‘Suave Says’ red carpet event at Ro-Na successful

 

On Friday they were in Los Angeles. On Sunday they were headed to Orlando. In between, they were in Ironton.

It’s not easy to pin down the Mejias these days.

The family’s new reality show on VH1, “Suave Says,” which follows the day-to-day life of Kathy, an Ironton native and former Miss West Virginia, her husband, Gerardo, a musician and producer known for his 1991 hit “Rico Suave,” and their three kids, Nadia, a model, Bianca, a fashionista, and Jaden, an aspiring rapper, had its premier at 10 p.m. this past Wednesday and since then the Mejias have been busy dealing with the publicity generated from the show. This past Saturday, however, the family was at the Ro-Na in downtown Ironton for a red carpet event to commemorate the show’s premier.

“It’s really great and really fun,” Gerardo said of the event. “I always feel the love when I come to Ironton. I feel like it’s my hometown when I come here.”

Dick Fisher, co-organizer of the event with the Friends of Ironton, Ironton aLive, FYI Ironton, the city of Ironton and Brad Bear, stood in the middle of a closed-off Third Street and looked at the crowd gathered under the marquee.

“This is going great,” he said. “Ironton needs more diverse events like this. It’s good for our city and good for the people who live here to have these types of events. (We) are happy to do this for this wonderful family.”

Shortly after Kathy and Gerardo relocated to the Tri-State after 20 years in California they received news that VH1 was about to begin production for the show. Kathy said Saturday’s event was a real homecoming.

“I got to see people I hadn’t seen in 25 years,” she said. “Everyone was so nice and everyone looked great. The Ro-Na was so beautiful; I was shocked when we got there at how good it looked.”

One thing that was evident during the event was the community’s support for one of its own and her family.

“I was totally moved by all the love and support given to the Mejias from the community,” Heather Montroso, a close friend of Kathy’s since high school, said. “All the hard work and planning was quite obvious. Hats off to the Fishers, Shawn Fitzpatrick and the rest of the organizers; totally felt the elegance of the red carpet experience.”

This past Saturday was the second time the Ro-Na has been the site of a red carpet event in 2014. When Ironton native Mickey Fisher’s show “Extant” premiered on CBS over the summer, Ironton also got a taste of Hollywood.

“I remember seeing pictures of the ‘Extant’ premiere party and was so impressed with how everything and everybody looked,” Kathy said. “I almost wore a ball gown, but I didn’t. Then again, this is my hometown; I should have worn a ball gown and a tiara.”

“Suave Says” airs at 10 p.m. on Wednesdays on VH1.