Please join us as we celebrate the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States.  This 2009 DC Latino Inaugural Gala Celebration will be hosted at the Carlos Rosario International Charter School, and is a formal Dinner Gala that seeks to bring Influential figures, both local and national, to the heart of the community.  The city of Washington is blessed to have in the middle of the Latino Community of Washington DC one of the finest academic institutions in the nation.  A nationally recognized, accredited and award-winning model in the field of adult education, the Carlos Rosario International Public Charter school has been successfully training and mainstreaming the diverse workforce of our nation's capital since 1970. Guided by the visionary leadership of Founder and CEO Sonia Gutierrez, a highly qualified and dedicated team of staff and faculty provide top tier educational programs and comprehensive supportive services.  Mrs. Gutierrez will be one of three local Latino leaders recognized on January 17, 2009. The state of the art building is located blocks from the DC Metro in the up and coming Columbia Heights community.

The idea to host this 2009 DC Latino Presidential Inaugural Celebration initially came from Franklin Garcia and Maria Patricia Corrales.  Franklin and Maria worked throughout the country in both the primaries and the national campaign helping mobilize hundreds of Latinos in many states.  Franklin is currently the Male Latino Representative for the DC Democratic State Committee and Maria was an Obama delegate who traveled to the convention.  They envisioned creating a sizable committee, the Latino Inaugural Committee, which would serve as a foundation group to eventually lead the way to other groups that would seek to engage the more than 400 thousand Latinos forecasted to visit the Nation's Capital during Inaugural Week.   This group has effectively branched out putting lots of talent together to create various affordable options for guests of the city, particularly Latino Guests.  We have partnered with the DC Democratic State Committee, the official branch of the DNC in Washington DC, to create a section of their website labeled "Español" to be used for informational purpose dealing with the Inaugural Week.  Please visit this link often for updates, http://www.dcdsc.org/espanol.htm.

2009 DC LATINO PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURAL GALA CELEBRATION 

National Latino Leader Award

Janet Murguia, President of National Council of La Raza (NCLR)

Presented by: The Honorable Henry Cuellar

Local Latino Leader Award

Sonia Gutierrez, Founder of Carlos Rosario International Charter School

Presented by:  The Honorable Jim Graham

Tom Perez, Secretary, Maryland Department of Labor

Presented by:  The Honorable Joseline Peña-Melnyk

Lillian Perdomo, Executive Director, Multicultural Community Services

Presented by: The Honorable Vincent Gray

Outstanding Latino Woman Award

Linda Chavez, Chairman, Center for Equal Opportunity

Presented by: Community Leader Ted G. Loza 

Teresa Rodriguez, Author and Host for Univision and “Aqui y Ahora

Presented by: The Honorable Muriel Bowser

Special tribute to Legendary
Producer, Musician, Bandleader

Maestro Johnny Pacheco

Presented by special guest Edward James Olmos