Miami ? Would that 1984 presidential debate have been as memorable, or as decisive, if Walter Mondale had fixed Gary Hart with an exasperated glare and demanded: Donde esta el bistec? We could find out tonight when eight Democratic candidates square off in Miami in the first nationally televised debate en español.

In an acknowledgment of the explosive growth of Hispanic voters – more than 16 million will be eligible to cast ballots in next year’s election – all the declared contenders for the Democratic nomination are joining in a debate sponsored by and televised on the Spanish-language network Univision.

The candidates won’t actually be speaking Spanish, a language most of them don’t understand. Instead, questions and answers will be simultaneously translated.

“It’s a great moment, a historic moment,” says Maria Elena Salinas, who along with her fellow Univision anchor, Jorge Ramos, will moderate the debate. “The candidates will be speaking to the fastest-growing segment of American society. It’s a sign of respect.”

It’s also uncharted territory on the maps of both politics and television. Will the debate’s novelty draw a bigger audience than the two million viewers who usually watch Univision’s Sunday-night reality shows? Or does boredom with public-affairs programming cross cultural lines?

“I’ll certainly be watching with a good deal of curiosity,” said David Bohrman, CNN’s Washington bureau chief. “It’s been an interesting year of experimentation in debates. We’ve all recognized that the old rules are really rules, and we can reinvent debates.”