Toma Mi Corazón: Avance Heart Auction
by Cassandra Yardeni

As Valentine’s Day is a time to shower your sweetheart with love, there’s no better gift than one that comes straight from the heart. This February, a local non-profit organization offers the chance to literally hand over a heart while simultaneously helping thousands of El Paso families.

Avance is an organization that caters to parents of children between the ages of 1 month to 4 years. Through parenting education, adult literacy classes, early childhood development and marriage counseling, Avance is committed to breaking the cycle of poverty that, sadly, is prevalent among young families in the Borderland.

Offering lessons in pre-natal care, child behavior, cognitive and language development, and child health and nutrition, the organization strives to lay a solid foundation from which families can grow. Serving over 3,000 parents and children from their 12 local sites for over 10 years, Avance is integral to the growth and development of healthy, educated families in our community.

On February 2, Avance-El Paso will host its 7th annual ‘Toma Mi Corazón’ (Take my Heart) Heart Auction at the Hal Marcus Gallery in Downtown El Paso. Attendees can bid on hundreds of wooden hearts that have been hand painted, decorated and crafted by local artists. Proceeds from the event, which are expected to total more than $30,000, will benefit the Avance organization and its cause.

“This event combines art and fundraising in a very creative and fun atmosphere,” says Janet Aboud, co-owner of the Hal Marcus Gallery.

The silent auction will feature over 150 heart-shaped works of art donated by the artists to the gallery for the event. As almost each heart is crafted by a different artist, the tremendous breadth of one-of-a-kind artwork will surely appeal to a wide range of tastes.

Some hearts, such as Tom Cox’s ‘Downtown,’ pay homage to the Borderland. Featuring a multi-media collage of Downtown landmarks, the piece is a visual valentine to the city, showcasing impressive El Paso architecture.

Veva Gutierrez’s ‘Cariño Nuevo: Welcome to El Paso,’ is a tribute to the city’s mariachis, the distinctive Mexican-style groups which infuse their music with an indescribable energy and warmth unique to El Paso. Gutierrez’s work features several three-dimensional ceramic mariachis swathed in confetti and bordered by vibrant red tassels which seem plucked straight from the musicians’ traje de charro (traditional outfits).

Others, like Charlie Mayer’s ‘Beginnings,’ focus on a more universal theme: that of companionship. Mayer’s earth-toned work of art showcases a photograph of two small children strolling hand-in-hand along a stretch of desert.

Located at 800 N. Mesa St., the Hal Marcus Gallery expects between 200 – 300 people to attend the auction. The admission fee is $5 and each heart retains a minimum bid of $25. Thereafter, bidders are free to make offers as they please. As Avance’s most lucrative fundraiser, about 40 percent of the hearts fetch over $100 while two hearts at the 2007 auction were bought for over $1000 each. And although many of these one-of-a-kind hearts can be won at a bargain price, Sanjay Mathur, Executive Producer of Avance-El Paso explains, “The money goes to teachers, supplies… [the auction] makes it possible for us to grow in the future… [the auction] is helping children, it is [the attendees’] call to help us…they’re not just bargain hunting.”