parties

Belt It Out!

The Houston Grand Opera hosted its 30th annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Youth Singers at Rice, streaming the program live on Facebook and YouTube. The months-long application and audition process concluded with eight finalists performing at the vocal competition — congratulations are in order for contralto Leia Lensing from the University of Northern Iowa, who was awarded the $10,000 grand prize! — followed by a seated dinner at the Hotel ZaZa. The evening raised more than $600,000.

Priscilla Dickson


Brenda Harvey-Traylor and Sid Moorhead
Parties
party people

Cheech Marin and Other Legends Toast Rothko Chapel and the Power of Art at Lively 'Inspirit' Fundraiser

David Ansell, Bennie Flores Ansell, Thuy Tran and James Tiebout

THE ROTHKO CHAPEL held its Inspirit fundraiser — a celebration of the power of art and activism — at the industrial-chic Astorian. The evening featured cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and an onstage conversation with actor Cheech Marin, one of the world’s foremost collectors of Chicano art; 2023 Art League of Houston Texas Artist of the Year Vincent Valdez; and legendary civil rights advocate Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers of America with César Chávez. (She’s 93, by the way!)

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Art + Entertainment
film

Chicano Activist and Actor Cheech Marin Finds Himself at Home in Houston

Cheech Marin reflecting outside of The Cheech (photo by David Fouts)

WHEN YOU TALK to Los Angeles-born actor Cheech Marin, regardless of how serious the subject, you can’t help but smile. His pop-culture presence is infused with an astute awareness of politics and history, and a “can do, make do, find a way to move ahead” spirit he connects to the word “Chicano,” a derogatory term that came to signify resilience, creative thinking, and social consciousness. “My dad, who died at age 93, always described himself as a Chicano, because it described him,” says Marin.

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Art + Entertainment