XP and Kety: On Presidents, Latinos, and Politics

Not to many know that I was recently on public access TV discussing the recent immigration raids that took place here in Houston and as the county's prison industrial complex. But recently, I was invited to be on a panel on HITN TV's new show, Destination Casa Blanca 2008: The Latino Voice in the Presidential Election, to discuss politics within the Latino-sphere. While public access is viewed locally, this time, my views and opinions will be aired nationally, as well as, taking part in history. But it's not just my views and opinions that will be heard, but also CrossLeft's very own Kety Esquivel.

Destination Casa Blanca 2008, for the first time in history, is a nation-wide program dedicated solely on issues affecting the Latino community. The show will air in over 60 million US households. Viewers will have an opportunity to see leading public policy experts participating in dialogue and debate on matters specific to the Latino community. Never before has there been a political program that brings to the forefront presidential politics affecting the US Latino community. In a recent email, Dan Rodriguez, HITN's Director of Communications & Public Affairs, informed me that based on last month's cable's video on demand platform, HITN "had a million minutes of watch time."

On August 20th, Kety and I along with Maegan "la Mala" Ortiz of VivirLatino.com and Liza Sabater of Culture Kitchen will be taping a show about politics within the Latino-sphere. We will be discussing the hot topics affecting the Latino community, as well as, what Latinos are talking about across the US. I can only speak for myself, but I am sure Kety will agree, these are exciting times for us as Latinoa/as. Not only will this country will get a chance to elect the first African American into office, but also the needs of the Latino community are finally being heard. For years, we have talked about the sleeping giant, but in this important political year, there has been renewed energy in areas that have been disenfranchised. As we speak, Latino communities coming together and becoming "voluntarias para el pueblo." I have been told stories of Latinos/as who are using their evenings off to sit down around Latino supermercados and cafes to register Latino voters. These are historic times y 2008 es el año de nuestra revolución!

Destination Casa Blanca 2008 is hosted by two bilingual and bicultural journalistic powerhouses, Ray Suarez and Marlene Fernández.

Ray Suarez, Senior Correspondent for The NewsHour on PBS, has extensive expertise in the news field. Prior to his work with The NewsHour, he was host of the respected call-in news program "Talk of the Nation" for National Public Radio since 1993.

Marlene Fernández, has served as Washington Bureau Chief, on-air White House Correspondent and host for CNN en Español, and has interviewed many of the worlds present-day leaders and history-makers such as: British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Cuban President Fidel Castro, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush, PLO leader Yasser Arafat, Mexican President Vicente Fox, Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Argentinean President Carlos Menem, and Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, among numerous others.

We should thank Maegan for forwarding our name to HITN and as the show's Executive Producer, Joseph Langhan and show's booking agent, Betsy Goldman of Premier Booking for inviting us to take part of this historic event.