Celebration of Life for Gilbert Valenzuela Jr. to Be Held May 18

GILBERT VALENZUELA JR. - A Celebration of Life, an event celebrating the life of the late Gilbert Valenzuela Jr., 41, a resident of Los Angeles, CA will be held on Friday, May 18, 2018, his brother, Anthony Goytia, and sister, Vallery Goytia, announced today. The siblings will host the memorial service.

The family of Gilbert Valenzuela Jr. will receive guests at the Guerra & Gutierrez Mortuary, 5800 E. Beverly Boulevard, Los, Angeles, CA 90022 on Friday evening, May 18, 2018 from 5:00 - 9:00 p.m. Following the memorial service at the mortuary, a reception will be held at the nearby Torres Banquet Hall, 1265 Goodrich Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90022 from 9:00 p.m. - 12-midnight.

During this time of mourning, a friend of Gilbert Valenzuela Jr., Jeremy Lucindo, has set up a Gilbert Valenzuela Memorial Fund to support the family during this time of grieving. To learn more and view "So-Pretty" tee-shirts with Gilbert's image on them, please visit: https://jeremylucido.com/collections/gilbert-valenzuela-memorial-fund

Rigo Tejeda, Founding Artistic Director, Abel Alvarado, Associate Artistic Director, Conrado TerrazasCross, Executive Producer and Chief Financial Officer, Felipe Agredano, Producer and Government Relations Director and Gustavo Rodriguez, Producer for TNH Productions (Teatro Nuevos Horizontes) and Josefina López, Founding Artistic Director, Emmanuel Deleage, Producer and Executive Director, Edward Padilla, Producer and Board President for CASA 01010 Theater have announced that their current production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, The Broadway Musical playing through June 10, 2018 at CASA 0101 Theater in Boyle Heights, CA will be dedicated in loving memory to Gilbert Valenzuela Jr. The theater will go dark for one day on Friday, May 18, 2018 in observance of Valenzuela's passing. To learn more, please visit www.casa0101.org.

Born on July 13, 1976, Gilbert Valenzuela Jr, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on Thursday, April 26, 2018. He was an original Founding Member and Ambassador of TNH Productions (Teatro Nuevos Horizontes) since 2012 where he worked as a Production Coordinator for productions of the musicals, In The Heights, Disney's Aladdin Dual Language Edition and Disney's Beauty and the Beast, The Broadway Musical, presented with CASA 0101 Theater, an organization he also supported.

He worked at the Los Angeles L.G.B.T. Center for over 10 years and worked as an independent hair stylist on weekends. Valenzuela was very active in the GLBTQ+ community where he participated as staff annually for the AIDS Lifecycle and numerous L.A. Gay Pride activities.

Gilbert Valenzuela Jr. is survived by his brother Anthony Goytia, his sister Vallery Goytia, and his father Gilbert Valenzuela Sr. He was pre-deceased by his mother, Sandra Goytia.