by Janet Donovan
The chorizo in the Paella was not red and blue, but the spices kept up with the heat of the evening.
Ramón Gil-Casares,The Ambassador of Spain to the United States, hosted an elegant non partisan dinner party at his residence in honor of Election Night. Well, almost non partisan. If you weren’t paying attention, you may have missed it: Democrats held court on the entrance level where they watched CNN on the big screens – Republicans congregated downstairs and held court over FOX Newschannel.
Although it’s his second go around in the U.S., having been posted in New York as deputy consul general, it’s his first election here.
Former Chief of Protocol “Lucky” Roosevelt
There were enough Ambassadors from other countries as well as the U.S. at the event that he had the diplomatic alphabet pretty well covered.
“Didi” and Ambassador Walter Cutler (L & C)
If you needed your house redecorated or Embassy for that matter, you were at the right place.
Interior Designers Robert Shields and Aniko Gaal Schott who has decorated multiple Embassies
In between the tortilla de patatas and the paella, the Ambassador joined guests in an informal setting.
Ambassador Ramón Gil-Casares (R)
Hollywood on the Potomac sat down with Amb. Gil-Casares and discussed the economic conditions in Spain and of course the political paella.
The Ambassador organized what he called an Election Paella for American, Spanish and some members of the diplomatic community to follow the election process and guests on both sides of the political spectrum were excited to be there. It was a perfectly executed evening thanks to the assistance of Social Secretary and Protocol Officer Diane Flamini.
Robert Shields and Diane Flamini
“This is a big feast of Democracy in the United States,” he said, “and it is wonderful to be able to witness it as it develops.”
We touched on the situation in Spain which has its own economic problems like most countries. “Of course, the situation in Spain as many of you know is that we’re in the middle of an economic crises. Luckily, many measures have been taken and although some of them have been harsh for the people, (and you might have seen some of their reactions in our streets), we think that we are starting to see progress. Our exports are increasing, the markets in Spain have also increased in recent weeks, so we are very hopeful to come out of this crises in the short term.”
As for the paella? “In the political paellas, there’s everything,” he said. “But they don’t have those colors,” he continued in reference to a question as to whether the chorizo was red and blue in honor of the evening. “It’s rice with shrimps and some with pork and meat and others just with vegetables. So, there’s all sorts of paellas to accommodate all tastes and all parties.”
