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Chef José Andrés Among Latinos Honored With The National Humanities Medal By President Obama

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World famous chef José Andrés was among the six Latinos honored by the White House earlier this week for their cultural contributions to America.

From NBC News Latino:

President Barack Obama awarded the National Medal of Art and Humanities to five renowned Hispanics who have played key roles in elevating the experiences, culture and art of Latinos and weaving them into American society through their body of work. Their work has broken barriers, helped tell the civil rights struggles of Latinos, expanded the understanding of Latinos in the U.S. and added to the many dimensions of the American mosaic.

“We believe that the arts and the humanities are in many ways reflective of our national soul. They’re central to who we are as Americans: dreamers and storytellers and innovators and visionaries,” Obama said.

Four received the National Medal of Arts: Author Sandra Cisneros, conjunto musician Santiago Jimenez Jr., film director, actor and civil rights activist Luis Valdez and playwright Moisés Kaufman.

The two recipients of the National Humanities Medal were Rudolfo Anaya, known as the father or sometimes godfather of Chicano literature, and acclaimed chef and humanitarian José Andrés.

Chef José Andrés, born in Spain and naturalized as an American citizen in 2013, has become a prominent figure in the 2016 Presidential election after pulling his restaurant out of Donald Trump’s new hotel in Washington, D.C., following the candidate’s racist remarks about Mexican immigrants in June 2015.

From Fox News Latino: “When asked about Trump after receiving his award, José Andres, who is presently involved in a lawsuit with the magnate, told EFE that the best way to fight any person who has negative messages is to give them a nice smile, go out to vote and cast one’s ballot for a ‘world of inclusion and not of exclusion.’”