WETA Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

Tuesday, September 17 at 9:00 PM

WETA PBS and WETA Metro

Explore the story of Julia Alvarez, the Dominican American poet and novelist who burst onto the literary scene and blazed a trail for a generation of Latino authors. Repeats Fri 9/20, 8pm WETA World

Saturday, September 21 at 8:30 PM

WETA Metro

This film explores the life of Roberto Clemente, an exceptional athlete and dedicated humanitarian who broke racial barriers to become the first Latino superstar in baseball. Through interviews with Pulitzer Prize-winning authors David Maraniss and George F. Will, Clemente's wife Vera, Baseball Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda, and former teammates, the documentary paints an intimate and revealing portrait of a man whose passion and grace elevated him to become a legend.

Tuesday, September 24 at 8:00 PM

WETA PBS and WETA Metro

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the deep Mexican roots of talk show host Mario Lopez and comedian Melissa Villaseñor, uncovering ancestors stretching back to the 1500s. Weaving together stories of migratory farmers, Spanish Conquistadors and Native Americans, Gates conjures up personal histories of diverse, sometimes conflicting, elements.

Friday, September 27 at 9:00 PM

WETA PBS and WETA Metro

Episode 1. Echoes of Empires. Join host John Leguizamo as he examines the accomplishments and rise of the Great Empires and civilizations from the Taino to the Olmec, Inca, Maya, Aztec, and more. Instead of focusing on the “discovery” of a new world, the episode tells the story of the fall of the great civilizations already here before Columbus landed while also challenging the cultural narrative around our understanding of these great empires and what indeed led to their destruction.

Friday, September 27 at 10:00 PM

WETA PBS and WETA Metro

Celebrate 37 years and a new class of Hispanic Heritage Award honorees. Established by the White House to commemorate the establishment of Hispanic Heritage Month in America, the Hispanic Heritage Awards are among the highest honors given to U.S. Latinos by Latinos. This year’s awardees include designer Carolina Herrera, Beautyblender creator Rea Ann Silva, and NBA Legend Carmelo Anthony.

Saturday, September 28 at 5:00 PM

WETA PBS

In Ciudad Juárez, Pati joins in with a group of Pachuco dancers, who are passionately preserving this distinctive Prohibition-era culture’s tradition. Together they head to the iconic Kentucky Bar, rumored to be the birthplace of the margarita. Later, she savors an icon of Juárez’s food scene, the burrito, at Burritos El Compa where the Olivares are keeping their family legacy alive.

Friday, October 4 at 9:00 PM

WETA PBS and WETA Metro

Episode 2. Threads in the American Tapestry. Explore how Latino DNA was woven into the identity of the United States before its inception and has been pivotal all along the way. Host John Leguizamo looks back at Pre-Colonial North America, the American Revolutionary War, the Mexican American War, the Civil War, and Westward Expansion as we learn how Latino participation has influenced the course of the nation’s history.

Friday, October 4 at 9:30 PM

This musical documentary follows The Mambo Legends Orchestra, some of whom are former members of the legendary Tito Puente Orchestra. The film traces the cultural significance of Afro-Cuban jazz—a fusion of the big band sound of the jazz era with Cuban music created in New York City in the 1940s.

Saturday, October 5 at 10:00 PM

WETA PBS

On August 1, 1942, a 22-year-old Mexican American man was stabbed to death at a party. Across LA, police netted 600 young Mexican American suspects, almost all wearing the distinctive uniform of their generation: zoot-suits. The sensational news coverage of the tragic murder and the injustice fanned the flames of the racial hostility that was already running rife in the city. Within months of the verdict, Los Angeles was in the grip of some of the worst violence in its history

Monday, October 7 at 8:30 PM

WETA Metro

October's episode spotlights the Netherlands Carillon, a nine-story-high bell instrument that the Netherlands gifted to the United States after World War II. Next, host Felicia Curry, with Deane Madsen, founder of BrutalistDC.com, explores the unique and often reviled Brutalist style architecture of many Washington, D.C. buildings. Finaly, Felicia tours the city in search of Latino murals, learning about their significance to local communities, and efforts to save them.
Repeats 9:30pm on WETA PBS

Friday, October 11 at 9:00 PM

WETA PBS and WETA Metro

Episode 3. Solidarity in a New Era. Host John Leguizamo reflects on the rise of the new empire, the United States, and the challenges faced by Latinos in preserving their cultural identity. Throughout the 20th century, Latinos were often relegated to the fringes of mainstream society. Nonetheless, they made profound contributions to the fabric of the U.S. and beyond. Reflecting on his journey, John learns that Latinos are not just an asterisk in history, but that Latino history is the history of the United States.

Thursday, October 17 at 8:00 PM

WETA Metro

In April 1969, a small group of Black and Puerto Rican students shut down the City College of New York, an elite public university located right in the heart of Harlem. Through archival footage and modern-day interviews, we follow the students' struggle against the institutional racism that, for over a century, had shut out people of color from this and other public universities.
Repeats Sat 10/19, 11:30pm WETA PBS

Tuesday, October 22 at 10:00 PM

WETA PBS

The hourlong documentary focuses on the key issues that will drive Latino voter turnout in some of the most hotly contested battl ground states, including Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida, and Pennsylvania.

Monday, October 28 at 10:00 PM

WETA PBS

The film spotlights the largest Latino voter registration mobilization in Texas history. Directly impacted by harmful vote-restrictive policies, voter intimidation and disinformation, explore how these Texans unite to make their voices heard through the democratic process.