PBS ANNOUNCES LINEUP FOR HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH SEPTEMBER 15-OCTOBER 15, 2008
ARLINGTON, VA — August 19, 2008 — Hispanic Heritage Month 2008
(September 15-October 15) is coming up, and PBS is celebrating with a
great lineup of programs that entertain while examining the history,
heritage and cultural contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans.
All month, PBS explores the rich and varied styles of Latin music. From Texican (LOS LONELY BOYS COTTONFIELDS AND CROSSROADS) to Afro-Cuban pop (INDEPENDENT LENS “La Lupe: Queen of Latin Soul”) to an all-female mariachi band (INDEPENDENT LENS “Compañeras”) to traditional Mexican corrido (P.O.V. “Al Otro Lado [To The Other Side]”), the creative talents of diverse musicians are on display.
PBS will also re-broadcast several of its recent nominees for Imagen
Awards, created to honor excellence in Latino entertainment, including BROWN IS THE NEW GREEN, AMERICAN MASTERS “Orozco: Man of Fire” and P.O.V. “Made in L.A.”
And, a special presentation in October, LATINOS ’08, examines the election through the prism of ethnic politics.
PBS’ children’s content continues to serve a diverse audience with
series that encourage healthy exploration of cultural differences while
providing opportunities to learn and grow as individuals.
On the new season of SESAME STREET, kids can
follow Murray, the street’s newest friendly resident monster, as he
deciphers clues from his little lamb friend, Ovejita. Murray faces a
challenge, however: all of Ovejita’s clues are in Spanish! Murray uses
visual hints to stay hot on Ovejita’s trail.
On the PBS KIDS preschool destination, Miss Rosa invites children to
discover new cultures and build language skills through Spanish
language content, while PBS KIDS series BETWEEN THE LIONS, DRAGON TALES and JAY JAY THE JET PLANE insert Spanish words into their curricula to help English speakers learn beginning Spanish. On PBS KIDS GO!, MAYA & MIGUEL
(also a nominee for the Imagen Awards), continues to promote the value
of cultural diversity while supporting school-age English language
learners by combining English and Spanish language in stories about
Maya, Miguel, their family members and their friends.
Press Preview Copies of Programs Available Upon Request
New Programming
LOS LONELY BOYS COTTONFIELDS AND CROSSROADS Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 9:30-11:00 p.m. ET
After a childhood of playing cantinas and honky tonks from Texas to
Tennessee, Los Lonely Boys have rocked their way to the top of the
American music industry, determined to fulfill their father’s long-held
dream. This documentary feature film tells the story of three
Mexican-American brothers from San Angelo, Texas, who create a unique
sound that melds the core of the early San Angelo music scene of the
1950s and 60s with a signature style they call “Texican.”
LATINOS ’08 Wednesday, October 8, 2008, 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET
LATINOS ’08 examines the 2008 election through the prism of ethnic
politics. Latinos are less cohesive than other voting blocs, and they
do not fit the black/white racial binary that has long shaped American
politics. This documentary examines how today’s candidates and advocacy
groups are trying to mobilize and attract this unpredictable group of
voters. Will McCain manage to win back Latino defectors, in light of
his party’s harsh rhetoric on immigration? Will Obama succeed in
securing the votes of the many Latinos who supported Hillary Clinton
during the primaries? Another subject of inquiry will be the
effectiveness — or lack thereof — of Latino politicians in advancing
Latino interests and promoting Latino unity. As these politicians enter
the upper echelons of American politics, they face inevitable pressure
to abandon their ethnic identity and constituencies. Will the Latino
electorate coalesce nonetheless, united around the immigration issue
and hemispheric foreign policy considerations? Or will ethnic
considerations be trumped by class, education and other factors? In
investigating such questions, LATINOS ’08 sheds light on an important
part of America’s future. In HD where available.
P.O.V. “Calavera Highway” Tuesday, September 18, 2008, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET
When brothers Armando and Carlos Peña set off to carry their mother’s
ashes to south Texas, their road trip turns into a quest for answers
about a strangely veiled past. As they reunite with five other
brothers, the two men try to piece together their family’s shattered
history. Why was their mother cast out by her family? What happened to
their father, who disappeared during the notorious 1954 U.S.
deportation program Operation Wetback? “Calavera Highway” is a sweeping
story of seven Mexican-American men grappling with the meaning of
masculinity, fatherhood and a legacy of rootless beginnings. http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2008/calaverahighway
Encore Programming
BROWN IS THE NEW GREEN: GEORGE LOPEZ AND THE AMERICAN DREAM Check local listings
Latinos, this nation’s largest and fastest-growing minority group, are
big business. This smart, fast-paced program examines how efforts to
profit from this group are shaping the contemporary Latino identity.
