Eva Longoria will host Latino inaugural salute to Obama

Eva Longoria, George Lopez, Rita Moreno and others will participate in 'Latino Inaugural 2013: In Performance at the Kennedy Center.' Longoria, a former star of 'Desperate Housewives,' will serve as host.

|
Alex Brandon/AP
Eva Longoria speaks at a news conference in Washington, D.C.

Following an election when Latinos showed their growing political influence, a coalition of groups is coordinating a gathering of top Latino entertainers at the Kennedy Center in a series of events ahead of President Barack Obama's inauguration.

Eva Longoria, George Lopez, Mario Lopez, Chita Rivera and Rita Moreno are among a group of prominent performers who will gather Sunday, Jan. 20 for "Latino Inaugural 2013: In Performance at the Kennedy Center." Details of the tribute performance were announced Tuesday.

Longoria, a co-chair of Obama's inauguration festivities, is hosting the event. Additional performers will include Jose Feliciano, Melanie Griffith, New York City's Ballet Hispanico, Coro de Ninos de San Juan (the San Juan Children's Choir) and others.

In a statement, the former "Desperate Housewives" star said the inaugural events will foster more Latino engagement in Washington.

"Latinos played a critical role in this year's elections and helped tip the scales in President Obama's victory. But we are not waiting another four years to make an impact on our country's future," she said. "What better way to establish our presence at these inaugural celebrations than by showcasing the beauty and diversity of our culture at the nation's premier performing arts center."

The Latino inaugural gathering is driven in part by organizers of The Futuro Fund, which helped mobilize Latino support for the Obama-Biden re-election campaign. Millions of Hispanic voters turned out with 71 percent support for Obama. Republican candidate Mitt Romney's 27 percent Hispanic support was less than any presidential candidate in 16 years, drawing calls for Republicans to rethink their approach to Latinos.

Andres Lopez, a San Juan, Puerto Rico attorney and activist who was a national chairman of the election effort, said Latinos represent the nation's future.

"The story of Latinos is the story of America," he said. "Latinos made history in a big way this presidential election, and we look forward to writing the next chapter of this amazing story over the next four years."

The Kennedy Center is presenting the event with no charge to the organizers in two of its large theaters. The events come as the cultural center has been criticized for excluding Latinos from its high-profile Kennedy Center Honors.

Tickets went on sale Tuesday at the Kennedy Center box office, starting at $300 for the live performance in the center's Opera House and $150 for a simulcast in the center's Eisenhower Theater. A party will follow the show on the eve of Obama's public swearing in. It was not clear whether Obama would attend.

It's part of a three-day series of lectures and events focused on Latino issues. Coordinators include the National Council of La Raza and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.

San Antonio philanthropist and business leader Henry Munoz III, who is coordinating the entertainment event with Longoria and Andres Lopez, said Latinos deserve a place at the center of U.S. culture.

"The Kennedy Center is our nation's theater," he said. "As we inaugurate President Barack Obama, it is important to recall what President John F. Kennedy knew: that beyond the battles of politics 'we will be remembered for our contributions to the human spirit.'"

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Eva Longoria will host Latino inaugural salute to Obama
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/2013/0109/Eva-Longoria-will-host-Latino-inaugural-salute-to-Obama
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe