Latin Music USA

Hora 3: La Ola Chicana

54m 55s

En el tercer episodio, mexicoamericanos en California, Texas, y por todo el sur-occidente formar sus propios sonidos distintivos durante la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Su musica jugaria un papel importante en la lucha por los derechos civiles Chicanos, y en turno los lanzaria desde el barrio al escenario nacional.

Episodes

Hour 4: Divas & Superstars

S1 E8 - 54m 21s

Focuses on the Latin Pop explosion of the turn of the century and the success of artists like Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan and Shakira in the English-language market. As studios concentrate on star-driven Pop, Latino youth gravitate toward urban fusions -- Spanish Rap and Reggaeton, as well as Rock en Espanol.
Hour 2: The Salsa Revolution

S1 E6 - 54m 55s

Puerto Ricans and other Latinos in New York reinvent the Cuban Son and the Puerto Rican Plena, adding elements from Soul and Jazz to create Salsa, which becomes a defining rhythm for Latinos the world over.
Hour 1: Bridges

S1 E5 - 54m 47s

Traces the rise of Latin Jazz and the explosion of the Mambo and the Cha Cha Cha as they sweep the US from East to West. Latin Music infiltrates R&B and Rock and Roll through the 1960s.
Hora 4: Divas y Superestrellas

S1 E4 - 54m 21s

En el cuarto episodio, se enfoca en la explocion de la musica Pop Latino al final de los 90's que incluye los exitos de artistas como Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan, y Shakira en el Mercado americano. Mientras los estudios se enfocaban en el Pop, los jovenes latinos giraban hacia fusiones urbanas - Rap en Espanol y Reggaeton, al igual como Rock en Espanol.
Hora 3: La Ola Chicana

S1 E3 - 54m 55s

En el tercer episodio, mexicoamericanos en California, Texas, y por todo el sur-occidente formar sus propios sonidos distintivos durante la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Su musica jugaria un papel importante en la lucha por los derechos civiles Chicanos, y en turno los lanzaria desde el barrio al escenario nacional.
Hora 2: La Revolución de la Salsa

S1 E2 - 54m 55s

En el segundo episodio, puertoriqueños y otros latinos en Nueva York reinventan el Son cubano y la Plena puertorriqueña, agregándoles elementos de Soul y Jazz, y crean Salsa, que se vuelve el rítmo que identifica a los latinos por todo el mundo.
Hora 1: Puentes

S1 E1 - 54m 47s

El primer episodio investiga el nacimiento de Latin Jazz y la explosión del Mambo y Cha-Cha-Chá que recorren los Estados Unidos de costa a costa. La música Latina se infiltra dentro de R&B y Rock and Roll durante los años 1960s.

Extras + Features

The Legends: Juanes

S1 E8 - 2m 3s

In his native Medellín, Colombia, Juanes had played heavy metal, inspired by the music of Metallica, Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin. His fusion, known as rock en español, has brought rock music right into the heart of Latin culture. Watch LATIN MUSIC USA on Friday, April 28 and Friday, May 5 at 9/8C on PBS (check local listings).
The Legends: Jennifer Lopez

S1 E8 - 2m 16s

"She’s sort of our 21st century Marilyn Monroe... She is beyond singer. She is this icon." Watch LATIN MUSIC USA Friday, April 28 and Friday, May 5 at 9/8C on PBS (check local listings). Image credit: New York Magazine
The Legends: Tego and Daddy Yankee

S1 E8 - 4m 1s

Tego Calderón created new fusions for reggaetón and became a hero to young Latinos, but it was Daddy Yankee who took reggaetón into the clubs and onto the dance floors of America’s mainstream. Watch LATIN MUSIC USA Friday, April 28 and Friday, May 5 at 9/8C on PBS (check local listings).
The Legends: Gloria and Emilio Estefan

S1 E8 - 4m 30s

The unprecedented success of Gloria and Emilio Estefan through the Miami Sound Machine was an awakening for the American music industry. Watch LATIN MUSIC USA on Friday, April 28 and Friday, May 5 at 9/8C on PBS (check local listings).
The Legends: Ricky Martin

S1 E8 - 3m 5s

“Livin’ La Vida Loca” debuted at number-one on the Billboard chart and broke Ricky Martin into American mainstream pop. Watch LATIN MUSIC USA Friday, April 28 and Friday, May 5 at 9/8C on PBS (check local listings). Image credit: Retna, Ltd./Camera Press/Miguel Amador Larra
The Legends: Shakira

S1 E8 - 4m 38s

Shakira Mebarak, a Colombian of Lebanese descent, brought a unique combination of rhythms from her native Barranquilla. With the help of producer Emilio Estefan, she became an international superstar. Watch LATIN MUSIC USA Friday, April 28 and Friday, May 5 at 9/8C on PBS (check local listings). Image credit: Retna, Ltd./Larry Marano
Miami's Cultural Mix

S1 E8 - 1m 49s

Miami is a hub for Latin music and cultural fusion, championed by artists like Pitbull. Watch LATIN MUSIC USA Friday, April 28 and Friday, May 5 at 9/8C on PBS (check local listings).
The Legends: Lin-Manuel Miranda

S1 E8 - 3m 15s

Composer Lin-Manuel Miranda talks about his first hit, "In The Heights". Watch LATIN MUSIC USA Friday April 28 and Friday, May 5 at 9/8C on PBS (check local listings).
The Legends: Ritchie Valens

S1 E7 - 4m 37s

Richard Valenzuela had been unknown beyond Pacoima until a young record producer heard him play at a local movie house and invited him to his Hollywood studio. Thus was born Ritchie Valens, the "great brown hope" of Latin music. Watch LATIN MUSIC USA, airing Friday, April 28 and Friday, May 5 at 9/8C on PBS (check local listings). Image credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
The Day the Music Died

S1 E7 - 3m 9s

February 3, 1959. A plane carrying three music greats--The Big Bopper, Buddy Holly, and Ritchie Valens--crashes in Iowa during a snowstorm. Valens was only 17, and had gone from obscurity to 4 hit records in a career that lasted barely eight months. That day came to be known as The Day the Music Died. LATIN MUSIC USA airs 4/28 and 5/5 at 9/8C on PBS (check local listings). Credit: Tony Szikil
The Legends: Freddy Fender

S1 E7 - 4m 19s

By the mid 1970s, Freddie Fender--born Baldemar Huerta--had become a darling of television variety shows after nearly two decades of battling discrimination and his own demons. Between 1974 and 1983 Freddie Fender had 21 songs on the Country music charts – many with Spanish lyrics. LATIN MUSIC USA airs Friday, April 28 at 9/8C on PBS (check local listings). Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
La Pistola y El Corazon

S1 E7 - 2m 10s

When Los Lobos followed the success of their recording of "La Bamba" with an all-acoustic album of Mexican folk songs, they were criticized for having committed "commercial suicide." But they were rewarded when La Pistola y El Corazon won them a Grammy. Watch LATIN MUSIC USA Friday, April 28 and Friday, May 5 at 9/8C on PBS (check local listings).

WETA Passport

Stream tens of thousands of hours of your PBS and local favorites with WETA Passport whenever and wherever you want. Catch up on a single episode or binge-watch full seasons before they air on TV.