More than 4,200 people gathered at Washington’s Union Station on Sunday night to celebrate President Barack Obama’s arrival to Washington at the 2009 Latino Inaugural Gala.
Latin superstars including Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Edward James Olmos, “Ugly Betty” TV father Tony Plana, “American Idol” runner-up David Archuleta and “70’s Show” star Wilmer Valderrama were among the stars that walked the red carpet and fielded questions from national media about the Inauguration and what it meant for Latinos to have elected President Obama to office.
Rosario Dawson, co-founder of Voto Latino, stressed the importance of getting Latinos involved in the political process, “We’re still very much trying to get people registered,” she said. “Because, even though I know y’all just voted, there’s still so much to do. There are 50,000 Latinos turning 18 every month, so we need to get them registered and ready to go, so we don’t need to scramble at the next election.”
Many Latino political leaders also joined the event including Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.). Ken Salazar and Hilda Solis, Latinos who will be joining Obama’s cabinet as Interior and Labor secretaries.
Other attendees included actresses Rosie Perez, New York Gov. David Paterson (D), Fox News anchor Geraldo Rivera, CNN’s Soledad O’Brien and Univision news anchor Maria Elena Salinas.
Master of Ceremonies George Lopez began the night with some comedy, which was later followed by musical acts including War, Mariachi Los Camperos, Paulina Rubio, Alejandro Sanz, and Marc Anthony.
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