Earlier this week, President Obama and the First Lady celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month by inviting over some major estrellas de la música Latina, and some other famous celebs. But we have a weakness for Aventura (doesn't everyone?), so we're bringing you a clip of their performance of "Su Veneno," courtesy of PBS and MTV News. Listen up for Romeo's recount of a conversation with the President, and a shout out to Justice Sotomayor, who's also from the Bronx!

Enjoy!

CNN news anchor, Soledad O'Brien was at the MTV headquarters this Monday with an exclusive screening of her upcoming documentary Latino in America, in which she explores the Latino experience in the United States. She herself is Latina as her full name suggests, Maria de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien. Her mother is Afro-Cuban and her father is from Australia, with an Irish and Scottish background - that explains the freckles on her face!

Last month, when Blogamole interviewed Soledad O'Brien at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's 32nd Annual Awards Gala, la periodista shared with us her parents' experience in the United States and how they were forced to go to Washington D.C. to get married because interracial marriage was illegal at the time in Maryland, where they met.  Now, 40 years later, there are a different set of challenges that lie ahead for people of color. In this 2-part documentary, O'Brien introduces us to Latinos of all different ages and across the U.S., who share their personal stories.

The first part of the documentary is called "The Garcias," which O'Brien tells us is the 8th most popular surname in the U.S. today.  In this portion of the story, we are introduced to a handful of Garcias from all across the nation, including Cindy Garcia, a student who is struggling to catch up on credits - taking classes from 8am to 8:30pm - in order to graduate high school. Two weeks shy from finishing her classes, Cindy discovers something life-changing that may keep her from completing her credits.

In the second part of the documentary, O'Brien takes us to different Latino communities, including Miami, where we meet Martha, a 15-year-old girl who came to the U.S. illegally by crossing the Rio Grande river on a tire tube, despite not knowing how to swim, because she wanted to find her mother. Although she finds her, she is faced with an unfortunate circumstance that lands her in court, facing deportation. We witness as she struggles to stay in the U.S. instead of being sent back to a country where no one can take care of her.

Inspired by the stories collected for her documentary, O'Brien decided to write a book with the same name, Latino in America, where she not only includes more revealing accounts and never-before-seen interviews and exclusive photos from the special, but also tells the story of her own life.  El libro esta disponible in stores now.

Here is a short clip of Latino in America where Soledad O'Brien interviews Eva Longoria Parker. Watch to find out why Eva Longoria's nickname was "the ugly one" growing up!

Photos via Getty Images

Last night, the White House became La Casa Blanca y nuestro Presidente brought out even more of his Latino side than he has already... At least that was the running joke from George Lopez, Eva Longoria Parker, and Jimmy Smits that started off the "Fiesta Latina" showcase last night.

The event not only hosted amazing Latino figures (including the first Hispanic to sit on the Supreme Court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor), it was really a celebration of our culture y nuestra música. Obama spoke about the global appeal of our ritmo Latino, and how all cultures can tune into it. Some of those bringing down the house were Gloria Estefan, José Feliciano, and Los Premios nominees for Best MTV Tr3s Artist, Aventura, among others. But our favorite performance came from Thalía who asked President Obama to dance with her and called him "Machooo!" Love it!  Watch the clip of Obama dancing with Thalía here!

The grand finale had all the celebs on stage together, dancing to Gloria Estefan's "Mi Tierra." A perfect end to an amazing night. Stay tuned to MTV News for exclusive coverage.

Click after the jump to check out some celeb photos for this event, including some of Aventura! Read more...

Latinos continue to make us proud as they repesent our culture en la casa blanca!  President Obama and the First Lady are hosting a concert series called, "Performance at the White House: Fiesta Latina."  Ay, que rico! The program celebrates Hispanic heritage and includes performances by salsero Marc Anthony, Jimmy Smits, Gloria Estefan, José Feliciano, George Lopez, Thalia, Tito "El Bambino", our favorite bachateros Aventura, and the Chicano rock band Los Lobos. 

Henry Santos Jeter from Aventura tweeted a clip from their live rehearsal earlier. Looks like it's going to be an amazing show!

Latinos in the White House...WEPA!!! Go Obama, Go Obama! Dale 'pa 'bajo!

Photos via Getty Images

First comes the White House, next viene la gira?  As we had mentioned Aventura is set to rock the house, the White House that is for President Obama and the Mrs. on Oct 13th, as part of "In Performance at the White House: Fiesta Latina. " The Music Special will air on PBS on Oct 15th, and the kings of Bachata will join Marc Anthony, José Feliciano, George Lopez, Jimmy Smits, Gloria Estefan and more!! We cannot wait for that! Romeo says, "It is a great honor for Aventura to take part in this special event at the White House. We are thrilled to be able to represent the Dominican culture and bring the sound of Bachata to an even wider audience."

Photo via Getty Images

Well that's great that they're performing for our President but what about us? We want to see them too! Pues they are gearing up to do a U.S. Arena Tour!  To see tour dates just click after the jump! Tickets for New York's Madison Square Garden go on sale October 8th!

