News (Noticias) Tagged ‘pbs’

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 “Companeras”) to traditional Mexican corrido (INDEPENDENT LENS “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.

The following is a list of PBS’ Hispanic Heritage Month programming. Full program descriptions, press materials and photos are available on PBS PressRoom at pressroom.pbs.org/programs/hispanic_heritage_month_2008.

New Programming
– LOS LONELY BOYS COTTONFIELDS AND CROSSROADS
– LATINOS ‘08
– P.O.V. “Calavera Highway”

Encore Programming
– BROWN IS THE NEW GREEN: GEORGE LOPEZ AND THE AMERICAN DREAM
– JUSTICE FOR MY PEOPLE: THE DR. HECTOR P. GARCIA STORY
– AMERICAN MASTERS “Orozco: Man of Fire”
– AMERICAN MASTERS “Rivera in America”
– INDEPENDENT LENS “La Lupe: Queen of Latin Soul”
– INDEPENDENT LENS “Companeras”
– INDEPENDENT LENS “Writ Writer”
– P.O.V. “Made in L.A.”
– P.O.V. “Al Otro Lado (To the Other Side)”

About PBS
More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org Web sites on the Internet. More information about PBS KIDS is available at www.pbskids.org.
“

PR efforts for Latin Music USA, a four-part TV series premiering in January 2009 from BBC and PBS affiliate WGBH-Boston, are underway with Edelman’s help. The effort targets the Hispanic community to build excitement for the series and to bring more Hispanic viewers to PBS, said Robin Santos, the account manager for national marcomms for WGBH-Boston.”*

Claudio Guzman, who produced one of the nation’s first bilingual and bicultural Spanish-English educational television programs for children, “Villa Alegre,” which premiered in 1973 on PBS, has died. He was 80.

Guzman died Saturday of pneumonia at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after a long illness, said his wife, Micki Guzman”*

From Latin Jazz and Mambo to Salsa, Tejano, Chicano Rock, Latin pop, and Reggaeton, Latin Music USA tells the story of the rise of new American music forged from powerful Latin roots and reveals the often overlooked influence of Latin music on Jazz, Hip Hop, Rhythm and Blues and Rock and Roll - and on all of American culture. It’s a fresh take on our musical history, reaching across time and across musical genres to embrace the exciting hybrid sounds created by Latinos, musical fusions that have deeply enriched popular music in the US over more than five decades.

The series features memorable characters and vibrant music and dance showcasing the impressive range of Latin music in the US, including, among others, Salsa greats Willy Colon and Marc Anthony; the Latin-inflected sound found in much of sixties Rock and Roll from the Drifters to Motown to the Rolling Stones; the genius of Texas accordion player Flaco Jimenez; Carlos Santana; Linda Ronstadt; the legendary Chicano rock band Los Lobos; megastars Gloria and Emilio Estefan; Ricky Martin and Juanes; Miami rapper Pitbull; and Reggaeton performers Daddy Yankee and Tego Calderon. The life experiences of these and many other unforgettable artists will reveal how Latinos have reinvented music in the United States and forged new identities within this country, while never losing sight of their own rich traditions.

Produced by a world-class production team at WGBH and the BBC, Latin Music USA “invites the audience into the vibrant musical conversation between Latinos and non-Latinos that has helped shape the history of popular music in the United States,” says series producer Adriana Bosch. The multimedia project is anchored by a four-hour documentary series that premieres on January 21, 2009 on PBS stations nationwide.

“Latin Music USA has the potential to be a cultural milestone, advancing Americans’ understanding of Latino rhythm and music as a dynamic player in shaping American society past, present and future,” said John F. Wilson, senior vice president and chief television programming executive, PBS. “And music, the universal language, communicates this phenomenon in a most irresistible way.”

The drama caused by the statue is featured in the documentary “The Last Conquistador,” which airs nationally Tuesday on the PBS series P.O.V. The film is part of Art&Seek, a series by Dallas’ KERA focusing on arts, journalism and community.

“The Last Conquistador” follows artist John Sherrill Houser as he sets out to build a statue of Onate, an explorer who founded the first European settlements in the upper Rio Grande Valley and established what would become the cities of El Paso, Texas and Sante Fe, New Mexico. Called “The Equestrian,” the statue depicts Onate atop a towering Andalusian stallion.”*

New York filmmaker and El Paso native Cristina Ibarra says she’s “always looking for ways to go back home and do stories.”

With “The Last Conquistador,” she took on a whopper. “*

The program examines the influence of Latin music on rock, blues, jazz and hip-hop. The featured performers include Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Linda Ronstadt, Carlos Santana, Marc Anthony, Los Lobos, Ricky Martin and Miami rapper Pitbull.”*

Word is out that PBS is providing funding for a two-hour documentary about Latinos in the military. “The War Within” is tentatively scheduled to air in 2010.

It’s welcome news. And still, it’s bittersweet for reasons that might seem recondite to some.

Gus Chavez, one of the co-founders of Defend the Honor, a leading pressure group, recently noted John Wilson, the PBS veep who oversees all of its programming, still refuses to recognize Latinos were wronged earlier in the documentary by Ken Burns about World War II. And Wilson refuses to acknowledge the new proposed documentary about Latino fighting men and women has anything to do with that other dustup.”*

More than 40 years after becoming the most successful Latino folk rocker ever, Trini Lopez is generating some new buzz.

He received a Lifetime Entertainment Award from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in November at the first Latinos of Distinction Awards Dinner in Ontario. He was inducted into the Las Vegas Walk of Stars in May. And in November, he’ll host a PBS special at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles with 10 guest artists of his choosing.

