’s strong involvement in community development and meeting the needs of low-to-moderate income persons and communities. He serves on the board of directors of the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers; chairs the DC Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC) Program Committee; is the former chair of the American Bankers Association Housing and Economic Development Committee; was former President of the Metropolitan Washington Banker’s Group; and is a member of the 2007 Class of Leadership Greater Washington. Pascal was instrumental in helping secure financing for the Anacostia Arts Center and Joe’s Movement Emporium; provided funding for GALA’s build out of its theater; and was an adviser in the creation of the Atlas Performing Arts Center. Among his awards are the Partners for Livable Communities Bridge Builder Award and the American Dream Award from Manna. A graduate of the Catholic University Law School, he served as the General Counsel for Councilmember Harry L. Thomas.

Victor Shargai was born in New York City where he discovered his love of theatre dancing with a store front dancing school. He worked in theater, television and radio and as a model until he realized he wasn’t really the next Marlon Brando and segued into costume design. He moved to Washington, DC to escape theater and in a chance meeting was offered a job as an interior designer at Sloane/Mayer. In 1973 he opened his own firm with his late partner John Aniello. His first arts board was the National Ballet in 1973. Since then he has served on the boards of directors of the Studio Theatre, Signature Theatre, Washington Ballet, the Kennedy Center Community Board, and the Helen Hayes Awards. He is Founding Chair of theatreWashington. Shargai has even trod the “boards” of Studio, Arena Stage and the Kennedy Center both as an actor and a dancer. His awards include Washingtonian of the Year, The Mayor’s Special Recognition Arts Award and The Helen Hayes Tribute.

Craig Pascal and Victor Shargai wed November 11, 2017 and love that they have combined their love of community and the arts.

Ana Recio Harvey / Arts and Business

Ana Recio Harvey was born in Mexico City and moved to the United States in her early 20s. Throughout her life, she has worked on behalf of the Hispanic community in different capacities. She began her career as a bilingual docent in Houston’s Museum of Modern Art and later became a translator, establishing a highly successful multilingual communications company. While running her company, Harvey served as Director of Hispanic Outreach for Cultural Tourism DC where she led the efforts to create the Columbia Heights Heritage Trail and translated all the Heritage Trails into Spanish. She became President and CEO of the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; was appointed by President Barack Obama as the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Assistant Administrator for Women’s Business Ownership in 2009; and appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser to lead the District of Columbia’s Department of Small and Local Business Development in 2015. Harvey serves as President of Building Pathways, an Educational Facilities Incubator, where she supports the growth and development of charter schools. Among her awards are the 2015 Ohtli Award, the highest honor bestowed to a Mexican national outside of Mexico, which recognizes Mexican leaders whose efforts have contributed significantly to the well-being, prosperity and empowerment of Mexican communities abroad. She also received the Roberto Clemente Award from the Washington Nationals in 2017.

The Honorary Host Committee for Noche de Estrellas (to date) is comprised of His Excellency Pablo Canedo, Ambassador of Bolivia to the U.S.; His Excellency Camilo Reyes, Ambassador of Colombia to the U.S.; His Excellency Román Macaya, Ambassador of Costa Rica to the U.S.; His Excellency Claudia Conjura de Centeno, Ambassador of El Salvador to the U.S.; His Excellency Francisco Campbell, Ambassador of Nicaragua to the U.S.; His Excellency Germán Rojas, Ambassador of Paraguay to the U.S.; His Excellency Carlos Gianelli, Ambassador of Uruguay to the U.S.; Luigi Einaudi, Former Ambassador of the U.S. to the Organization of American States; Alberto Fierro, Director, Mexican Cultural Institute;  Honorable Muriel E. Bowser, Mayor of the District of Columbia; Honorable David Grosso, Councilmember at Large, City Council of the District of Columbia; Honorable Jack Evans, Ward 3 Councilmember, City Council of the District of Columbia; Honorable Brianne Nadeau, Ward 1 Councilmember, City Council of the District of Columbia; James Boland, President, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers; Sonia Gutiérrez, Founder and former CEO, Carlos Rosario Adult Education Center; Dorothy and Bill McSweeny; and Jay Haddock and Héctor Torres.

Sponsors of GALA’s 2018 Noche de Estrellas event (to date) include: International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers; Verizon; Wells Fargo, PNC; M&T Bank; Goya; Tigo; City National Bank; and AARP. 

Tickets Tickets for the Noche de Estrellas are $225 per person, and $400 per couples. For more information about the event or sponsorship opportunities, please call 202-234-7174, e-mail info@galatheatre.org, or visit www.galatheatre.org.