\n\tAt Tuesday\u2019s 2025 Latin American Fashion Summit (LAFS) Gala in Miami, Ron Zacapa will honor Patricia Bonaldi, founder and creative director of PatBo, with this year\u2019s Visionary of the Year award. The recognition is part of Zacapa\u2019s continued partnership with LAFS, marking the third consecutive year the Guatemalan rum brand has celebrated leaders shaping Latin American design.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Visionary of the Year title spotlights designers whose work embodies cultural preservation, community impact, and sustainability. Bonaldi, known for blending artisanal Brazilian embroidery with contemporary design, was recognized for efforts that extend beyond fashion. Through her Costurando Sonhos Project (\u201cSewing Dreams\u201d) in Uberl\u00e2ndia, Brazil, she provides free sewing and embroidery training to women, offering them tools for economic independence. Since its founding, the project has supported more than 500 women in developing technical and creative skills rooted in local heritage.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cEverything I create begins with the people around me, the women who turn ideas into something beautiful with their hands. Supporting them isn\u2019t just part of my work; it\u2019s my purpose. What Zacapa and LAFS are doing means so much because they see the value in the human stories behind every stitch. I\u2019m incredibly proud to share this recognition with my community and grateful to Zacapa for celebrating the spirit of craftsmanship that connects all of us across Latin America,\u201d Bonaldi told WWD via statement. <\/p>\n
\n\tRon Zacapa, a brand deeply connected to Guatemalan tradition, has been active in supporting local craftsmanship through its Petate weaving initiative since 1999. The program employs more than 700 women artisans who produce handwoven bands adorning each Zacapa bottle. <\/p>\n
\n\tAnne Nosko, vice president of rum at Diageo North America, said the award highlights the importance of honoring those \u201cwho define the future of Latin design through their craft and their heritage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tLAFS cofounders Samantha Tams and Estefan\u00eda Lacayo noted that the ongoing partnership with Zacapa has helped amplify Latin American designers on the global stage.<\/p>\n
\n\tBonaldi will join previous honorees Ra\u00fal L\u00f3pez of Luar (2023) and Catalina \u00c1lvarez and Mariana Hinestroza of Agua by Agua Bendita (2024). <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At Tuesday\u2019s 2025 Latin American Fashion Summit (LAFS) Gala in Miami, Ron Zacapa will honor Patricia Bonaldi, founder and creative director of PatBo, with this year\u2019s Visionary of the Year award. The recognition is part of Zacapa\u2019s continued partnership with LAFS, marking the third consecutive year the Guatemalan rum brand has celebrated leaders shaping Latin American design. The Visionary of the Year title spotlights designers whose work embodies cultural preservation, community impact, and sustainability. Bonaldi, known for blending artisanal Brazilian embroidery with contemporary design, was recognized for efforts that extend beyond fashion. Through her Costurando Sonhos Project (\u201cSewing Dreams\u201d) in Uberl\u00e2ndia, Brazil, she provides free sewing and embroidery training to women, offering them tools for economic independence. Since its founding, the project has supported more than 500 women in developing technical and creative skills rooted in local heritage. \u201cEverything I create begins with the people around me, the women who turn ideas into something beautiful with their hands. Supporting them isn\u2019t just part of my work; it\u2019s my purpose. What Zacapa and LAFS are doing means so much because they see the value in the human stories behind every stitch. I\u2019m incredibly proud to share this recognition with my community and grateful to Zacapa for celebrating the spirit of craftsmanship that connects all of us across Latin America,\u201d Bonaldi told WWD via statement. Ron Zacapa, a brand deeply connected to Guatemalan tradition, has been active in supporting local craftsmanship through its Petate weaving initiative since 1999. The program employs more than 700 women artisans who produce handwoven bands adorning each Zacapa bottle. Anne Nosko, vice president of rum at Diageo North America, said the award highlights the importance of honoring those \u201cwho define the future of Latin design through their craft and their heritage.\u201d LAFS cofounders Samantha Tams and Estefan\u00eda Lacayo …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8110"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}