State of Union gets preview in Spanish

Aspen, CO Colorado

WASHINGTON – Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar, who grew up in a Spanish-speaking household in the state’s rural San Luis Valley, will deliver the Democrats’ first-ever Spanish-language preview address to the president’s State of the Union.

Salazar will speak at 1 p.m. Friday at the U.S. Capitol. President Bush will deliver the annual State of Union address on Tuesday.

Salazar spokesman Drew Nannis said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., asked Salazar to give the speech as a part of the party’s efforts to reach out to Hispanic voters. Salazar accepted “without hesitation,” Nannis said.

Salazar has played a role in other issues that affect Hispanics and Spanish-speakers since he was elected to the Senate in 2004. For example, Salazar was a prominent supporter of an immigration bill last year that would have created a guest worker program and a path to citizenship for some of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the country now. He also is sought out for interviews by the Spanish-language media in Washington.