February 2019

Dear Beyond Celiac Community,

I am beyond pleased to introduce you to Arturo Chacón-Cruz. If you are a patron of the opera, you may already be familiar with Arturo, or at least his voice. That is because Arturo, a native of Mexico, is a leading operatic tenor who’s performed over 50 roles – such as Cavaradossi in Tosca – in renowned theaters across the globe.

A protege of the world-renowned Placido Domingo, Arturo boasts a wide repertoire and has won a number of honors and awards, cementing his status as an acclaimed performer. So why am I introducing you to this famous opera singer? That’s because Arturo, his son and his mother have all been diagnosed with celiac disease. And in pursuit of a brighter future for his family – and everyone dealing with this serious autoimmune disease – he has signed on to be the official spokesman of Beyond Celiac!

Near the end of last year, Arturo reached out to me about getting involved with Beyond Celiac. Our mission of accelerating research for treatments and cure deeply resonated with him, for his own complications with the disease but more so for his young son, who continues to struggle greatly with having celiac disease. Not that Arturo didn’t struggle himself. He shared with me that prior to diagnosis he was felt ill constantly, prematurely old and his hair was falling out. As a world-traveling opera singer, he also has to deal regularly with finding safe food on the road, in the air, and at restaurants around the globe. For these reasons and more, he wants to help get the word out and help raise much needed funds for celiac disease research. According to Arturo, he chose to work with Beyond Celiac because of our innovative approach, our commitment to driving research, and putting the right people and the right resources in place to truly make a difference.

Since our initial call, it’s been a delight getting to know Arturo and his family. His positive spirit is infectious and his talent and charms are undeniable. As our spokesman, he plans to bring the same intention and intensity he brings to the stage to raising awareness and research funding.

You can view our first collaboration together, a video introduction, here:

And if you’re in the Philadelphia area this October, be sure to attend the Beyond Celiac Gala, which will feature a very special concert with Arturo (and of course, a delicious gluten-free dinner).

In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more about Arturo, you can follow him on Twitter and Facebook, visit his website and see him perform.

I’m so looking forward to what Arturo, Beyond Celiac and our community can do together in 2019 to make a real difference in the lives of those with celiac disease.

To living life Beyond Celiac,

Alice