Oct. 13 / Administration of , 2009

Remarks at PBS’s “Fiesta Latina: In Performance at the ” October 13, 2009

Good evening. Buenas noches. Welcome to slaves in the Caribbean, the guitars first car- the White House. Tonight we are proud to ried to the New World by Spanish conquista- host the third in a series of evenings celebrat- dors. It incorporates the accordions played by ing the music that has helped define this Na- German immigrants, the flutes and drums tion and helped define us as a people. used by indigenous peoples, and the beats We began this tradition with jazz and coun- born in cities like New York and Miami. try music. And tonight, as we celebrate His- And even though it’s constantly evolving panic Heritage Month, we are honored to be and changing, Latin music speaks to us in a joined by some of this country’s most success- language we can all understand: about hope ful and innovative performers of Latin music. and joy, sorrow and pain, friendship and love. I want to thank Marc Anthony, Gloria Este- It moves us, and it tends to make us move a lit- fan, Jose Feliciano, Pete Escovedo, Thalia, Ti- tle bit ourselves. [Laughter] to El Bambino, Aventura, Los Lobos, and In the end, what makes Latin music great is Sheila E. for performing tonight. the same thing that’s always made America I also want to thank Jimmy Smits, Eva great: the unique ability to celebrate our dif- Longoria Parker, and George Lopez for join- ferences while creating something new; to re- ing us, and Maricel Presilla for serving as our alize that although we may come from differ- guest chef and cooking us all this delicious ent backgrounds and different cultures, what food. Please give Maricel a big round of ap- plause. unites us will always be stronger than what di- vides us. In the words of Gloria Estefan who’s We have some other honored guests to- here tonight, “The most beautiful things in this night: Secretary of Labor ; Secre- tary of the Interior Ken Salazar. I want to country have the flavor of other places.” thank all the Members of Congress here to- And so to all of you who are watching this night, including—especially the chairwoman evening, either here or at home, please enjoy of the Caucus, Nydia Velazquez. some truly global music from some of the most Thank you for coming. talented artists in the world. I can tell you that And finally I want to acknowledge some- the White House West Wing and East body that we’re all so proud of, our newest Wing—and whatever other wings we Justice of the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomay- have—have been looking forward to this eve- or. ning for quite some time. Enjoy. Thank you. Like our own Latino community, Latin mu- sic is not easy to define. Styles like Cuban sal- NOTE: The President spoke at 7:30 p.m. on sa, Mexican norteno, Puerto Rican reggaeton the South Lawn at the White House. In his re- and Dominican bachata are as vibrant and marks, he referred to entertainers Jimmy unique as the places they come from. But al- Smits, Eva Longoria Parker, and George Lo- though Latin music takes many forms, this pez. The Office of the Press Secretary also re- spirit of diversity also unifies us. At this—at its leased a Spanish language transcript of these heart are the West African rhythms brought by remarks.

Remarks in Fairfax County, Virginia October 14, 2009

Hello, everybody. Now before I begin, I just today. And I want to thank the folks at Cherry want to thank my outstanding Secretary of Hill Construction for having me here today. Transportation, Ray LaHood, who’s with us We just took a look at this construction site,

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