Carmen and Sabina Thyssen could have been the protagonists of the launch that will be held on Saturday, November 25 at the Shangri-La hotel in Paris, former palace of a great-nephew of Napoleon. Instead, there has been no agreement between his mother, the Baroness, and the organization. For the time being. Perhaps, the twins will hog the flashes next year. The truth is that Le bal des débutantes, the ball organized since 1994 by Ophélie Renouard, one of the best connected women in France, is going through a moment of splendor.
"As long as we have applications from women and men who want to participate, I will consider it interesting and that I should continue. A project that involves people is always interesting. It is a mixture of beauty, humanity, joy and, most importantly, it is beneficial. We have 26 editions and... none have been boring!" the proto-celebrity hunter, who came up with the idea of creating a "sophisticated, altruistic and haute couture-related" event when working for the Taittinger family, tells LOC.
However, the event will be represented by another Tita, but, in this case, from the Antilles. One of the highlights of the edition is the presence of Caracas Victoria Mestre Cisneros (18), granddaughter of patron Ella Fontanals-Cisneros, nicknamed the Cuban Tita Thyssen. Despite having said "no" to Andy Warhol when the pop artist wanted to portray her, she has managed to become one of the most acclaimed collectors of modern art in the world. Now he is negotiating the opening of his first museum in Spain. Maybe in Bilbao. Victoria Mestre's grandfather was the Caracas native Oswalso Cisneros, who died in 2020 at age 79 and whose vast inheritance – he owned an island, Cat Island, in the Bahamas – faced in court the nine children of different marriages. The Cisneros dominated the distribution of Pepsi-Cola, Univision and Digitel in the Latin American country.
The debutant, daughter of Mariela Cisneros, executive, and Victor Mestre, from an award-winning family of swimmers in Venezuela, resides in Miami, where she studies Communication and Marketing at the homonymous university.
Victoria Mestre Cisneros with her father. EM
His chevalier will be his cousin Lucas Macaya Cisneros (22). The young man is the son of the former marriage formed by the Spanish Javier Macaya, a Goldman Sachs financier, and the Venezuelan Claudia Cisneros, president of Digisalud, a company dedicated to bringing health to vulnerable communities. Lucas' paternal grandmother was Cristina López Mancisidor, although everyone referred to her with the surname of her first husband, Javier Macaya, who died of an aneurysm, while Cristina was driving on the M-30, pregnant with her fourth daughter, the yogi María Macaya, married to Fernando Rodés, son of Leopoldo Rodés, the Catalan Rockefeller.
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Death.
The last days of Cristina Macaya: "The chemo has been hard but nothing ever hurt"
- Writing: MARÍA EUGENIA YAGÜE
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CULTURE.
The ties with Spain of the patron Ella Fontanals-Cisneros
- Writing: MARINA PINA
The ties with Spain of the patron Ella Fontanals-Cisneros
She was one of the most eclectic women – in her closet there were Issey Miyake, Kenneth Jay Lane, Walter Steiger ... – and, until her death, last March at the age of 77, the great hostess of Mallorca. He combined philanthropy with his frivolous part in his meetings at Es Canyar. This is the name of his possessió in Establiments, north of Palma, where he met Bill Clinton, Felipe González, Carlos Fuentes, Marta Gayà, a friend of Don Juan Carlos, or his former partner, Plácido Arango. There, before 200 people, including the scheming Prince Tchokotoua or Antonia dell'Atte, the christening of Lucas was celebrated.
Le Bal will also have Ildiko of Habsburg (21), daughter of Archduke George of Habsburg, ambassador of Hungary to France, son of MEP Otto of Habsburg and grandson of the last emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Blessed Charles I of Austria. His mother is Eilika von Oldemburg, who owns an equestrian in Budapest. In fact, Ildiko, who will debut on the arm of her brother Karoly, is a good rider and loves to ski. Its link with Spain is strong. His great-grandmother, Empress Zita of Bourbon-Parma, spent time at the Uribarren Palace in Lekeitio (Biscay). Another of his ancestors is Empress Sissi.
Ildiko de Habsbugo (left) with her family. EM
Sofia, Ildiko's sister who studies International Relations in Spain, went on a long stand in Le Bal in 2022 with a tiara that belonged to Archduchess Maria Ana, niece of King Alfonso XII, and whose daughter Alicia married Alfonso de Borbón, brother of Doña María de las Mercedes, Countess of Barcelona. Alice could have been Queen of Spain if Alfonso XIII had not been born. If she were alive today, she would be known as the great-grandmother of Teresa Urquijo, the girlfriend of the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida.
Other debs will include Princess Lissie Selassie, great-great-granddaughter of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia; Olivia Ford Uzielli, great-great-granddaughter of the founder of the Ford car company or Barbara Berlingieri, whose family owns the Ca'Nova palazzo in Venice. The Season starts.