Gillie’s Auto Lounge & San Diego Food and Wine: Latin Nights After Dark

Sip wine, savor Latin flavors, and meet two featured artists in person, surrounded by exotic cars at Gillie’s Auto Lounge. Spend the night sipping curated wines, tasting Latin flavors, and meeting two featured Latin artists in person, with their work displayed among a lineup of exotic cars. All proceeds benefit the San Diego Automotive Museum. Featured Artists Marco Antonio Cruz "Chapu" (Valle de Etla, Oaxaca, Mexico) A largely self-taught painter and sculptor, Chapu trained as an assistant to celebrated Oaxacan artist Alejandro Santiago. His work blends Oaxacan visual tradition with the raw energy of abstract expressionism: bold brushstrokes, heavily textured surfaces, and human figures that move between abstraction and form. Expect pieces that feel instinctive, physical, and full of emotion. DeAnne Williamson (Petaluma, CA) An SDSU alum with more than two decades of practice, DeAnne paints portraits of women who meet the viewer with quiet, self-possessed strength. Subtle quilting patterns woven into her pared-down backgrounds honor a traditionally feminine craft, while her botanical works draw on time spent in nature. Her paintings have been shown at Jen Tough Gallery in Santa Fe and recently earned Director's Choice at the RW Norton Gallery. One paints with bold, physical energy; the other with quiet, deliberate strength. It’s a night for anyone who appreciates craftsmanship, whether it comes on a canvas, in a glass, or under the hood.