❋

The afternoon is more than a beautiful brunch. It is an invitation to gather with intention, support a beloved family-owned New Orleans restaurant, and celebrate the power of community showing up.
In September 2026, twin sisters Pilar and Isabel Miranda posted a quiet plea on social media asking their New Orleans neighbors to help save the Spanish restaurant their father built 32 years ago.
Most people read it. Karlita read it and took action within minutes.
Known across New Orleans for her love of culture and her eye for gathering people around meaning, Karla Marie "Karlita" Cochran is also a nationally recognized PR and communications expert. She didn't read Lola's post as a stranger. She read it as a member of a community that could help.
"Lola's has been feeding this city Spanish food for 32 years and it is one of our family's favorites... when I read that the Miranda sisters were struggling to keep their father's restaurant alive, I knew I had to do something. Choosing Lola's makes the Black Mantilla Brunch about something real and extra special... when Latina-owned businesses need support, Latinas must step up. It's just what we do."
On the spot, Karlita, decided the Black Mantilla Brunch, a by-invitation-only celebration of Spanish Andalusian tradition, would launch at Lola's Restaurant on November 14, 2026.
Then, while sitting down with Isabel to plan the afternoon, the conversation turned to where they came from.
Karlita's father was born in Tela, Honduras, a tiny port city on the Caribbean coast. So was Isabel's mother.
And then Isabel said something that made the room go still. Her mother had been Karlita's flamenco teacher, in New Orleans, in the 1990s.
The woman who first placed Karlita inside the tradition of Spanish dance came from the same small coastal city as Karlita's father, and her family's restaurant was the one Karlita had chosen, out of instinct and solidarity, to host an event built around the very culture she had taught.
Thirty years. One city. One circle.

FOR EVENT AND RESERVATION INQUIRIES
Rosie Ayala, Multi-Brand Operations Coordinator

ABOUT LOLA'S RESTAURANT
Lola's Restaurant, located at 3312 Esplanade Avenue in the Bayou St. John neighborhood, was founded in 1994 by Angel Miranda, a native of Seville, Spain, who named the restaurant after his mother. After Mr. Miranda's passing in 2011, his daughters Pilar and Isabel Miranda took over and have continued his legacy of authentic Spanish cuisine in New Orleans for more than three decades. In September 2026, the sisters made a public appeal for community support as rising costs and reduced foot traffic threatened the restaurant's future.

ABOUT KARLITA
Karla Marie "Karlita" Cochran is a New Orleans-based Latina PR & Communications strategist, editor, and cultural advocate with more than 27 years in the industry. She is the founder of Spotlight Strategy Group, Studio Shakti NOLA, In the Spotlight 504, Karla Marie Shimmy Soul, and Las Fridas Krewe — the city's first Latin American Mardi Gras krewe. She holds a board seat with NAMI Southeast Louisiana and teaches cultural dance at Tulane University. Born in Honduras and raised in New Orleans, Karlita's work sits at the intersection of culture, community, and commerce.

MEDIA INQUIRIES karlamarie@inthespotlight504.com