
Our Ambassador’s Gala Dinner was a fantastic event, held at The Caledonian Club in Mayfair London. The annual fundraising event, held jointly with APARU was sold out with attendees from our generous members, members of APARU and sponsors, where we raised over £10,000 for both our nominated Argentinian charities and APARU’s.
Our guest of honour was the Argentine Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Don Javier Esteban Figueroa accompanied by his wife Alessandra Viggiano Marra, the current Cultural Attaché at the Argentine Embassy. We were also honoured to have Carolina Pérez Colman, Consul General and the Rt. Hon Baroness Hooper, Honorary Vice-President of AAS join us.
Music and Prizes
The evening commenced with a champagne reception, accompanied by Frances Knight at the piano. During the evening Adolfo Tuñón ran the super fun Heads & Tails game and our fundraising auction.
For 2022, we had some fabulous items up for grabs in our auction including:
- A visit to the Westminster Palace (Houses of Lords and Commons) and tea with Rt. Hon Baroness Hooper;
- A studio for 2 in the French Alps for a week in summer
- Two football t-shirts signed by Osvaldo Ardiles and Marcelo Bielsa & the Leeds United Team
- Dinner for 10 cooked at your home by a Michelin star chef, Gonzalo Luzurraga
- A beautiful painting by Argentine artist German Quibus.
With thanks to Baroness Hooper, the McGregor family, Catharine Miller Art, Brian and Liz Galloway, O. Ardiles and M. Bielsa for these items.
Our raffle contained even more prizes from our donors including gifts from El Enemigo Wines, Casa Argentina, Chango Empanadas, Bacanas, SUR Chocolates, Alejo Monsalvo, London Tango Academy. Estribos donated the prize for the Heads & Tails game.
Tango Performance and Dancing
Following the auction and raffle, we were treated to a hypnotising tango performance by four dancers (Carlos & Emma and Julio & Letitia) from London Tango Academy. Next it was the guests turn to hit the dancefloor, when DJ Sergio Schuchinsky got everyone dancing until past midnight, when sadly we had to end the fun and head home.
A Huge Thank You To Our Sponsors, Members and Volunteers
This event could not have been possible without the huge amount of support we received from our sponsors, donors, Committee volunteers, and members for joining us on the night.
Particular thanks go to:
- The Hon Vice-President Anthony Westnedge, who introduced the AAS to the Caledonian Club. The Caledonian Club provided us with an excellent venue and food.
- Globant, a multinational company with roots in Argentina, who sponsored the evening with £5000.
- Viñals Food and Wine for donating all the wines consumed during the evening.
- All our auction and raffle donors, and guests for taking part.
- A special thank you goes also to our vice-chairman, Federico Cincotta, for successfully negotiating all our contracts, this year, so far, and our committee for their hours of dedication and the volunteers for their time.
- Ezequiel Velazquez for the photos of the event.
- And finally, a huge thank you to APARU for their cooperation and help in organising this event.