Emotional prize-giving ceremony of the Casa de México in Málaga

On Monday 22nd January, in the auditorium of the Economic Society of Friends of the Country, the awards ceremony of the Casa de México in Malaga and Andalusia took place.      

In an emotional ceremony that brought together a large group of attendees from businessmen, consuls, intellectuals, writers and the general public, the president of the Casa de México in Málaga and Andalusia, Claudia Luna Palencia, highlighted the raison d'être of these awards. 

"In the Board of Directors we have decided to highlight the work of various people and also of groups and entities that do things not only with excellence, but also with a large dose of humanity," said Luna Palencia.  

The event was presented by the journalist Isabel Gómez Fuentes, who called out, one by one, the winners of this first edition, which was not attended by the Mayor of Málaga, Francisco de la Torre, who received the Friendship Award. The journalist and writer Luna Palencia herself went with part of the Board of Directors of the Casa de México in Málaga and Andalusia to the Town Hall to hand-deliver her award to the Mayor several hours before the event.  

Later in the afternoon, at the gala, Bernardo Cueto, head of Tourism of the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, who came to Malaga on behalf of the governor of the state, Mara Lezama, took the stage to receive the award on her behalf: the Vision Award.  

"On behalf of Governor Mara Lezama, I would like to thank her for this distinction. The ties between Spain and Mexico are getting stronger and stronger", Cueto emphasised.  

Jorge González, businessman and director of the Hotel AC Málaga Palacio, then took the podium to receive the Solidarity Award for his enormous capacity to empathise with the diverse social and humanitarian causes that a multitude of organisations and NGOs in Málaga attend to.  

González has distinguished himself by creating a team of friendly, hard-working and supportive people who are always helping with donations to various groups in the city.  

"I will always hold this award in a special place for me. I am united by solidarity causes and I believe that the vocation to help others is one of the commitments that we entrepreneurs have", stressed González.  

Then it was the turn of Reyna Traverso, chef and CEO of the restaurant Cantina Niña Bonita, located in Soho, which is considered the best Mexican food restaurant in the whole province for its wide gastronomic offer of Mexican dishes faithful to traditional recipes. Traverso lives devoted to her great passion: cooking, and for this she has received the Love For Mexico Award. 

"I am Panamanian but I studied in Mexico and there I learned about its cuisine, which is very extensive. I fell in love with that country, with its people and I am very happy that the Mexicans themselves recognise that my cuisine is authentic. We even make the tortillas by hand," said Traverso. 

The last of the winners was the Uppery Club with the Leadership Award. This social club for entrepreneurs from all over the province of Malaga opened in 2022 and has quickly positioned itself as a meeting point thanks to the work of its friendly managers: Manuel Márquez and Carmen Vera who work hard to make the concept a complete success.  

"I studied in Mexico at the Anahuac University and I can say that the time I was there I learned that Mexico and the Mexican people are pure passion. They put a lot of passion into everything they do," said Márquez.  

All the award winners were accompanied not only by the president of Casa de México in Málaga and Andalusia, Claudia Luna Palencia, but also by its general secretary, Lidia León; as well as Carmen Sánchez Sierra, Territorial Delegate of Employment, Enterprise and Self-Employment of the Junta de Andalucía; Isabel Pascual, Director General of Citizen Participation, Migration, External Action, Development Cooperation, Transparency; and Princesa Sánchez, Director General of AJE Málaga, were also present.  

The host José María Ruiz Povedano took the opportunity to explain the historical importance of the building of the Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País not only for Spain but also for Latin America.    

Each of the awards was accompanied by a gift prepared by Inmaculada Rosa and Daniel Marín Moreno, from Vinos y Eventos, who presented the winners with a box of wine and glasses engraved with their names and the logo of the Casa de México in Málaga and Andalusia.  

The Casa de México in Málaga and Andalusia chose Málaga as its epicentre, although it organises events all over Andalusia. It is a private organisation that promotes Mexican culture, helps the Mexican community in various fields and contributes to the promotion of business in Málaga and the rest of Andalusia.   

In addition, it has two pillars: the promotion of education by creating different initiatives to encourage and support students who face illness or a complicated economic situation, so that they do not interrupt their studies. And, creating synergies that allow students who wish to be entrepreneurs to start their business initiatives. This year, the goal is to give scholarships to two students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds to study hairdressing and/or aesthetics at the Nebro School in Malaga.