CSR.-The Starlite Occident Gala raises more than 140,000 euros in its 17th edition for social projects of the Starlite Foundation

The Starlite Occident Gala has raised more than 140,000 euros in its 17th edition, which will be allocated to social projects – educational, health development and social inclusion – carried out by the Starlite Foundation, the philanthropic entity of the Starlite Group established in 2010. The figure is a record compared to the previous edition.

The event, held as is tradition in the Nagüeles Cantera and promoted by its creator, the businesswoman Sandra García-Sanjuán, and the actor Antonio Banderas, has featured numerous national and international figures. Thus, under the inspirational motto ‘Peace & Love’, those attending the gala have called for coexistence and international harmony.

“Solidarity is the basis of everything; otherwise, nothing would make sense,” García-Sanjuán assured upon his arrival. “We have had a very complicated, roller coaster summer. We won the World Cup, then came the fires and the situation that is now being experienced in Ceuta,” added Banderas, for whom the motto of this year’s event “unfortunately makes very little sense in the world we are living in.” For this reason, he has urged to live “a night of joy”, with words towards his brother, recent champion of the Copa del Rey de Vela.

In this call, the Starlite Foundation has joined an international action together with the CAF (Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean) and the organization Venezuela Sin Límites to allocate funds to the rescue and reconstruction of Venezuela after the recent earthquakes suffered in the country, in addition to maintaining the usual support for entities such as Children in Joy and Lágrimas y Favores.

Thus, the commitment to the educational field has been one of the axes of the event since the resources obtained will reinforce the initiatives of the Children in Alegría Foundation, an entity co-founded by Alejandra Alemán and Sandra García-Sanjuán that has more than 40 schools in Mexico that have helped more than 75,000 schoolchildren and their communities.

In parallel, the proceeds will support the lines of work of the Lágrimas y Favores Foundation, promoted by Antonio Banderas in 2010. This organization, among other initiatives, develops social, educational work (with scholarships for students from the University of Málaga) and health support (in favor of Cudeca, dedicated to palliative care for cancer patients).

In addition, the international alliance of CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean – and the entity Venezuela Sin Límites and Unidos en Red, represented respectively by Telma Ortiz, responsible for Global Strategic Alliances, and Alfonso Cisneros, will allow direct allocations to the Fund for the Recovery and Reconstruction of Venezuela. This technical program seeks to respond in a transparent manner to the humanitarian emergency derived from the earthquakes of June 24.

The main instrument for raising economic funds has been the traditional live auction, coordinated by the Mexican Memo Martínez, founder of Casa MM. During the bidding, both restricted-access tourist and cultural experiences and unique works of contemporary art have been put out to tender.

Among the lots of experiences, the auction has awarded a private visit to the Joan Miró Foundation, a getaway to Capri or attendance with the dancer Joaquín Cortés at the official award ceremony of the Order of the Star of Italy in Madrid.

A handcrafted lot consisting of a flamenco cajon from the Guitarras Manuel Rodríguez brand, signed by Estrella Morente, has also been awarded. However, it has been the plastic arts section that has achieved the highest collection, with a painting by the Swiss painter Raymond Stuwe in tribute to the singer David Bowie (‘Keep Quiet’) sold for a final price of 30,000 euros.

“Looking at our artists is knowing ourselves,” Banderas said at the beginning of the event and ended the night by auctioning the shirt he was wearing, painted by himself, to increase the night’s proceeds. “There are 17 galas fulfilling the founding objectives and we will continue for another 17 years if life allows us,” he claimed.

Throughout its 16 previous editions, the Starlite Foundation has raised more than four million euros for social causes.

SOLIDARITY AWARDS 2026

In addition, within the framework of the gala, the 2026 Solidarity Awards were presented, which recognize personalities who put their leadership and visibility at the service of social causes. Among the winners of this edition were the Argentine actress Luisana Lopilato, distinguished “for turning success into an opportunity to help others”, while the singer Estrella Morente received the award for “making flamenco an expression of identity, tradition and universal culture.”

Plácido Domingo was also recognized, “for making music a legacy at the service of excellence, culture and new generations”; the soccer player Eglantina Zingg, “for turning soccer into a tool of equality, leadership and empowerment for thousands of girls”, and the businessman Jorge Neri, “for conscious leadership that transforms scarcity into opportunities for shared abundance.”

The musical performances have been led by the Colombian actor and singer Juan Manuel Restrepo, the young violinist Sophie Rodríguez, the Sevillian group Los Alpresa and the singer Juan Peña, who has once again joined the event with his pop and flamenco proposal, as well as an unexpected duet between Michael Bublé and Bertín Osborne, presenter of the gala together with Valeria Mazza, when performing ‘Fly Me to the Moon’.

The 17th edition of the solidarity event concluded at midnight with public congratulations to Antonio Banderas on his birthday on stage. With this day, the Starlite Foundation closes its 2026 call to begin the execution of the assigned programs.