Honoring Hispanic & Latino Heritage Month
Hispanic and Latino Heritage Month runs from September 15 to October 15 and it is a great time to learn more about the diversity of Hispanic and Latina/e/o/x experiences and cultures.
We know that just one descriptor can hardly capture the spirit and cultures of so many people who descend from a vast geography that includes present-day Southwestern U.S. states to the southernmost tip of South America, and nearly every present-day country and island in between. This is why you'll see many different ways in which people describe themselves and their heritage. You'll see the terms Latina, Latino, and their non-gendered versions Latine and Latinx. You might also see people identify as Hispanic, Chicano, Tejano, Taino, Isleños, Boricua, Afro-Latino, in addition to the many more terms used for people who have families and ancestors in the 22 nations and territories that comprise Latin America.
Hear and see an array of voices and stories in this collection of programs and documentaries. We hope you see yourself represented.
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AMERICAN MASTERS and VOCES | Julia Alvarez: A Life Reimagined
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One of America’s most celebrated Latina writers, the Dominican-American poet and novelist Julia Alvarez burst onto the literary scene and blazed a trail for a generation of Latino authors. Her semi-autobiographical novel, How the García Girls Lost Their Accents, was published in 1991, followed by In the Time of the Butterflies (1994), which raised global awareness about life under Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo. This new documentary opens a window into her extraordinary journey from her childhood in the Dominican Republic to a life of exile in New York City to a brilliant literary career that shows no sign of slowing down. At 74, she recently published the critically acclaimed novel The Cemetery of Untold Stories.
PBS KIDS | Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum “I am Sonia Manzano”
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This series follows the adventures of Xavier Riddle, his sister Yadina, and their friend Brad. In each episode, the three face a problem and must turn to the Secret Museum to help them solve it, where they travel back in time to meet real-life figures when they were kids. In this special episode featuring Sonia Manzano (beloved by generations as “Maria” on Sesame Street, who broke new ground as one of the first Latino characters on national TV), the trio travels back to learn the important lesson that telling stories can help manage big feelings.
PBS KIDS | Alma's Way
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Created by Sonia Manzano, ALMA’S WAY focuses on critical thinking, self-awareness, responsible decision-making, and empathy. The series is aimed at viewers ages 4-6 and follows 6-year-old Alma Rivera, a proud, confident Puerto Rican girl who lives in the Bronx with her family, friends, and community. It showcases Latino cultures through music, food, and language, and the new episodes follow Alma as she visits the American Museum of Natural History, teaches Uncle Nestor how to ride a bike, makes a care package for Granny Isa, and more. All episodes are available in both English and Spanish.
VOCES American Historia: The Untold History of Latinos
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Actor and playwright John Leguizamo’s work preparing for his 2018 Broadway show, “Latin History for Morons,” produced an obsession with reading and researching the history of the Americas. His passion for uncovering the full scope of American history, coupled with his nature as a curious student of the world, resulted in “American Historia.” In this three-part series, Leguizamo travels throughout Mexico and the U.S. to shed light on both the known and lesser-known Latino stories.
37th Hispanic Heritage Awards
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Celebrate the recipients of the 37TH HISPANIC HERITAGE AWARDS. The evening commemorating Hispanic Heritage Month includes performances and appearances by some of the country's most celebrated Hispanic artists and visionaries, including Designer Carolina Herrera, Beautyblender Creator Rea Ann Silva, and NBA Legend Carmelo Anthony.
Pati's Mexican Table (Season 13)
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Chef, author, and award-winning host Pati Jinich invites viewers to explore the northern state of Chihuahua in season 13 of Pati's Mexican Table. While there, she explores a variety of local attractions and delicacies while soaking in the region’s traditional flavors. Back home, Pati shows viewers how to combine all these ingredients and incorporate them into their own recipes.
