Hispanic Heritage Month

Anglo-Americans tend to lump Hispanics together, forgetting that the category covers a wide range of cultural backgrounds. Mexican culture is different from Puerto Rican culture, and so on. In this program, three Hispanic Americans—New York Justice Frank Torres, a Puerto Rican; Cuban-born former Miami mayor Xavier Suarez; and Mexican restaurateur Gordino Velasco—discuss what unites and divides the various groups. The Puerto Rican perception of themselves as voting residents of a U.S. commonwealth is compared to the first-generation Cuban perception of themselves as Cuban citizens in exile. Velasco discusses problems related to Mexican immigration in California. Journalist Felipe Luciano stresses the importance of voting as a means of achieving common political goals. Hosted by actor Hector Elizondo. (44 minutes)

This is the first major documentary series for television to chronicle the rich and varied history and experiences of Latinos, who have for the past 500-plus years helped shape what is today the United States and have become, with more than 50 million people, the largest minority group in the U.S. The series chronicles Latinos in the United States from the 1500's to present day. It is a story of people, politics, and culture, intersecting with much that is central to the history of the United States while also going to places where standard U.S. histories do not tend to tread. Latino Americans relies on historical accounts and personal experiences to vividly tell the stories of early settlement, conquest and immigration; of tradition and reinvention; and of anguish and celebration, from the millions of people who come to the U.S. from Mexico, Spain, Puerto Rico, and countries in Central and South America. The programs are driven by the human dramas of individuals' struggles and triumphs, successes and disappointments, featuring interviews with close to 100 Latinos from the worlds of politics, business, military, academia, literature, and pop culture, as well as deeply personal portraits of Latinos who lived through key chapters in American history. LATINO AMERICANS is the story of the gradual construction of a new American identity that connects and empowers millions of people today.

Most accounts of Los Angeles history neglect the stories of non-white citizens. Playwright Luis Valdez discusses Hispanic-American culture, which influences his writing.