Punctuality, especially if it is maximum, sometimes offers unusual scenes, such as enjoying the majesty of the third floor of the Metropolitan Club, on the east side facing Central Park, one of the reminiscences of the so-called golden age in manhattan
Arriving so early at the Hispanic Society’s etiquette gala, held in the elegant grounds founded in the 19th century by titans of American industry, allows one to see in detail, almost in solitude, the beauty of the decoration
At this time, when the waiters are waiting for the guests, there is little activity. But Australian Rupert Boyd is already strumming chords on his guitar. Play Recuerdos de la Alhambra, by Francisco Tárrega. “For me, the guitar comes alive with Spanish music”, he answers the question of what an Australian like him does playing music like this.
Nearby is Jaume Guerra, a Barcelona native from Gràcia who came to study English for three months and has been there for fifteen years, married and with two children. He was supposed to be an illustrator and earns his living with various occupations, such as the one he interprets with a knife: Iberian ham cutter. “This city has transformed me,” he says.
It is the Big Apple, a transversal and welcoming society. On the walls hang the portraits of the local tycoons who founded the club which today, in another example of transversality, welcomes the international winners of the Sorolla medal. This time the distinction goes to Dr. Carlos Zurita, Duke of Soria, a title that also gives its name to the reference foundation of Hispanism that he created with his wife, Infanta Margarita; Ella Fontanals-Cisneros, philanthropist, collector and entrepreneur born in Cuba and resident between Santo Domingo and the USA, and Fernando Zobel de Ayala, seventh generation Filipino of Spanish descent who continues in Manila with the company’s work for the arts held by the family.
The Sorolla medal, a painter for whom Archer M. Huntington, founder of the museum and bookstore focused on Hispanic culture, felt passion, is the distinction with which the Hispanic Society awards personalities for their contribution to philanthropy, art, culture and literature during its annual gala. Among the guests on Thursday night, there was Marisa Falcó, wife of the editor of La Vanguardia, Javier Godó, count of Godó, who spoke with Dr. Valentí Fuster and his wife, Maria Àngels Guals.
“I feel great satisfaction for this medal, because the Hispanic Society has always been a point of reference,” said Dr. Zurita, who was there with his children María and Alfonso, and maintained the charm of discretion, which “is fundamental to life, like correction”. Wise advice in this age of narcissism.
