Chingona Soles art and fashion show celebrates Torres Multicultural agency

Public engagement and multicultural marketing agency Torres Multicultural is celebrating 15 years of business in Phoenix with a sold-out quinceanera event at the Icehouse this Friday. The event, called Chingona Soles, will highlight 100 pairs of stilettos, each designed by a different artist. The heels will be up for auction, with 100% of proceeds going toward the Black and Brown Girl Collective, a nonprofit whose mission statement is to "celebrate and create platforms for all women to share their art through organizing educational, cultural and arts events.” 

Tania Torres, founder of Chingona Soles and CEO of Torres Multicultural, says that the event is being hosted to not just celebrate the success of the company, but to celebrate small businesses as a whole.

“I wanted to make sure that we took some time out to celebrate this milestone as a company and as a team, because of its significance, not only for our agency at Torres Multicultural but also for all of those other entrepreneurs that are starting businesses every single day,” Torres says.

The idea of hosting the event as a quinceanera came to Torres because while she doesn’t have a child to host one for, she feels that the cultural event is symbolic of her nurturing her project.

“My worth is also measured by other things that I can nurture in life. And one big thing that I've done in my life is start and grow and nurture Torres Multicultural and now the Chingona Soles movement. So I think it's important to show other women, other entrepreneurs, that their value comes in many different ways.”

Another factor that prompted the celebration was that only one in four small businesses make it to 15 years, according to Torres.

Another important aspect of the show to Torres is the diversity within the art. Each of the 100 artists started with the same black pair of stilettos. From there, they had full creative freedom to design the shoes. The heels all have various themes, like “Hasta la Raiz” by Rebecca “Becky” Ibarra, which Torres described as a personal favorite. The piece is described as a dedication “to all the Chingona women throughout our ancestral DNA. Like Mother Earth, we blossom through all hardships and continue to nourish our families and communities.”

“You'll see there's a lot of diversity there,” Torres saysof the artists. “That diversity includes ages. So you're going to see veteran artists, but you also see new and emerging artists that are just starting their careers as professional artists, and so it's really exciting how we have created this community.”

Torres expressed excitement for the future of Chingona Soles and Torres Multicultural. While 15 years is a long time, she looks forward to many more years supporting and promoting Phoenix communities.