Actress Eva Longoria Parker was seated with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel at a state dinner for Mexican President Felipe Calderon in May

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute will hold its 33rd annual awards ceremony this Wednesday in Washington. The event is held every year on September 15th to mark the beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

That was "The Glamorous Life" performed by Sheila E. The drummer, percussionist and singer will perform at this week's awards ceremony.

Sheila E. is Sheila Escovedo. She comes from a long line of Mexican-American musicians. Her father, Pete Escovedo, and his brother Coke Escovedo both played with the rock and jazz band Santana. Her uncles Alejandro, Javier and Mario Escovedo are also musicians.

Sheila E. gained fame in the 1980s when she performed with Prince. But the Grammy-nominated musician has been making music for nearly 40 years.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute provides educational, career and leadership development services. Three Hispanic members of Congress formed the institute in 1978. Edward Roybal, Kika de la Garza and Baltasar Corrada wanted to help prepare young Hispanics to become future leaders.

The 21st century has brought a historic change in the United States. Hispanics now outnumber blacks as the nation's largest ethnic or racial minority group. They are also the nation's fastest-growing minority.

The Census Bureau estimates that more than 48 million people of Hispanic heritage were living in the United States as of July of last year.

At that time Hispanics were 16 percent of the population. By the middle of 2050, the agency predicts that Hispanics will be 30 percent of the population. They are expected to number nearly 133 million people.

Hispanic Heritage Month is observed from September 15th through October 15th. It celebrates the history and culture of people with ancestry in Spain, Mexico and the Spanish-speaking countries of the Americas.

September 15th was chosen as the starting date because several Latin American countries celebrate their independence on or near that date. This year marks the 200th anniversary of Mexico's declaration of independence from Spain on September 16th, 1810.

Each year the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute honors three members of the Hispanic community. One of this year's honorees is actress Eva Longoria Parker. She is one of the stars of the television series "Desperate Housewives. "

Eva Longoria Parker recently learned something new about her Hispanic heritage. On the TV talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" she said she had a DNA test done to confirm her ancestry.

EVA LONGORIA PARKER: "My whole life, I'm like, I'm Mexican and I'm really -- I'm a proud Mexican-American and I swear I was an Aztec princess in my past life.

JIMMY KIMMEL: "Of course."

EVA LONGORIA PARKER: "And then I do the blood test and I'm 75 percent Spaniard."

JIMMY KIMMEL: "Seventy-five percent Spaniard."

EVA LONGORIA PARKER: "Yes, it totally screwed me up."

JIMMY KIMMEL: "But isn't everyone, most everyone from Mexico, not most, but a lot of people?"

EVA LONGORIA PARKER: "Obviously it's a mixture of indigenous people and Spaniards because of the conquest. But I thought I was mostly Mexican, not mostly Spaniard."

JIMMY KIMMEL: "And the other percentages are?"

EVA LONGORIA PARKER: "Mayan! I'm Mayan. I thought I was Aztec this whole time, but I do think I was a Mayan princess now."

VOICE ONE:

In addition to acting, Eva Longoria Parker is active in charitable work. She will receive an award for leadership and community service.

Her organization, Eva's Heroes, works to improve the lives of people with developmental problems. She is also the spokeswoman for Padres Contra el Cancer. This nonprofit organization works to improve the quality of life for Hispanic children with cancer.

Ms. Parker also works with several other organizations. These include the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Arturo Sandoval is a Grammy Award-winning trumpeter and pianist. He is also being honored at this year's awards ceremony. His mix of jazz, classical, rock and traditional Cuban music has been praised around the world.

The Cuban-born musician received political asylum in the United States in 1990. He became an American citizen in 1999.

He will receive an award for his work with music education programs. Here, Arturo Sandoval plays the title song from his Grammy Award-winning album "Rumba Palace."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The third person who will be honored by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute is Lin-Manuel Miranda. He is an award-winning actor, playwright and composer who comes from a Puerto Rican family. Puerto Rico is a self-governing commonwealth in the Caribbean.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is best known for writing the Broadway musical "In the Heights." The play tells the story of the Latino community where he grew up in the Washington Heights area of New York City.

The show won four Tony Awards during its first year on Broadway in 2008. And it was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in 2009.

Lin-Manuel Miranda often plays the lead part of Uznavi. Here he is with the title song from "In the Heights."

(SOUND)

Lin-Manuel Miranda is being honored for his work with several organizations. These include Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the Hispanic Federation. They also include the Latina Suicide Prevention Program of Woodhull Medical Center in New York.

The theme for this year's awards ceremony is "Celebrating History, Heritage and the American Dream." More than 3,000 Hispanic leaders from across the country are expected to attend.

Pop star Irvin "Pee Wee" Salinas will also perform. He was lead singer of the group Los Kumbia Kings, later renamed the Kumbia Allstars.

He released his first solo album in August of 2009. "Yo Soy" reached number one on Billboard's Latin Pop Albums Chart. Here he is performing "Cumbaya."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

During National Hispanic Heritage Month, events are held around the country. The observance began as National Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 under President Lyndon Johnson. In 1988 President Ronald Reagan and Congress expanded the celebration to a month-long event.

Here in Washington, the Smithsonian American Art Museum will sponsor a Latino Art and Culture Tour. The exhibit traces the work of Hispanic artists from the 19th century to the present.

The National Zoo will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with a fiesta, Spanish for a party. There will be music, dancers, and traditional crafts and foods. There are also several events planned at the National Museum of American History, including films, performances and discussions.

We leave you with another performance from the Broadway play "In the Heights." This one is titled "96,000."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Our program was written and produced by June Simms. I'm Steve Ember. You can find transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and iTunes at VOA Learning English. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

percussionist: a person who plays percussion instruments 打擊樂器演奏員

Aztec: a member of the American Indian people dominant in Mexico before the Spanish conquest of the 16th century 阿茲特克人

Mayan: a large family of American Indian languages spoken in Central America and Mexico, of which the chief members are Maya and Quiché 瑪雅人

Related stories:

Getting married in America: A wedding for every budget

Music flows at summer festivals, but not as freely in weak economy

Classical music, as defined by reinvention

In New Mexico, visiting two links to native history

（來源：VOA 編輯：陳丹妮）