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Celebrated Latin American Chefs Wow with ‘Dia’ Wine Dinner

Mario Santos
Celebrated Latin American Chefs Wow with ‘Dia’ Wine Dinner

Mason Brauchle and Christine Turner

A TRIO OF top Latin American chefs whipped up a four-course dinner in celebration of Dia de los Muertos at the second annual Black Dinner. The menu was crafted by Houston chefs Arnaldo Richards of Picos and Omar Pereney who were joined by special guest Atzin Santos from Mexico City.

Under a large tent at City Place Plaza in Spring, 60 guests were greeted by a large traditional Dia de los Muertos alter and margaritas from Picos. And, for full Dia decadence, guests were given flower crowns and the opportunity to have their face painted before dinner.

Farmhouse-style tables were decorated by Picnics in the City with large colorful bouquets and black accents. The first three courses, each served with a thoughtfully paired glass of wine, all featured dramatic black foods: black agua chile, huitlacoche — a fungus that grows on corn that was first used in cooking by the Aztecs in the 14th century — and mole. The finale was goat-cheese cheesecake served with a decorative macaron painted to look like a skull.

After dinner, guests enjoyed sipping tequila while dancing to the music of the Latin jazz band Pachangara.

Julia Pardue and Clara Reily

Allison and Travis Reinke

Amanda and Mingo Marquez

Cristina Morales Varga

Cristina Morales Varga

Denise Zimmermann, Nicole Curry-Clark and Jason Clark

Gabi and Steve De La Rosa

Giselle Colón

Juraxi Pastrano, Cristina Morales Varga and Gabriella Sardinas

Pepe Celis and Martha Such

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art

Through Lenses of 12 Black Artists, CAMH Presents Visual History of Houston’s Freedmen’s Town

Installation view of 'THIS WAY: A Houston Group Show' at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, 2023. (Photo by Sean Fleming)

IN THE SUMMER of 1865, less than two months after the end of the Civil War, thousands of former slaves, or “freedpeople,” from the Texas countryside and every state in the former Confederacy made the pilgrimage via the San Felipe Trail to Houston’s Fourth Ward and established Freedman’s Town — a neighborhood for families determined to build and establish a thriving community as the country entered the Reconstruction era. Nearby cypress trees provided wood to construct family homes and handcrafted bricks were used to create the neighborhood’s streets. In June 2021, the Houston City Council voted to make Freedmen’s Town the city’s first official Heritage District, which allows nonprofits to help fund the restoration and care of the community’s historic structures, including those brick streets.

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art

Two Artists Cultivate Friendship from Halfway Across the Globe — and Show Their Work at a Houston Gallery

Moseholm's 'Infinite Mapping of Changing Worlds' and Mosman's 'Inheritance'

THE FRUITS OF a cross-cultural, multigenerational friendship are on display in Things Fall Apart, an exhibit across two galleries at Redbud Arts Center. The show features recent paintings by New Orleans-born, Houston-based artist Randall Mosman and Copenhagen’s Anders Moseholm; it opens Saturday, Jan. 6, and runs through Jan. 27.

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