Latin Pop Sensation “Pee Wee” to Open Show, Sing National Anthem

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Grammy-nominated recording artist and drumming legend Sheila E. featuring the E Family will headline the entertainment at CHCI’s 33rd Annual Awards Gala, the hallmark event of Hispanic Heritage Month, on Wednesday, September 15, 2010, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.  The 33rd Annual Awards Gala is hosted by Toyota.

With the theme, “Celebrating History, Heritage, and the American Dream,” CHCI will present Medallion of Excellence awards to actress Eva Longoria Parker and jazz legend Arturo Sandoval, and the CHCI Chair’s Award to Broadway composer Lin-Manuel Miranda. CNN‘s Soledad O’Brien will serve as the celebrity host.

Former Kumbia Kings member and Latin pop sensation Irving “Pee Wee” Salinas will open the evening’s program with a new single before performing the national anthem.

Born into a musical family, Sheila E. has been performing for close to four decades and her 1984 single “The Glamorous Life” was nominated for an American Music Award and a Grammy Award.  She is the President of Heaven Productions Music and the co-founder and co-chair of the Elevate Hope Foundation, a charitable organization that uses music therapy to work with abused and abandoned children. Her impressive career has exposed the talents of a truly multi-faceted performer- from drumming,percussion, vocals, song writing, arranging, producing, and composing,to her inspiring humanitarian efforts.

Each year, the CHCI Annual Awards Gala is the hallmark event that launches Hispanic Heritage Month in Washington, D.C.,and serves as the unifying event for the Hispanic-American community. CHCI would like to thank its Hispanic Heritage Month Conference &Gala Planning Committee members Reps. Ben Lujan, Ciro Rodriguez and Lucille Roybal-Allard. 

The33rd Annual Awards Gala Premier sponsor is Comcast and Millennium sponsors include Anheuser-Busch Companies, Lilly USA, Lockheed Martin,and Univision. Proceeds of the Gala benefit CHCI’s award-winning leadership development programs.

About Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), a nonprofit and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization, provides leadership development programs and educational services to students and young emerging leaders. The CHCI Board of Directors is comprised of Hispanic Members of Congress, nonprofit, union and corporate leaders. For more information call CHCI at (202) 543-1771 or visit www.chci.org.

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute