Boisterous salute to Latinos

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Wednesday's "Smithsonian con Sabor!" gala was billed as an evening of recognition of Latino heritage and achievement, but in the end it was the crowd that provided the exclamation point.

"I know you're not supposed to stand between Latinos and their party," remarked Henry Munoz, chairman of the Smithsonian National Latino Board, early on during award presentations where Reps. Xavier Becerra, California Democrat, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Florida Republican, along with film director Patricia Cardoso, couturier Esteban Cortazar and comedian Mo Rocca were honored for championing Latino culture.

Even that didn't seem to stop the enthusiastic chatter of guests who essentially ignored repeated requests by co-hosts Cheech Marin and Cristina Saralegui to keep the noise level down.

But, then again, the exhibits and projects associated with the Smithsonian Latino Center were definitely something to talk about, including a showcase of art from Colombia and the upcoming exhibit, "Myth, Mortals and Immortality: Works from Museo Soumaya de Mexico."

"This is the place where American culture is most heralded. To have our culture honored and elevated is a big deal," said Pilar O'Leary, executive director of the Smithsonian's Latino Center, who grew up in Washington and spent her weekends taking in the '"bugs and jewels" at the Smithsonian's museums. (Ms. O'Leary, a citizen of both the U.S. and Colombia, noted that the center has awarded more than $1.2 million in federal funding to more than 20 Smithsonian Latino projects.)

Also present were a number of the 2006 Hispanic Heritage Awards Honorees, including Juliet Villarreal Garcia, first Latina president of a college or university, baseball Hall of Famer Juan Marichal, and recording artist Jose Feliciano. Joining them were Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, along with wife Columba, and Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small, who received applause when he addressed the crowd in Spanish.

This year's featured country was Colombia, so guests were able to parade past the famed Mackay emerald, mined in Muzo, as well as a sampling of other Colombian arts from Smithsonian collections before enjoying cuba libres and Latino buffet fare.

Corporate sponsors included Disney, Anheuser-Busch, Time-Warner, and Wal-Mart (which counts 150,000 Hispanics among its sales associates).

Perhaps the biggest applause of the evening went to Mrs. Ros-Lehtinen's announcement that she and Mr. Becerra were co-sponsoring a bill that would build a museum of Latino culture on the Mall.

Once the speeches died down, the music heated up: vallenato-pop band Ciclon in the great hall, where Mr. Cortazar cut a fine figure on the dance floor, and Latin jazz outside in the tented garden, where a slightly older crowd grooved to Grammy-nominated folkloric band Grupo Cimarron under the light of an almost-full moon.

-- Lisa Rauschart