The documentary, whose focal point is George Lopez, an icon and
advocate for Latinos’ move into the mainstream, offers rare
behind-the-scenes access to Lopez’ life and world as he shares his
struggles to represent Latinos in a manner true to their realities and
aspirations. As Cosby did for African Americans decades earlier, Lopez,
through his comedy, aspires to normalize the image of Latinos in a way
that delights and entertains. BROWN IS THE NEW GREEN contrasts Lopez’
endeavors with the efforts of marketers intent on spinning Latinos as a
wholly distinct subculture. The show also features conversations with
members of the much-coveted Latino youth market, whose tastes and
interests are far more eclectic than one would think. In HD where
available. http://www.pbs.org/brownisthenewgreen/
JUSTICE FOR MY PEOPLE: THE DR. HECTOR P. GARCIA STORY Check local listings
JUSTICE FOR MY PEOPLE tells the story of Dr. Hector P. Garcia — Mexican
Revolution refugee, medical doctor to the barrios, decorated war
veteran, civil rights activist and presidential confidante — as he
fought to bring attention to the Mexican-American civil rights
movement. Returning to Texas after World War II with six battle stars,
Garcia found that while Mexican-American veterans had been changed by
the war, prejudiced America had not. His people faced public school
segregation, squalid living conditions in labor camps and second-class
citizenship. In 1948, Dr. Garcia founded the American GI Forum,
empowering Mexican Americans to fight numerous legal and political
battles against discrimination. http://www.pbs.org/justiceformypeople/
AMERICAN MASTERS “Orozco: Man of Fire” Check local listings
Often thought of as the other Mexican muralist, beside his more
flamboyant compatriot Diego Rivera, Orozco was a leader of the Mexican
Renaissance. His bold, dynamic frescoes had a profound impact on
American painters and inspired Franklin D. Roosevelt to put artists to
work during the Great Depression. His most famous U.S. murals — The
Table of Universal Brotherhood, The Epic of American Civilization and
Prometheus — still convey their power in New York, New Hampshire and
California. An iconoclastic personality, Orozco survived the loss of
his left hand and destruction of more than half his early work by
border agents. His travels back and forth across the U.S.-Mexico border
evoke the larger Mexican migrant-immigrant experience and have
provocative parallels to present times. In HD where available. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/orozco_j_en.html
AMERICAN MASTERS “Rivera in America” Check local listings
Considered the greatest Mexican painter of the 20th century, Diego
Rivera continues to have a profound effect on the international art
world. As a young man, he encountered the works of Cézanne, Gauguin,
Renoir and Matisse in Paris. But it was the Renaissance frescoes in
Italy that fueled his vision of a new form of painting that could reach
and celebrate the working man. He returned to Mexico and, ultimately,
propelled the fusion of fresco with modern art and architecture. “An
artist is above all a human being,” he wrote. “If the artist can’t feel
everything that humanity feels … if he won’t put down his magic brush
and head the fight against the oppressor, then he isn’t a great
artist.” Rivera’s personal story is equally dramatic, from his stormy
love affair with fellow painter Frieda Kahlo to his controversial
commissions for Henry Ford and the Rockefellers in the United States. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/rivera_d.html
INDEPENDENT LENS “La Lupe: Queen of Latin Soul” Check local listings
Legendary Afro-Cuban pop singer Lupe Victoria Yoli was crowned “The
Queen of Latin Soul” by New York’s Latin music scene in the 1960s.
Renowned for her emotional performances, La Lupe remains the
quintessential bad girl, dying tragically, virtually unknown in 1992.
Filmed in Cuba, Puerto Rico and the U.S., “La Lupe Queen of Latin Soul”
tells her story through interviews and rare archival footage from the
groundbreaking musical era. Produced in assocation with ITVS and LPB.
By Ela Troyano. http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/lalupe/
INDEPENDENT LENS “Compañeras” Check local listings
Tackling a male-dominated musical tradition, “Compañeras” reveals the
intense, passionate world of female mariachi. By Elizabeth Massie and
Matthew Buzzell. http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/companeras/
INDEPENDENT LENS “Writ Writer” Check local listings
This film tells the story of an indigent and under-educated Mexican
American, sent to prison in 1961, and his extraordinary legal battle
against the violence and abuse of prisoners’ rights in the Texas prison
system. Co-production of ITVS in association with Latino Public
Broadcasting. By Susanne Mason. http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/writwriter/
P.O.V. “Made in L.A.” Check local listings
Los Angeles is now the country’s center for apparel manufacturing, but
many of its factories bear an eerie resemblance to New York’s early
20th-century sweatshops. “Made in L.A.” follows the remarkable journey
of three Latina immigrants working in L.A.’s garment factories and
their struggle for self-empowerment as they wage a three-year battle to
bring a major clothing retailer to the negotiating table. This intimate
film offers a rare and poignant glimpse into the “other” California,
where immigrants in many industries toil long hours for sub-minimum
wages, fighting for an opportunity in a new country. A co-production
with the Independent Television Service (ITVS). A Diverse Voices
Project co-production. A co-presentation with Latino Public
Broadcasting. By Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar. http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2007/madeinla/
P.O.V. “Al Otro Lado (To the Other Side)” Check local listings
The proud Mexican tradition of corrido music — captured in the
performances of Mexican band Los Tigres del Norte and the late Chalino
Sanchez — provides both heartbeat and backbone to this rich examination
of songs, drugs and dreams along the U.S./Mexico border. “Al Otro Lado”
follows Magdiel, an aspiring corrido composer from the drug capital of
Mexico, who faces two difficult choices to better his life: to traffic
in drugs or to cross the border illegally into the United States.
Interspersing performance footage by corrido superstars with the
day-to-day struggles of Magdiel as he embarks on an uncertain journey,
filmmaker Natalia Almada paints an illuminating portrait of the
narcotics underworld, illegal immigration and the corrido music that
chronicles it all. An Official Selection of the Tribeca Film Festival.
By Natalia Almada http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2006/alotrolado/
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