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Pioneering Group Goes to Bat for Latino Children With Cancer

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SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

There wasn’t a dry eye at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night, but the tears weren’t for the shabby season of the Boys in Blue. Padres Contra El Cancer, believed to be the only Latino organization in the United States dedicated to assisting Latino children with cancer and their families, staged its first black-tie gala benefit, El Sueno de Esperanza (Vision of Hope), at the Stadium Club.

Among the guests were some of the children being treated at the Center for Children’s Cancer and Blood Diseases at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles--kids who have had the support of Padres volunteers.

“The hospital is their safety net,” said center director Dr. Stuart Siegel, who co-founded Padres in 1985. “We can make sure these kids are caught and receive world-class treatment. But it’s the Padres volunteers behind the scenes who get them there. They supply the transportation, counseling and financial assistance.”

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The evening honored Siegel along with KMEX-TV Channel 34 and Kevin Malone, Dodgers general manager, for their support. There were the usual speeches, but nothing was more eloquent than the words of an 18-year-old cancer survivor, Roxanna Arechiga: “At first, I didn’t like Dr. Siegel very much, because I blamed him for my hair falling out. But it isn’t until you’re very sick that you know who your real friends are. Padres has been there all the way for me. They don’t make us feel different because we’re bald or in a wheelchair. They know we just want to be loved and cared for. Having cancer has taught me a lot about the world.”

An emotional appeal for community support was delivered by Henry Garcia, chairman of Padres, whose lips trembled as he watched a video of his smiling young son, who died just before his 15th birthday in 1988.

“Next year, I want to drive up to this event with two vans bearing the Padres logo,” he said. “I want a house where needy Latino families can seek some respite . . . and their young siblings cannot hear a brother or sister crying out in pain . . . and I want this to be a pilot program for every city in America. How many kids do we lose to cancer because they relapse after being in remission, and the families don’t have the means to get them to the hospital regularly for follow-up checks?”

Tasha Noriega, who co-chaired the event with Assemblyman Marco Firebaugh (D-Los Angeles) said the Padres efforts can change lives for the better--the lives of the children and of volunteers.

“When my son lost his sight in one eye after brain cancer surgery, he said, ‘I still have one eye left.’ These children are truly resilient. Helping them can brighten your day. If people volunteer to drive a child to an appointment, I guarantee the experience will change their lives.”

Net proceeds from the inaugural event will exceed $50,000, said Padres Chief Executive Michael G. Velazquez. For more information on Padres Contra El Cancer, call (323) 669-4669.

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Five Angelenos with a passion for the arts--a skier, a schoolteacher, a grocer, a soap maker and a fashion model--were honored by the Music Center at the fourth annual Heritage Salutes dinner.

The California Club was the setting for the Dec. 13 event recognizing individuals who have made significant contributions to the performing arts. Honored were Hannah Carter, a former competitive skier and figure skater, who along with her late husband, Edward Carter, has supported the center since it opened in 1964; Alice and Joe Coulombe--she taught school after graduating from Stanford, and he founded the Trader Joe’s food store chain--have been supporters since the original fund-raising campaign; and Margit Cotsen, a former European model and USC honors grad, and her husband, Lloyd Cotsen, former chairman of the Neutrogena Corp., who are major donors to the center.

Andrea Van de Kamp and cartoonist Paul Conrad emceed this year’s event. Heritage founder Alyce Williamson chaired the evening, which featured Christmas carols by members of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, with narration by Michael York.

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No need to worry about where the opera world will find the next generation of supernovas. Six future stars shared the stage with Placido Domingo in Los Angeles on Friday night. The six were winners of Domingo’s eighth annual “Operalia,” an international competition conducted in September. They returned to UCLA’s Royce Hall for the Friday night gala with Domingo in a concert of show-stopping arias accompanied by the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, conducted by Giovanni Reggioli.

For ardent opera fans, the $500 tickets were a bargain. There were three curtain calls with standing ovations for soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian and Robert Pomakov (he’s only 19), both of Canada; Virginia Tola of Argentina; He Hui of China; Daniil Shtoda of Russia and Konstyantyn Andreyev of the Ukraine.

A supper created by Spago followed in UCLA’s Covel Commons. There, guests dined with Marta and Placido Domingo, event chairman Don Franzen and his wife, Dale; L.A. Opera’s CEO Leonard Green, and executive director Ian White-Thomson and his wife, Barbara; Nancy and hizzoner Dick Riordan, UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale and benefactor Alberto Vilar, who dispensed $200,000 in cash prizes along with the prestigious Vilar Award--a crystal lyre--to each winner.

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Patt Diroll’s column is published Tuesdays. She can be reached at pattdiroll@earthlink.net.

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