The reigning king of "family music," whose videos are featured on Sesame Street and the Disney Channel, was touring the Midwest recently when he witnessed how people reacted to immigrants from Mexico and Central America. In many towns, the new migrants weren't made to feel welcome, he said.

"People's reactions ranged to open hostility," Zanes said. "But I could see the culture was being revitalized in a good way."

The Grammy-winning rocker - who appears tonight at the Kimmel Center for an all-ages Pajama Party - says he hopes to build a bridge between mainstream kids and new migrant communities.

And if he's going to do it, it must be fun.

"Our audience doesn't want it if it isn't fun," said Zanes, 46, who in a previous life led indie-rock legends the Del Fuegos. "My job is to stay in the fun zone."

A new record by Dan Zanes and Friends succeeds on both counts. ¡Nueva York! (Festival Five), which Zanes calls his "pro-immigration CD" will be released next week.

To prepare himself for his first all-Spanish language disc, Zanes immersed himself in Mexican mariachis, Puerto Rican salsa and Peruvian folk songs. He learned conversational Spanish, which he admits he speaks, and sings, with a goofy gringo accent.

On previous records, he called on friends Sheryl Crow, Lou Reed, the Blind Boys of Alabama, and Debbie Harry.

On the new disc, he collaborates with his new amigos: Lila Downs, Marc Ribot, Daphne Rubin-Vega and the Villa-Lobos Brothers.

"I thought it would be outrageous to create something that sounded like a little party where there was another reality," Zanes said. "Where the Anglos, the Mexicans and Puerto Ricans are dancing around and sharing the food. That's what we were trying to create."

Many of the new canciones en español will be featured tonight, but the show will also draw from Zanes' traditional folk songs, sea chanteys, and rollicking kid-rockers.

"People ask me what does this [immigration] have to do with kids," Zanes said. "But children are never too young to think about how others are being treated. They can relate. They can all imagine what it feels like to go to a party and not feeling wanted there!"

Contact staff writer Sam Wood at 215-854-2796 or at samwood@phillynews.com.