PBS presents Música Latina: In Performance at the White House, a television music special taped in the East Room of the White House. President and Mrs. Obama will host the concert event spotlighting an array of Latin music on Monday, September 16. The evening will feature artists Natalie Cole, Lila Downs, Gloria Estefan, Raul Malo, Ricky Martin, Prince Royce, Arturo Sandoval, Romeo Santos, Alejandro Sanz and Marco Antonio Solís. (Program subject to change.) The one-hour television special is part of the long-running In Performance at the White House series, now in its 36th year. The program will premiere Tuesday, October 8, 2013 at 8 p.m. ET on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings).
Música Latina: In Performance at the White House will also be available on www.pbs.org/whitehouse beginning Wednesday, October 9. In addition, the program will be broadcast Sunday, October 13 on the American Forces Network to American service men and women and civilians at U.S. Department of Defense locations around the world. The concert, including President Obama's remarks, will be available for press via the White House Press Corps pool feed and streamed live on www.whitehouse.gov.
In addition to the evening concert, on the morning of the concert taping, the White House will host "Celebrando el Ritmo Latino: The History of Latin Music," an educational workshop held in the State Dining Room for 130 middle and high school students from the Washington, D.C., area. The event will be produced by The GRAMMY Museum and led by Robert Santelli, the museum's executive director. A leading musicologist and music educator, he will give the participating students an overview of the origins of Latin music, inform them of the elements of the genre, discuss how Latin music has been popularized in other parts of the world and examine the many subgenres that encompass the larger Latin genre. Santelli will be joined by special music guests, including Lila Downs, Romeo Santos and Marco Antonio Solís, who will share their experiences and answer student questions. The White House "Celebrando el Ritmo Latino: The History of Latin Music" workshop will be streamed live on www.whitehouse.gov/live.