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Remember when we told you that Tito el Bambino and Aventura will be singing at the White House in celebration of Hispanic Heritage month? Well, it seems like there'll be a few more estrellas putting on a show for the President.

Expected performers include living legend Carlos Santana, Miami-based Cubana and 80's pop icon Gloria Estefan, y el ídolo puertorriqueño Marc Anthony con su esposa Jennifer Lopez.

MTV News will be covering the event, so you can be sure that Tr3s will fill you in on all the juicy details! We have to admit, President Obama knows how to throw a party! [Quien]

Photo via Getty Images

When Edgar Sandoval left his native Venezuela with $50 in his pocket and hopes in his heart for a better life in the United States, all he could think about was his sister who was waiting for him at the airport and the mother he had left behind. At Wednesday night's Hispanic Scholarship Fund Hall of Fame Gala, he told the crowd a story about when he first arrived at the Admissions Office at Rutgers University. "I want to be an engineer," said the young Sandoval, whose SAT scores according to the admissions counselor was "not up to par" for most students entering into the School of Engineering. He was recommended to study Sociology. He said, "so I received my Bachelors Degree in Sociology and then I received my Masters Degree in Industrial Engineering."

This is the perseverance and determination that all 5 inductees of this year's 8th Annual Hispanic Scholarship Fund Hall of Fame Gala displayed on Wednesday night. The emcee of the event was none other than CNBC's personal finance correspondent, Carmen Wong Ulrich. This year's inductees and honorees were:

- Triunfador, Carmen Baez, President, DAS Latin America, Omnicom Group
- Brillante, Adam Aponte, M.D., Medical Director, Brownsville Multi-Service Family Health Center
- Optimista, Edgar Figueroa, Executive Director of The Wi-Fi Alliance
- Altruista, Sandra R. Hernandez, M.D., CEO of The San Francisco Foundation
- Inspirador, Edgar Sandoval, General Manager, North America Marketing at Procter & Gamble

Zaily Valloy, a student attending Fordham University addressed the crowd and recognized Goldman Sachs and their brand new program, 10,000 Women. This program is designed to increase the number of underserved women receiving a business and management education and also improve the quality and capacity of business and management education around the world. Ms. Valloy was selected as one of the first women to be a part of this program and took the opportunity last night to thank her mother and recognize her as the inspiration and role model in her life. In its 34 year history, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund has awarded close to $280M in scholarships to more than 90,000 students in need. For more information on how to apply for scholarships, you can go to www.HSF.net.

Photos via Hispanic Heritage Fund

The 22nd Annual Hispanic Heritage Awards were held this past Tuesday on Capitol Hill and it was definitely a star-studded affair. We caught up with MTV Tr3s VJ, Carlos Santos, who as we mentioned was the MC for the event, to get the exclusive inside scoop…

Photo by Joelle Price

Biggest disappointment of the night: King of Reggaeton, Don Omar, was a no-show! El chisme es que Don Omar appeared to cancel at the last minute causing MAJOR mayhem! Scripts had to be changed and his performance replaced since he was scheduled to speak AND perform at the event. We hope he had a good reason for not showing, like working on a new album perhaps or spending quality time with his esposa, Jackie Guerrido – last we heard they were on the verge of a divorce, we’re hoping that was just a nasty rumor.

Best Performance: El romantico, Cristian Castro with his opening act of the night, “El Culpable Soy Yo.” Carlos couldn’t help but sing along as the Mexican superstar sang his heart out at the awards ceremony.

Photo by Paul Barrios

Most memorable quote: During his acceptance speech for the Achievement in Sports award, golden boy Oscar de la Hoya predicted that comedian George Lopez will be elected President of the United States in 2024! We think Oscar may be alone on that thought. Don’t get it twisted, we’re all for having a Latino in the White House, we hope it will happen before 2024, but we highly doubt it will be George Lopez!

Y cual casa será? The White House of course!

Remember when we told you about how President Obama was going all Latino and invited Aventura to sing at the White House on October 13th? Well, it seems that in honor of Hispanic Heritage month, he's adding a few more Latinos to the guest list!

Reggaetonero Tito el Bambino will also be performing for the presidential family along with the kings of bachata, Aventura. El cantautor de "El Amor" is just fresh off singing at the Miss Venezuela pageant too. Tito si que se está quemando de caliente!

Maybe he can teach Michelle some perréo, no? Buena suerte Tito! [People en Español]

Photo via Getty Images

To see who else will be there, read more after the jump! Read more...

The Hispanic Heritage Foundation has just announced that tonight’s 22nd Annual Hispanic Heritage Awards, which honors Latino leaders of today, will stream LIVE online directly from Capitol Hill! Hosted by our very own MTV Tr3s VJ, Carlos Santos, and with musical performances by Don Omar, Cristian Castro, Olga Tañon, Chichi Peralta and La Quinta Estación this will be a star-studded event that you won’t want to miss. No te lo pierdas esta noche! Among those who will be honored at the event are Mexican rockeros and do-gooders, Maná, and even la muñequita Dora the Explorer is getting a nod for "her" contribution to education!

See the complete list of Latino honorees from tonight’s event after the jump, and watch the event as it happens live esta noche by checking out the Hispanic Heritage Foundation page.

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