Hispanic Heritage Month Programming Highlights on WETA World

Sunday, September 14 at 7pm

Join creator and host John Leguizamo on a quest to uncover Latino and Latina heroes and their contributions. Leguizamo takes viewers on a captivating journey, delving into both well-known and lesser-known stories of Latino history, spanning thousands of years, from the Ancient Empires to the present, and shining a light on the rich and often overlooked history of Latinos.

Monday, September 14 at 8:30pm

Join Ann Curry as two men search for the people who helped them settle in the U.S. when they fled Castro's Cuba. One hopes to find the family who took him in as a boy while another looks for the shrimp boat skipper who brought him to safety.

Thursday, September 17 at 8pm

In California's Central Valley, hundreds of Latinx youth miss months of school annually, because they live with their families in one of the state's farmworker housing centers. These subsidized apartments require families to move out each winter and relocate at least 50 miles away before being allowed to return in the spring. These cycles of displacement come at a high cost to families' futures.

Thursday, September 17 at 9:30pm

A sought-after music teacher and conductor, Juana Alzaga sets out to create Georgia’s first youth orchestra for immigrant families. For most, this is their only opportunity for music education. La Orquesta follows Juana and her orchestra over the course of one school year as they navigate health challenges and increasing hostility toward immigrants, finding solace in music.

Friday, September 18 at 8pm

Explore the story of Dominican-American poet and novelist Julia Alvarez, who burst onto the literary scene and blazed a trail for a generation of Latino authors.

Saturday, September 19 at 11pm

Meet Nixta Taqueria owners Sara Mardanbigi and Edgar Rico, Discada owners Xose Velasco and Anthony Pratto, and Cuantos Tacos owner Luis ‘Beto’ Robledo as they introduce their parents, discuss their childhood experience as children of immigrants, and explore the paths that led them to becoming celebrated small business owners and local heroes in the Austin community.

Saturday, September 19 at 11:30pm

Edgar and Sara work a night shift at Nixta Taqueria while recounting how they fell in love; Beto picks up his daughter from school and discusses balancing business ownership and co-parenting while working on his menu from home; Anthony and Xose explain the history of the discada recipe and recount how they became best friends while hosting a backyard discada party at Xose’s parents’ house.

Sunday, September 20 at 11pm

Consider Cuba's past and future, and the conflicts that have engulfed Cuba for the past six decades. This documentary features a series of revealing sequences shot in Cuba and the United States, as well as interviews with individuals including pro-Castro Communists and oppositionists in Cuba, U.S. Department of State personnel, academics, and Cubans "stranded in exile" in Miami.

Monday, September 21 at 2pm

Undocumented mothers Jeanette and Ingrid seek church sanctuary to avoid deportation and separation from their children. Filmed over five years in Denver, their legal battles and quiet bravery inspire unlikely allies in largely white faith communities. The documentary is a moving call to action about love, justice and the strength of community.

Monday, September 21 at 3pm

Luis Cortes Romero, the first undocumented attorney to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, journeyed from a difficult youth to the highest court in the land as part of a powerful legal team fighting the Administration’s attempt to rescind DACA.

Monday, September 21 at 7pm

Explore how Latino DNA has been woven into the identity of the United States since before her inception, and has been pivotal all along the way. Despite facing severe discrimination and violence, Latinos were present and contributed in pivotal ways to the fabric of this nation. Highlighting key figures and events, host John Leguizamo shows how Latinos helped build the United States we know today.

Monday, September 21 at 9pm

A split screen jazz and liberation film based on the words of "Un Trip through the Mind Jail" by raúlrsalinas, written in 1969 in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. The 25-minute short explores the lived experience of the Xicanindio poet — imprisonment in the jail machine, community destruction and gentrification in Austin, Texas, and the overwhelming force of culture in sanity and transformation.

Monday, September 21 at 9:30pm

Being a young Latina means living within a vibrant and varied global culture. It also means navigating identity and intersectionality. Rosanna discovers that friendship can cross all borders; Ana describes her last night at home before leaving Cuba forever; and Michele turns lemons into lemonade when she gets busted moonlighting. Three storytellers, three interpretations of GROWING UP LATINA.

Tuesday, September 22 at 3pm

Meet the Mambo Legends Orchestra, committed to keeping the sounds of the great Afro-Cuban bandleaders Machito, Tito Puente, and Tito Rodriguez alive for future generations.