VOCES | Mambo Legends: The Music Never Ends
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The Mambo Legends Orchestra is committed to keeping the sounds of the great Afro-Cuban bandleaders Machito, Tito Puente, and Tito Rodriguez alive for future generations. Comprised of several former members of these legendary orchestras, The Mambo Legends provide a link to the golden era of music in New York in the early 1940s, when the Machito Orchestra fused the big-band sound of popular music with the rhythms of Africa, Cuba, and Puerto Rico to create an enduring musical genre beloved around the world.
NEXT AT THE KENNEDY CENTER | Snarky Puppy: The Family We Make
Premieres Friday, October 11 on the free PBS app or online at PBS.org
Snarky Puppy, the acclaimed Grammy Award-winning band, brings their genre-breaking sound to a sold-out show at the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall. When one of the main guest artists, Afro-Peruvian icon Susana Baca, falls ill the band quickly come up with a new plan to transform the concert into a loving tribute to her music and influence. Joined on stage by stars from several Spanish-speaking countries – Silvana Estrada (Mexico), Gaby Moreno (Guatemala), Silvia Pérez Cruz (Spain), and Fuensanta (Mexico) – they perform a special “Family Dinner”-style concert playing their own songs along with Susana’s.
VOCES | Our Texas, Our Vote
Premieres Monday, October 28 at 7pm on the PBS app and at PBS.org
On the eve of the upcoming presidential election, acclaimed filmmaker Hector Galán takes viewers inside the largest Latino voter registration mobilization in Texas history, led by a new generation on the frontlines of a growing swing state that neither political party can ignore.
VOCES | Latino Vote 2024
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This new documentary explores the range of issues that matter most to the politically diverse Latino community in the 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.
More To Stream with the Free PBS App
PBS KIDS
PBS KIDS Rosie's Rules
Watch now on PBS KIDS.org
Rosie Fuentes is an inquisitive and hilarious 5-year-old Mexican-American girl living in suburban Texas who is just beginning to learn about the world beyond her family walls. In this series for ages kids 3-6, Rosie’s endless curiosity sets the stage for her ongoing pursuits to learn more about her family, her community, and beyond. As Rosie figures things out, the answers become “Rosie’s Rules.” Some of Rosie’s astute discoveries include, “Don’t try to mail your cat to Mexico” and “Sometimes flopping helps you get your feelings out.” All episodes are available in English and Spanish.
PBS Digital Studios
SOUND FIELD | Why this Mexican Genre is Growing as Fast as K-Pop"
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Linda Diaz sits with the Latin Grammy-nominated Yahritza Y Su Esencia, a band poised to take the Sierreño genre to new heights with their fresh perspective and unique sound. In Watsonville, CA, Linda interviews the rising stars of Revolucion, uncovering the roots and evolution of Sierreño music from its origins in Mexican regional music like banda, corridors, and mariachi.
Independent Films and Documentaries
First Time Home
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First Time Home is a film directed and shot by young people who are Indigenous Triqui, second-generation immigrants: Noemi Librado Sanchez, Heriberto Ventura, Esmirna Librado, and Esmeralda Ventura. This is their story, told as they wish to tell it. When the four cousins learned their grandfather in Mexico was gravely ill, they traveled from their immigrant community in California to their family’s ancestral village in Oaxaca for the first time. The teenagers recorded video letters to share with their parents and other relatives in the U.S., who are farmworkers and have not seen their relatives in Mexico in over 15 years.
POV | Bulls and Saints
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After 20 years of living in the United States, an undocumented family decides to return home. Little do they know it will be the most difficult journey of their lives and reawaken an intense desire for a place to belong. Set between the rodeo arenas of North Carolina and the spellbinding Mexican town they yearn for. Bulls and Saints is a love story about reverse migration, rebellion, and redemption.
POV | Uýra - The Rising Forest
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While traveling through the Amazon, Uýra shares ancestral knowledge with Indigenous youth to promote the significance of identity and place, threatened by Brazil's oppressive political regime. Through dance, poetry, and stunning characterization, Uýra boldly confronts historical racism, transphobia, and environmental destruction, while emphasizing the interdependence of humans and the environment.
