Obamas Throw A 'Fiesta' Mas Fina

By Chris Richards
Fifteen minutes into the show and Marc Anthony was crooning with his shirt halfway open. The salsa icon was in the back yard of the White House on Tuesday night, delivering a riveting version of "Tu Amor Me Hace Bien" ("Your Love Makes Me Feel Good"). The environs might have been stately, but Anthony doesn't do subdued. The buttons must remain unbuttoned.

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, "Fiesta Latina" -- the latest concert in the Obamas' continuing White House Music Series -- came to life on the South Lawn in a sprawling tent that held 380, including Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and new Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, as well as Anthony's sparkling wife, Jennifer Lopez. The event -- hosted by George Lopez, Eva Longoria Parker and Jimmy Smits -- will be broadcast on PBS Thursday night at 8.

Previous Music Series concerts celebrated country and jazz, but those were intimate, somewhat formal affairs in the cozy confines of the East Room. Tuesday night's gig was bigger, more extravagant and, at its best, a lot more lively, thanks to the polyglot pop of Gloria Estefan, the tender balladry of guitarist José Feliciano, the alchemical rock of Los Lobos.

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