Tuesday, September 22 at 4pm

Meet the beloved Cuban singer Omara Portuondo, who has thrilled audiences for over half a century, from the stages of Havana’s legendary nightclubs to her worldwide fame as part of the Grammy-winning Buena Vista Social Club.

Wednesday, September 23 at 3:30pm

Three Cuban baseball players leave their families and risk exile to train in Central America and chase their dreams of playing in the United States. At the shadowy nexus of the migrant trail and pro sports, The Last Out chronicles their difficult journey, from multi-step immigration obstacles and learning English to the broken promises and dubious motives of agents.

Wednesday, September 23 at 7pm

In Colombia's most consequential election, Black activist Francia Márquez rises from rural organizer to presidential candidate, challenging centuries of racial and social exclusion. Filmed over fifteen years, this intimate portrait captures how Márquez transforms a grassroots movement into a powerful force for change, inspiring millions to reimagine their nation's future and their place within it.

Thursday, September 24 at 2pm

In Hummingbirds, Silvia and Beba tell their own coming-of-age story, transforming their hometown on the Texas-Mexico border into a wonderland of creative expression and activist hijinks. Filmed collaboratively over the final summer of their fleeting youth, their cinematic self-portrait celebrates the power of friendship and joy as tools of survival and resistance.

Thursday, September 24 at 7pm

Immigrant grooms work year-round on the hidden “backside” of Churchill Downs. Rising before dawn, they care for some of the world’s most prized Kentucky Derby racehorses, revealing how race, labor, and class shape an elite American industry. Backside: The Unseen Hands of Horse Racing honors the resilience that’s behind the spectacle.

Thursday, September 24 at 8pm

On May 5th, 1991, people took to the streets of Washington D.C.'s Mount Pleasant neighborhood to protest the police shooting of a young Salvadoran man, Daniel Gomez. Through testimony, song, poetry, and street theater, La Manplesa: An Uprising Remembered weaves together the collective memory of one of D.C.'s first barrios and dives into the roots of the '91 rebellion.

Thursday, September 24 at 9pm

In Minnesota, the Latine community burgeons amidst a vast opportunity gap. Two charter schools, rooted in decades of struggle, champion equity through decolonized, bilingual education. PROFE delves into this educational revolution, blending history and contemporary narratives to illuminate its profound impact.

Saturday, September 26 at 11:30pm

Edgar and Sara explore Mercado Benito Juárez in Oaxaca City and tell their engagement story; Beto catches up with his friends and neighbors at La Santa Barbacha and Ensenada ATX and discusses the importance of supporting others in your community; Xose and Anthony serve discada tacos at a charity event for Relief Gang at J-Bar-M in Houston.

Sunday, September 27 at 12pm

Taco Editor Jose Ralat embarks on a journey to find the best tacos of Texas, uncovering an emerging cuisine blending tradition and innovation, which promises to redefine Mexican cuisine.

Sunday, September 27 at 10pm

Discover the untold story of Frank Pais and Juan Antonio Echeverria, pivotal figures in toppling dictator Fulgencio Batista's regime. Their urban insurgencies were instrumental in mobilizing support against Batista. Through interviews and archival footage, the documentary challenges the myth of Castro's sole triumph, shedding light on the complex dynamics of the Cuban Revolution.

Monday, September 28 at 7pm

Host John Leguizamo explores the rise of the new empire, the United States. While Latinos were often relegated to the fringes of mainstream society, they made profound contributions to the fabric of the U.S. and beyond. Reflecting on his journey, John learns that Latinos were not just an asterisk in history, but that Latino history is the history of the United States.

Monday, September 28 at 9pm

Rudolfo Anaya perseveres through poverty, injury and an artistic struggle to become the first Hispanic-American writer to achieve major publishing success.

Tuesday, September 29 at 2pm

Meet a Salvadoran-American family who have legally lived and worked in the nation’s capital for 20 years. Their lives are upended when Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for those from El Salvador and five other countries is revoked.

Tuesday, September 29 at 3:30pm

Rents have gone up an average of 30% in the past five years in the United States – as of April 2024, the average rent in Manhattan was almost $5,000 a month. Some landlords are eager to get rid of long-term tenants and use various tactics including cutting off heat and gas, refusing to make repairs and ignoring vermin infestations.

Wednesday, September 30 at 4pm

After 20 years 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.