On Wednesday evening, the fashion and art worlds gathered at The Pool + The Grill in the landmark Seagram Building to fête El Museo del Barrio’s annual gala—this year held in tribute to the late Tony Bechara.

The Puerto Rican artist and longtime New Yorker passed away earlier this year, on April 23—his 83rd birthday. Renowned for his vibrant geometric abstractions, Bechara emerged as a prominent figure in the 1970s art scene before becoming a passionate advocate for Latin American and Caribbean artists. As chairman of El Museo from 2000 to 2015, he helped broaden the museum’s scope beyond its original focus on Puerto Rican art, championing a more expansive vision that embraced Latinx identity across the diaspora—from the Caribbean to the Andes.

In a year marked by growing challenges for Latino communities in the United States, the evening struck a resonant chord. With immigrant populations increasingly under political siege, honoring Latinx culture and its vital role in the American tapestry felt not only poignant but urgent.

Senator Chuck Schumer opened the program with a speech affirming his ongoing support for the Latino community. El Museo board chair Karla Harwich and executive director Patrick Charpenel followed, setting the tone for the night. U.S. presidential inaugural poet Richard Blanco—who read at President Obama’s second inauguration—delivered a stirring poem before Stanley T. Stairs accepted El Museo’s award on behalf of Bechara. Soprano Larisa Martínez closed the program with a soaring performance.

The evening drew an elegant cross-section of the fashion and culture vanguard. Vogue Mexico’s Karla Martinez de Salas, a gala co-chair, gathered a stylish contingent of designers, models, and editors, including Valentina Ferrer, Juana Burga, Lineisy Montero, Hiandra Martinez, Jonathan Cohen, Henry Zankov, Stephanie Suberville of Herilome, 10 Magazine USA editor Dora Fung, i-D’s Steff Yotka, and Vogue’s own Laia Garcia-Furtado and Ignacio Murillo. Also in attendance: photographer Alexi Lubomirski, newly appointed American Ballet Theatre Principal Dancer Isaac Hernández—the first Mexican to hold the role—political commentator Ana Navarro, and activist and Democratic donor Henry R. Muñoz III.