Desperate Housewives star, Eva Longoria, is set to host the 2007 Alma Awards on Tuesday, June 5 at 9 p.m. on ABC. But her participation won’t be purely hosting. Apart from serving as the award show’s executive producer, the 32-year old actress will also be firing up a dance number with co-host Mario Lopez, former contestant on Dancing with the Stars season three, for a number with Dancing with the Stars professional dancers Karina Smirnoff, Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Cheryl Burke.

The Alma Awards, also known as the American Latino Media Arts Awards, are tributes awarded to Latino performers in the entertainment industry, such as actors, film and television directors and musicians, who have promoted positive portrayals of Latinos in the world of entertainment. Established in 1995 by the National Council of La Raza, the awards show takes over the previous Bravo Awards. The Alma Awards is also an approach to respond to the negative stereotyping of Latinos in the U.S. entertainment industry.

The Desperate Housewives actress is actually glad to be paired with Lopez. "The most challenging part is time," says Longoria. "We actually don't have a lot of time to rehearse. Thank God, Mario is pretty much a natural dancer. And we have an amazing [coach in] Karina. To work with her and sneak in some rehearsals, that has been the biggest challenge. Mario's [being] a natural dancer has been a tremendous help."

However, Longoria and Lopez’s pair-off will not be the show’s only highlight as other performers like Beyonce, Prince, Los Lonely Boys and War will also be gracing the award’s show.

In addition, the awards show will also include celebrity presenters such as Jessica Alba, Oscar De La Hoya, Daisy Fuentes, Terrence Howard, Eva La Rue, Ana Ortiz, Judy Reyes, Eva Mendes and Roselyn Sanchez just to name a few.

-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist

Source: ET Online

_{(Photo Courtesy of The Hollywood Gossip)}