When Latino pop stars or big-money actors get a phone call from Olathe, Kansas, they don't disregard the fly-over-country area code. David Chavez and Sarah Ruiz were born and raised in Topeka, but they've built a Midwest company that runs with the Los Angeles and New York City elite in booking top talent. This weekend, with a little help from Jennifer Lopez, they'll be in charge of welcoming a new president to Washington, D.C.
In late December, Chavez says, his company, LatinPointe, was tapped to produce the 2009 Latino Inaugural Gala -- "Celebrando el Cambio -- Renewing America's Promise." The event, hosted by groups like the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute and Voto Latino, will take place this Sunday at Union Station in the nation's capital.
Sure, they're based in Kansas, but organizing an event of this caliber has become routine for the local couple.
Chavez got his start working small, regional festivals before he landed a gig with the National Council of La Raza, the country's largest Hispanic civil rights organization. There, he made connections with influential names in the business and entertainment worlds. In 2004, he parlayed that into LatinPointe, a marketing company aimed at building bridges between commercial brands and the Latino community. The company he runs with Ruiz, quickly took off, securing banner contracts such as the annual ALMA Awards, hosted last year by Eva Longoria Parker on ABC.
This won't be Chavez and Ruiz first foray into red-carpet politics. It was their efforts last summer, Chavez says, that paved the way for the inaugural party. "We executed one of the bigger events at the Democratic National Convention," he says. "I guess they liked us, liked our work."
Chavez estimates this inaugural bash will cost $600,000 to $800,000 to produce. He and Ruiz have already secured commitments from Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez and, of course, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez. But planning an event that mixes politics, pop culture and cultural identity isn't straightforward.
"It wasn't easy," Chavez says. "You have to have a vision for what you're trying to achieve, and the Hispanic community is very diverse. You've got salsa, mariachi, reggaeton [music] and you want to try to represent as many as possible in an event that only runs from 7 to midnight. And you also have to factor in who are the performers who supported the president-elect on the campaign trail."
With less then a month to book the talent, arrange the stars' stay and write the script for the upscale soiree, the Olathe couple has been working overtime. Chavez says he's used to rubbing shoulders with top political leaders from the United States and Mexico, h aving produced events for NCLR, but meeting Barack Obama is still an exciting prospect.
"I'm optimistic I'll get a chance to meet him eventually," he says. "He seems to bring so much excitement and hope that's catching on with all the celebrities we work with."
But before Sunday, he's hoping to indulge some dreams of another variety.
"I haven't slept in days," he says with a laugh. -- Carolyn Szczepanski
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