[IMG:L]Chavez’s Mexican Fiesta—Muy Caliente!
The Tribeca Film Festival is an emergence, manifestation, and celebration of unique, talented, and independent filmmakers eager to unveil their creative works. Although not all artists make the cut for such a great intro into Indiewood, those who pass on through have every reason to celebrate their achievements.
Chavez is a documentary dream about the life of Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez, conceived by promising, young Mexican actor Diego Luna that premiered at the festival last week. Making it past the velvet ropes and tight list policies, thanks to Rubenstein PR, we congregated for an after party at Tribeca’s Cadillac Lounge at The Maritime Hotel in Chelsea, to salute Luna’s achievements.
Upon our arrival at The Maritime, we entered the party room in full décor. Chinese lanterns in various sizes were hung from ceilings, the lights were dimmed, oversized plants were decorated with white and red ‘tis-the-season lights–and wooden beads draped around the VIP section. The ambiance was very tropical-Christmas-meets-sexy-urban-chic.
Following my nose to an enticing aroma, I glanced around and noticed a small buffet with plump pastas, colorful antipasti, and savory cheeses set up in a corner of the lounge. I fought the urge to nibble as long as possible, but lost the battle to the pangs of hunger elicited from deep within me. Relentless!!
The crowds started to fill-in as the DJ spinned bootie shakin’, off-the-hook, sexy beats. I made my way to adjacent bar, fully stocked with top-shelf liquors, swarmed with thirsty patrons eager to water their mouths. With a dirty martini in one hand, I found myself a seat near the entrance; fine-tuned my night vision, and made mental notes while absorbing the nightlife.
The anticipation continued to build as my head swung back and forth with the hopes of seeing the Mexican hotties. In the interim, legions of interesting, trendy people poured in. The highlight of the night before the star arrivals had to be two older biker dudes with long braided hair walking around, in search of something—I couldn’t guess what. For a better or worse, they looked like ‘Cheech and Chong’. I wonder…
At last, the eye candy arrived. It was none other than gorgeous Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal. The actor from Babel and Y Tu Mama Tambien, in which he co-starred with Luna, looked even finer in real life! Surrounded by a crowd of people, he made his way to the VIP section to chill, and get the party started.
[IMG:R]The real Chavez clan arrived not too long after, with the boxer’s family members and director Diego Luna. A talented actor with impressive credits like Frida and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights to name a few, Luna looked sweet and handsome. I also noticed a very tall, white-haired man who turned out to be Tim Robbins. What a nice surprise appearance. They mingled, drank, and got the party started.
The festivities carried on and I sipped away while taking notes, all the while mystified by the allure of my first Tribeca after party. Although tempted to stick around, the time had come to move on to the next invitation and off I went.
A Rained-Out Garden Party…
The Gardener of Eden was one of the big-ticket indie films to catch this year with names like Leonardo DiCaprio, Kevin Connolly, and Giovanni Ribisi attached to the project. The premiere after party, however, wasn’t the easiest to find my way into.
The fete took place at one of NYC’s most exclusive clubs, Marquee. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate, and the miserable rainstorm consumed the red carpet; the, anticipated glamorous entrances–awash.
[IMG:L]The aforementioned celebs were joined by hot names such as: Erika Christensen, Lukas Haas, Adrian Grenier, Carla Gugino, Fred Durst and many others. This was THE party of this year’s Tribeca Fest, but unfortunately, the rain, chaos, and exclusivity prevented any type of participation for me in this event. It was truly a shame as some of Hollywood’s A-list talents and rising stars showed up for a night of boogie. But, it certainly wouldn’t be the last night of boogie in the name of the ever-growing urban Fest.
Stay tuned for more of my report on premiere after-parties and star mingling…
