The Development and Scholarship Committees met on Sunday, January 25 for the first planning meeting of the year. The following are pictures from our in-house photographer, Annelise Moore.

The Development Committee, led by Alfonso “Poncho” Berthier, organized the first event of 2009 on January 9—a Rosca de Reyes party at the Danzon Art Gallery in Adams Morgan. “Rosca de Reyes” is a traditional celebration held in parts of Latin America for the Dia de los Reyes (Three Kings Day). The “celebration” consists of being with friends, drinking an Aztec hot chocolate drink called champurrad and eating a specially-baked Rosca de Reyes cake.

Co-hosted by the Ex-aTecs, or the Alumni Association of the Instituto Tecnologico de Monterrey in Washington, D.C., this event allowed the Esperanza Education Fund to spread the word to more people about its mission and scholarship program. It also allowed Esperanza folks to drink a lot of Aztec hot chocolate. Special thanks to Poncho and Eduardo Barada of the Danzon Art Gallery for organizing our kickoff event for the year!