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE | Roberto Clemente
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Born in Puerto Rico, Clemente was an exceptional baseball player and humanitarian whose career sheds light on larger issues of immigration, civil rights, and cultural change. He would die in a tragic plane crash in 1972.
AMERICAN MASTERS | A Song for Cesar
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Trace the life and legacy of labor activist Cesar Chavez. Through interviews with Maya Angelou, Joan Baez, Carlos Santana and more, see how music and the arts were instrumental to the success of the social movement Chavez helped found, which mobilized thousands of farmworkers across the U.S.
AMERICAN MASTERS | José Clemente Orozco: Man of Fire
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The life of Mexican muralist José Clemente Orozco (1883-1949), a life filled with drama, adversity and triumph, is one of the great stories of the modern era. Despite poverty, childhood rheumatic fever that damaged his heart and an explosion in his youth that cost him his left hand, Orozco persisted in his wish to become an artist.
INDEPENDENT LENS | El Equipo
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Legendary U.S. anthropologist Dr. Clyde Snow sets out to train a new group of Latin American students in the use of forensic anthropology. Their goal: to investigate disappearances in Argentina during the “dirty war.” The group expands its horizons, traveling to El Salvador, Bolivia, and Mexico, doggedly working behind the scenes to establish the facts for the families of the victims.
AMERICAN MASTERS | Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It
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Discover how Moreno defied her humble upbringing and racism to become one of a select group of Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award winners. Explore her 70-year career with new interviews, clips of her iconic roles, and scenes of the star on set today.
Taco Mafia
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A new generation of taqueros is showing how to achieve success in a post-pandemic world, while expanding the impact that a business can have in its own community. The self-proclaimed ‘Taco Mafia’ is forging a new path through friendship, sustainability, tradition, authenticity and a commitment to give back, while addressing issues such as sustainability, immigration, gentrification, and beyond.
News and Public Affairs
FRONTLINE| Blackout in Puerto Rico
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FRONTLINE and NPR investigate the humanitarian and economic crisis in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, examining how the federal response, Wall Street, and years of neglect have left the island struggling to survive.
KBTC Celebrates Día de Los Muertos
El Son de La Negra performed by Quetzalli
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Dance is an important part of celebrating Día De Los Muertos. Adriana Valdez, director of local dance group, Quetzalli, shares the culture and symbolism behind a popular dance performed by her group, El Son de la Negra.
La Ofrenda de Martha Ceron
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Martha Ceron shares her beautiful ofrenda along with her journey to reconnect with her cultural tradition and remember loved ones on Día de Los Muertos.
Make Your Own Altar with Alicia Rathbone
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Creating an altar for Día de los Muertos is a way to remember loved ones who have passed away. Alicia Rathbone shares how anyone can make an altar and participate in this Mexican and Mexican American tradition to remember people who are no longer with us.
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Documentaries
Becoming Fridah Kahlo
WATCH NOW on the PBS app with KBTC Passport or online at PBS.org
Explore the life of celebrated artist Frida Kahlo in a three-part docuseries. See the major personal and political events of her life, including her stormy and devoted relationship with artist Diego Rivera, whom she married not once but twice.
INDEPENDENT LENS | A Thousand Pines
WATCH NOW on the PBS app with KBTC Passport or online at PBS.org
Over the course of a grueling eight months, a crew of Oaxacan guest workers plant trees throughout the United States. This intimate portrait shows how hard it is to balance the physical demands of reforestation and extreme isolation while staying connected to the family back home.
Drama
Velvet - New!
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In late 1950s Madrid, the golden age of haute couture, there was one place everyone would like to shop at least once in their lifetime: the Galerías Velvet. The series follows the love story of Alberto Márquez (Miguel Ángel Silvestre, “Sense 8”), heir of Galerías Velvet, one of the most prestigious fashion houses in Spain, and Ana Ribera (Paula Echevarría, “Gran Reserva”), who works as a seamstress there. In Spanish with English subtitles.