Aqimero by Chef Richard Sandoval, located inside of the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia, is excited to announce the launch of its Viva Abejas campaign this spring. Viva Abejas, meaning “long live bees” in Spanish, celebrates Earth and the significance of bees to the food cycle.

One in every three bites of food depends on bees for pollination. Chef Richard Sandoval aims to celebrate this integral part of our food cycle by taking a 360 approach with food, signature activations, retail elements, cultural education and philanthropy. Richard Sandoval Hospitality (RSH) hopes to demonstrate the importance of bees by centering the campaign around Pachamama, the Incan goddess of Earth, planting, harvesting and fertility.

Aqimero has partnered with Mexico City-based illustrator and artist, Lourdes Villagómez, to create vibrant custom pieces that highlight the heart of the campaign, the Queen Bee.

Villagómez says, “I wanted to share the vibrant color palette I use to represent my culture as well as some new colors like the dark greens that represent the freshness of nature with Pachamama. In my work, I love using symbolism inside the main subject to tell the story behind the piece, so I encourage you to try and find the symbols within my bee images that reference Pachamama.”

The Viva Abejas logo ties in several staples of the campaign. The brightly colored bee has leaves, embracing hands, and a globe to convey a sense of connectedness. Bees are a vital part of our ecosystem, which RSH highlights throughout the artwork, food, drinks, and retail items.

This bold color palette also translates to the food and drink specials. Try flavorful dishes like theFarro-Coconut Risotto ($25) with acacia honey, farro-coconut milk, roasted heirloom carrot, mascarpone cheese, roasted veggie jus, and green sprouts, and the Avocado Panna Cotta ($12) with lavender crumble, blood orange sauce, and honeycomb ice cream. All of the tantalizing dishes are bee-centric and plant based. The cocktail offerings include a Honey Lavender Margarita ($21) with Patrón silver tequila, fresh lime juice, honey lavender simple syrup, violet syrup liqueur, and triple sec.

Wildflower seed packets will also be given out with the check, so guests can bring the campaign home and plant their own flowers to directly help the bees. Richard Sandoval Hospitality will make a substantial donation to the Help Save the Bees Foundation and will host a contest for guests to participate in bee-saving initiatives.

Help Save the Bees Foundation President Laurie Yarborough said, “The Help Save the Bees Foundation enthusiastically partners with Richard Sandoval Hospitality and its beautiful ‘Viva Abejas’ campaign to raise awareness of the importance of bees in conjunction with Earth Day. We share Chef Sandoval’s passion for bees and the good work they do as a critical link in our food chain.”

For more information on the Viva Abejas campaign, including donations to the Help Save The Bees Foundation, please visit http://www.richardsandoval.com/viva-abejas.