Prominent Hispanic-Americans top state dinner guest list

President Barack Obama’s state dinner Wednesday evening for Mexican President Felipe Calderon and his wife, Margarita Zavala, will be attended by a who’s who of powerful and politically connected Hispanic-Americans.

Topping the list are Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Democratic Reps. Xavier Becerra (Calif.), Silvestre Reyes (Texas), and Nydia Velázquez (N.Y.), and Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Actors Eva Longoria-Parker and George Lopez will attend, as will New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez. Goya Foods president Robert Unanue will also attend, according to the White House.

{mosads}Other notable guests will include Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, actress Whoopi Goldberg, Newark Mayor Cory Booker and American Express CEO Ken Chenault. They’ll be joined by an A-list Washington roster typical of a state dinner: Vice President Joe Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

In an unexpected turn of events, the White House announced Wednesday that the evening will be split into two sections, with two separate guest lists for each one. Following dinner in the East Room, approximately 100 more guests will join the 200 dinner attendees for a performance by Grammy Award-winning pop star Beyonce.

Billed as a “reception following dinner,” this portion of the evening will be attended by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), and Democratic Reps. Linda Sanchez (Calif.), Loretta Sanchez (Calif.), Grace Napolitano (Calif.), Ben Lujan (N.M.), Ruben Hinojosa (Texas), Raul Grijalva (Ariz.), Nita Lowey (N.Y.) and Eliot Engel (N.Y.), none of whom will be attending the dinner.

Beyonce will perform in a tent on the South Lawn of the White House. The Latin group Rodrigo y Gabriela will also perform, as will the United States Marine Band.

This won’t be Beyonce’s first performance for Obama and first lady Michelle: The couple famously slow-danced to her rendition of the soul classic “At Last” during one of the many inaugural balls held in January of 2009.

In addition to the entertainment, the White House on Wednesday released the menu for the dinner, which was designed by visiting chef Rick Bayless, in consultation with the first lady. Bayless traveled from Chicago to Washington Monday to begin preparing the meal.

Dinner guests will dine in the East Room of the White House, and begin with a salad of jicama, oranges, grapefruit and pineapple, topped with a citrus vinaigrette. Next up is an herb ceviche made with opah, a fish native to Obama’s home state of Hawaii.

The main course will consist of Oregon Wagyu beef and mole, a traditional Mexican stew flavored with cacao. Alongside the beef will be green beans and a Mexican black bean tamalon.

The dessert is an ultra-gourmet take on the American classic S’mores, pairing a chocolate tart with toasted marshmallows, graham cracker crumble, and in a surprise twist, goat cheese ice cream.

The three wines to be served will include two American and one Mexican: a Ulises Valdez Chardonnay 2007 “Russian River,” Herrera Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 “Selección Rebecca,” and with dessert, a Mumm Napa “Carlos Santana Brut” N/V.

The tables will offer a creative departure from the traditional rounds: rectangular 10-seater tables will be interspersed with rounds, also for ten. The two heads of state and their spouses will sit at a head table set for twenty.

According to the White House, the decor will honor Calderon’s birthplace of Michoacán, Mexico. Mayan blue striped tablecloths will be complemented by gilded baskets of fuschia, roses, orchids and prickly pear cactus.

The White House also said that guests, upon entering the dining room, would experience the feel of “Monarch butterflies in flight,” although they declined to explain how.