Commission working to create National Museum of the American Latino

WASHINGTON — A month-old commission brought star power to the Capitol Tuesday to promote the idea of a National Museum of the American Latino.
<figure id="attachment_2540" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2540" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a class="highslide" onclick="return vz.expand(this)" href="http://laprensa-sandiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/latino.museum.j… loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-2540" title="latino.museum" src="http://laprensa-sandiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/latino.museum-3…; alt="Eva Longoria Parker cracks a joke during a press conference Tuesday when she and other prominent Latinos said they are working to create a National Museum of the American Latino. SHFWire photo by Cindy Von Quednow" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://dev-laprensa.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/latino… 300w, https://dev-laprensa.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/latino… 1024w, https://dev-laprensa.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/latino… 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-2540" class="wp-caption-text">Eva Longoria Parker cracks a joke during a press conference Tuesday when she and other prominent Latinos said they are working to create a National Museum of the American Latino. SHFWire photo by Cindy Von Quednow</figcaption></figure>
 Actor Eva Longoria Parker and music producer Emilio Estefan joined two Cabinet secretaries, members of Congress and commission members at a press conference.
 “If you walk through the Mall of the nation’s capital, whether you’re from the U.S. or from some other part of the world, you can come out understanding, better than any place else in the world, what it means to be an American. But once you finish that walk through all those museums along the Mall, you don’t have a complete picture,” said Rep. Xavier Becerra D-Calif. He wrote the bill that led to the creation of the commission.
 “It is with great honor and humility that I stand here with my fellow brothers and sisters from the American Latino community who will work hard to ensure that our community becomes stronger and more vibrant,” said Longoria Parker.
 She and Estefan’s wife, Gloria, were to join other performers at the White House Tuesday night for a concert celebrating Hispanic musical heritage. The concert, part of the “,” will be televised Thursday on PBS and Sunday on Telemundo.
 President George W. Bush signed the bill creating the commission, and President Barack Obama appointed its 23 members.
 The commission met for the first time last month and has two years to look at costs, location and possible exhibits.
 Secretary of the Interior said Ken Salazar, whose office is in charge of the project, said he has asked the members to finish their work in one year. The group will present its findings to the president and members of Congress, many of whom have already shown support.
 Becerra said the museum is likely to cost from $250 million to $500 million, and the commission will be looking at ways to raise money. 
 The museum will be dedicated to art, culture and history of the Latino community in the United States.
 Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said that Latino influence is evident in pop culture and history.
 “That is a history that the people of the United States really don’t know, and that’s what the museum is going to be all about,” Menendez said. “I really look forward to that day when we are not talking about building a museum, but when we walk through the front doors of it.”
 Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis also spoke at the news conference.
 “I’m happy to say that this administration is going to put their power behind every effort to see that this happens,” Solis said. “I look forward to seeing this become a reality, especially our young people who need to know what our historical achievements have been for this country and for the world.”
 The <a href="http://americanlatinomuseum.org/">commission</a> also encouraged people to summit ideas for raising money and for possible exhibits.