Rita Moreno
It’s not exactly a secret around here: Latinos have been part of the American experience since before there was an American, and today with more than 50 million people who identify themselves as “Latinos” or “Hispanics,” they comprise the large minority group in the U.S., and it’s only a matter of time before “they” are not a minority at all.
PBS is taking a close look at the Latino experience in the U.S. this fall, in the first major documentary series for television to chronicle the rich and varied history and experiences of Latinos. Immigration, expansionism, the post WWII boom, the culture and the people who make it come alive…PBS has promised that all that and more will be a part of the six-episode series that begins tonight, Tuesday September 17 with a two-hour program beginning at 8P.
Sonia Sotomayor being sworn in
as a Supreme Court judge
The series will feature interviews with entertainers including Rita Moreno, labor leader and 2012 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Dolores Huerta, Mexican-American author and commentator Linda Chávez, and Cuban singer and entrepreneur Gloria Estefan.
The first episode is called “Foreigners in Their Own Land: Empire of Dreams.” It’s a history lesson of Latinos in America, 1576-1880, from the first Spanish explorations in North America to the Mexican-American War, as well as a look at Latino immigration and how it reshaped American from 1880 to the 1940’s.
It promises to be a fascinating and long overdue look at our shared history.
