The Ultimate River Oaks Penthouse Party is Full of Latin Glamour: International Entrepreneur Queen Opens Up Her Private Lair for a Rare Peek

The 20th floor penthouse overlooking River Oaks has been nest to a handful of high-profile individuals. Think Mexico billionaire Jaime Camil Garza, likewise Anita and Gerald Smith, investment advisor and director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. But perhaps none have brought more panache to the Bayou Bend Towers three-story residence than the current owners — international entrepreneur Carmina Zamorano and her dashing husband, Rafael Chavez.

The duo, which cuts a swath of Latin glamour wherever they travel, opened their lavish penthouse to a stylish coterie of friends and real estate cohorts in celebration of Neal Hamil‘s first anniversary as president of Zamorano’s Carnan Properties. The dramatic interiors, which have been transformed with each new owner, set the stage for the glossy evening that saw several hundred guests glide easily through the vast aerie.

Zamorano typically prefers to keep her home life private but allowed that the occasion of the anniversary and the expansion of her luxury real estate company with its international connections seemed the right time to open her residence.

“We want guests to just enjoy the view and this amazing place,” she said. That being said, security was widely evident.

While a harpist played on the landing of the double stairway, erudite visitors speaking a multitude of languages schmoozed through the living and dining areas and moved onto the terrace, as large as a spacious apartment. Views of the downtown skyline, overlooks of River Oaks and the waterfall pouring into a swimming pool had several guests wondering when they might win the Texas lottery and really join the party.

Who: Realtors Tommy Kanarellis, Rhine McNeill, Suzann Richardson, John Marr, Roxane Witte, Casey Ebel, and Michael Drone; builders Chris Sims, Bradley Smith and Dave Genova; friends Janet and Mike Sher, Jeanne Ruberti, Elena and Gregg Davis, Holly Moore, Deb and Tom Tatham, Nicki Tal, Shafik Rifaat; and lenders Robert Spiegel, Morgan Strawser, Eerin Parker, Carolyn Bobo and Jamie Wolf.