‘American Historia’ at the Forefront of Hispanic Heritage Month Programming

John Leguizamo in front of the great pyramid of Teotihuacán, the ancient capital of Mesoamerica, in what is now Mexico, in 'American Historia.' Photo by NGL Studios

With John Leguizamo’s docu-journey through Latin American history as a centerpiece, public media brings the arts, culture, and experiences of Latinos in the U.S. on air and online from September 15-October 15, Hispanic Heritage Month.

American Historia: The Untold History of Latinos (on PBS, PBS.org and the PBS app  September 27, October 4 and 11) is an extension of Leguizamo’s Tony-nominated “Latin History for Morons.” The three-hour series includes Leguizamo traveling to historical sites and interviewing notable historians and Latino cultural figures on a chronological journey through Latino history, from the Great Empires and civilizations in Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean to the present.

“American Historia” is part of VOCES, Latino Public Broadcasting’s signature documentary series, which is premiering several other new films through October on PBS and its digital channels:

• Julia Alvarez: A Life Reimagined (September 17, also part of American Masters) explores the life and work of one of the United States’ most celebrated Latina writers.

• Mambo Legends: The Music Never Ends (October 4) focuses on the Mambo Legends Orchestra, formed by members of the Machite, Tito Puente, and Tito Rodreguez bands to keep the sounds of the great Afro Cuban bandleaders alive for future generations.
• Latino Vote 2024 (October 22), by filmmaker Bernardo Ruiz, explores the range of issues that matter most to the politically diverse Latino community in the presidential battleground states of Pennsylvania, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Arizona, as well as in California and Florida, two states with large Latino populations. The film also examines the influence of Latino evangelical pastors in shaping community perspectives and the role that Spanish-language media will play in the 2024 election.
• Our Texas, Our Vote (October 28), by filmmaker Hector Galán, takes viewers inside the largest Latino voter registration mobilization in Texas history. 

VOCES is also a centerpiece of PBS’ Hispanic Heritage Month special programming and thematic collection, airing on PBS with added content streaming on demand on the PBS app and on PBS.org. The wide-ranging collection includes the “37^th Hispanic Heritage Awards” (September 27) and Why This Mexican Genre is Growing as Fast as K-Pop," an episode of the PBS Digital Studios series Sound Field that explores the roots and evolution of Sierreño music. On PBS KIDS, there are new episodes of Alma’s Way (starting September 23), created by Sonia Manzano, who played Maria on “Sesame Street” and was one of the first Latino characters in national TV. Manzano also guest stars in a special episode of Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum, which premiered on September 9.

WORLD, a public media hub for documentary film, will air VOCES on Thursdays on its multicast channel carried by 194 public television stations across the U.S. Its Hispanic Heritage Month streaming collection features a wide range of stories from “America ReFramed,” “Doc World,” “Local: USA,” and the storytelling series “Stories From the Stage.” Highlights include “Como Vivimos (How We Live),” about Mexican-American youth who live in subsidized family housing for farmworkers during the growing season but must move during the winter; and “Sushi Nachos,” the story of how a Mexican-Japanese family uses their dual identity to create space for togetherness.

NPR Music celebrates Latino Heritage Month by exploring the theme of love in taking over Tiny Desk concert series and alt.Latino podcasts. The fourth annual El Tiny Takeover, in which Latin music takes over the famed Tiny Desk concerts for a month, returns for a fourth year on September 16. NPR Music's Alt.Latino co-hosts Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras curated the lineup of Latin American and Spanish artists and genres, featuring Juanes, Sheila E, Eladio Carrion, and The Marias. The hosts also explore the expression of Latino identity and emotion of love through music in new episodes of the alt-Latino podcast. On the World Cafe section of NPR Music, WXPN and World Cafe will do a round up of some of their best archived content from Hispanic artists on September 23, .

The music discovery site NPR Live Sessions, curated by a group of public radio music stations across the country, highlights Hispanic artists and bands on its main page carousel each weekday throughout the month, including Vintage Jay, an Austin-based performer born in Tampico, a port city in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. Jay is  September Artist of the Month at public radio station KUTX, which highlights Latino artists throughout the month in its Song of the Day and Austin Music Minute.

StoryCorps updates its Hispanic Heritage Month collection highlighting stories amplifying Latino voices and stories. The collection includes conversations from StoryCorps Historias, a StoryCorps initiative to record the diverse stories of Latinos in the United States.

The American Archive of Public Broadcasting launches a Hispanic Heritage Collection, a massive collection of public radio and public television broadcasts dating back to the 1960s when Latino activists associated with farmworker, Chicano, and Puerto Rican movements spearheaded efforts to establish bilingual community radio stations in rural locales and television programming in urban centers to address the needs of Spanish-language speakers. They include:

• Nearly 10,000 radio broadcasts from Radio Bilingüe, the leading Latino public radio network and Spanish content producer in U.S. public media, and KDNA in Washington State’s Yakima Valley
• Pioneering television programs like the children’s series Carrascolendas, from Austin, Texas, Acción Chicano from Los Angeles, Realidades from New York, the Emmy-winning Images/Imagenes from the New Jersey Network, GBH’s La Plaza, and En Camino from KRCB in Rohnert Park, California.
• WIPR: Arts and Culture in Puerto Rico, more than 8,000 programs from WIPR, originally broadcast on the 940 AM radio station in Puerto Rico between 1953-1997, plus documentaries such as Mi Puerto Rico, Valentía: Mexican Americans in World War II, and Los Braceros: Strong Arms to Aid the USA,  A Thirst in the Garden, and Mexican Americans: The Invisible Minority.

Expanded Services to Spanish Speakers

In addition to programming about Hispanic experiences, public media stations are expanding their services to better serve Spanish-speaking audiences all year long with new programming, newsletters, partnerships with Spanish language publications or organizations and public radio stations.

• WCNY announced plans to start Pulso Central, Central New York’s first Spanish language radio station, on September 15. This community-supported HD station, reaching 19 counties from Syracuse to Utica to Watertown and available at pulsocentral.com and streaming on the Pulso Central app, will feature music and local and national shows relevant to the Spanish-speaking population in Central New York and the Mohawk Valley.
• KUER-FM and PBS Utah, both licensed to the University of Utah, acquired KCPW last October and are launching KUUB- 88.3 FM, a bilingual public radio station for the region’s growing Spanish speaking population. 88.3 is currently broadcasting programming by Radio Bilingue as they prepare to launch the new format.
•  KETR (Northeast Texas) launched a Spanish-language HD3 channel in June through a partnership with Radio Bilingüe.

The CPB-funded America Amplified community engagement journalism collaboration has a “LatinX cohort” of seven stations – WKAR (Michigan), Boise State Public Radio, Arizona Public Media News, KPBS (San Diego), Iowa Public Radio, KUNR (Reno) and KCUR (Kansas City) -- focused on Spanish speaking communities in their broadcast areas. The stations collaborate and share practices and events to reach and engage those audiences.

CPB is also supporting Connecting Latino Communities, Connecticut Public’s pilot program designed to grow, deepen, and sustain engagement with and among underserved Latino communities. Connecticut Public produces original local content for radio, television, and digital platforms in Spanish and English, explores partnerships with other public media stations and children’s programming sources, and will assess early impacts of these efforts on growing and deepening engagement with and among Latino communities in Connecticut.

To subscribe to CPB spotlights, press releases and grant announcements, go to cpb.org/subscribe