Barcelona dresses in red in solidarity with the People in Red Gala

BarcelonaMontjuïc mountain was dressed in red tonight with the arrival of almost 800 guests for the People In Red Gala, which celebrated its sixteenth edition this year. As is tradition, the event brought together at the MNAC representatives from sponsoring companies, institutions, and celebrities from the social, cultural, and political world of Barcelona and Catalonia to rally for a common cause: to raise funds to finance the research of the Fundació Lluita contra les Infeccions, an internationally renowned institution in clinical research of infectious diseases. The initiative, whose alma mater is Doctor Bonaventura Clotet, president of the foundation, has once again demonstrated its intact power of attraction and its fundraising capacity, which reached 838,769 euros, a very notable figure that makes this solidarity gala the most powerful in Spain.

With red as the essential element of the

dress code, guests from all walks of life walked the very crowded photocall. Sponsored this year by model Martina Klein and her partner, former tennis player Àlex Corretja, the gala featured among its most well-known guests the members of the musical group Amaral and Joan Dausà, the artists responsible for entertaining at the gala dinner served by Nandu Jubany in the oval hall of the MNAC. Besides Sílvia Abril and Toni Acosta, who served as exceptional presenters, the party included other faces from the acting world such as Maribel Verdú, siblings Marc and Aina Clotet, or Natalia Sánchez. Eduardo Casanova, who was recognized by the gala's organization with the Premi Solidari People in Red Barcelona – awarded for the first time this year – receives this distinction after publicly announcing that he lives with the HIV virus. The actor could not attend the gala due to health reasons, but he sent a video thanking him for the award.

From the fashion world, such traditional names as Judit Mascó and Veronica Blume stood out, sharing the red carpet with Laura Ponte and the multifaceted Sita Abellán, who is a DJ, model, designer, and stylist. They haven't been the only figures from the fashion business present at the gala. Domingo Lázaro, creative director of Dominnico; Alejandro Palomo, of Palomo Spain; Ze Garcia; Moisés Nieto; and Juan Avellaneda have also shown their most solidary side. Nor were influencers missing, such as Nina Urgell, Miranda Makaroff, Steffy Argelich, Laura Vandall, Paula Gonu, and Lola Lolita.

The gala also had a large institutional representation. In addition to the president of the Generalitat Salvador Illa, many other politicians wanted to demonstrate their commitment to medical research. Thus, among the guests, there was the mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni; the president of the Parliament, Josep Rull; Artur Mas –accompanied by his wife, Helena Rakosnik– and Xavier Trias.

From the field of communication, it is worth highlighting figures such as Helena Garcia Melero, always faithful to the event promoted by Bonaventura Clotet, but also other names such as Antoni Bassas, Oriol Nolis, director of La 2 Cat, or the communicator Carolina Iglesias, known, among other things, for the podcast Estirando el chicle. Musicians like Ramon Mirabet were also present. There was also a good representation from the world of sport, with faces such as swimmer Mireia Belmonte, former tennis player David Ferrer and Audie Norris, a legendary former Barça basketball player. From the business world, Víctor Font and Enrique Tomás were also present.

The solidarity event is one of Barcelona's major solidarity events, a transversal meeting where this year personalities such as Òscar Camps, founder of the NGO Proactiva Open Arms, presenter Elsa Anka, in a tight red dress, and architect Ricardo Bofill Jr. could be seen. Also walking the red carpet, dressed in red, were actress Cristina Brondo and sommelier Meritxell Falgueras.

The Lucha contra las Infecciones Foundation, which has over 30 years of experience and a team of more than 100 professionals –some members of the WHO–, was created in 1992 by Dr. Clotet to support the HIV Unit at the Germans Trias Hospital in Badalona. In his speech, the doctor pointed out that the support of all attendees at the gala "serves to spark ideas, which we have many." Additionally, he did not want to ignore current events and regarding the hantavirus outbreak, he recalled that "we must promote research in animal and human health, which are very linked." Currently, infectious diseases cause one in five deaths worldwide, according to WHO data.