Lopez, who semi-retired to his Palm Springs home in 1981, has sold more than 100 million copies of his 63 albums, by his biographer’s estimate, but he’s hottest outside of America.”*

Elizabeth Sánchez has joined the PBS children’s series “A Place of Our Own,” as one of its hosts.”*

Jalisa interviewed Katy Hernandez, a Latina student who moved to the United States from Mexico ten years ago and now attends Concord High School. Katy talked about what life was like in Mexico and how she has balanced the two countries’ cultures.”*

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View more “Did You Know?” facts in our “Did You Know?” section

In a cemetery in the border town of Tijuana, there is a shrine to a young soldier, Juan Soldado, who is the patron saint for migrants trying to cross illegally into the United States. It’s the place where FRONTLINE/World reporter Lowell Bergman arranges to meet a smuggler, or pollero, who has agreed to talk about the business of human smuggling on condition that we not reveal his identity. We call him “Rafael.” He’s been a smuggler for ten years and he tells Bergman how he got started in the business.

“I had this friend who had a lot of money and he was like 16 and I was like 18 at the time and I was like, dude, how did you make all that money?” recalls Rafael. “He didn’t want to tell me at first, and then when he told me, I didn’t believe him. So he took me to the people and they offered me a job too.”

To show how the smuggling business works, Rafael drives Bergman around Tijuana, which, though peaceful during the day, has turned into one of the most dangerous cities in Mexico due to the drug trade and human trafficking. Rafael says danger is part of the allure of the business – “an adrenaline rush” when he sneaks people across the border.”*

watch the video or read more following link below

Unfortunately, the significant Hispanic contribution to the U.S. military has often gone overlooked. Just last year, the original version of Ken Burn’s 15-hour PBS documentary, “The War” was justly criticized for not covering the Hispanic experience. It took pressure from several community and veteran organizations, and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus before 28 minutes of footage from Hispanic veterans was added.

It is time that we honor these brave soldiers and remind our community of the proud tradition of Latino sacrifice for this nation and courage in the line of duty.

The Eugene A. Obregon Congressional Medal of Honor Memorial Foundation was created to finance and construct a monument in downtown Los Angeles to honor the 40 Latino recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. The monument, which has the unanimous support of the Los Angeles City Council, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other community leaders, will educate and inspire Angelenos and visitors about the heroic Hispanic contributions to our nation’s armed services.”*

Spanish-language channel V-me–distributed partly via digital multicast in partnership with PBS stations–held its first upfront this week. It made programming announcements covering an original preschool production, several new reality series and continued content from the Food Network.

The 14-month-old network offers 30-second spots, but also PBS-style underwriting and sponsorship opportunities.”*

2008 is going to be a rough year for Gwyneth Paltrow haters. First the actress lightened up her prissy image with her action-movie debut last week alongside Robert Downey Jr. in “Iron Man.” Now the woman who notoriously branded herself as a macrobiotic food snob has expanded her diet to include eel, cheese and even — gasp — fried churros, all to be chronicled in “Spain … On the Road Again,” a new docu-series making its debut in September on PBS. “*

Some students at San Diego’s Mission Bay High School say they’re getting placed into Junior ROTC classes against their will. They’re urging school district officials to do something about it. KPBS Reporter Ana Tintocalis has more.

The students recently went before the San Diego school board to say an increasing number of Latino and Spanish-speaking students are being put into the school’s Marine ROTC program without their or their parents permission. Others say they were misled to sign-up. Student Karen Figueroa says school officials make it difficult once students want out.”*

WETA Washington, D.C. and Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) have formed a partnership to produce a multi-part documentary series for PBS chronicling the experience, influence and impact of Latinos on the American historical narrative.  With the support of a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), research and development work has begun on The Latino Americans, slated to be broadcast in fall, 2011.

The production partners view this project as timely and compelling, in light of the current debate over immigration issues today, a discussion being carried out in the halls of government and around kitchen tables across America.  The influx of Latinos to the United States is nothing less than one of the largest flows of immigration in the history of the world.

The Latino Americans will consist of three, two-hour episodes, tracing the history of Latino immigration to the United States.  Beginning with the founding of the country in 1776, The Latino Americans will illuminate the contributions made by Latino immigrants, and provide the historical underpinnings to the present debate surrounding immigration from Latin America.

“Latinos are already the largest minority ethnic group in the country, and are soon projected to be a majority of the American population,” said Sharon Percy Rockefeller, president and CEO of WETA.  “The nation needs a better understanding of the Latino American culture, the challenges the Latino community has faced, and the multi-faceted issues the Latino population presents our society today. This series will shed light on this important segment of the American fabric.”

WETA boasts considerable experience producing landmark series for public television, including serving as co-producer of films by Ken Burns, and, in collaboration with LPB, The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo.  In addition, WETA has demonstrated substantial expertise in chronicling the immigrant experience in America, producing, also with LPB, My Journey Home in 2004, tracing the individual histories of three distinct immigrant experiences, and most recently producing the acclaimed PBS series, The Jewish Americans.  The Washington Post called the series a “triumphant tale,” while Newsday said The Jewish Americans was “big, rich and generous.”

LPB has for a decade developed, produced, acquired and distributed projects that shed light on the Latino American experience.  Their history of providing a voice to the diverse Latino community throughout the United States includes the projects Al Otro Lado, following the journey, choices and impact of illegal immigrants as they cross the Mexican border into the United States; Roberto Clemente, chronicling the life of the legendary baseball player; and VOCES, a dynamic thirteen part series devoted to exploring and showcasing the best of Latino culture.

“Latino Public Broadcasting is excited to be partnering with CPB and WETA in this landmark series,” said Patricia Boero, executive director of Latino Public Broadcasting and co-executive producer of the series.  “For the first time, the full story will be told: how millions of immigrants from the rich array of Latin American origins have shaped and been shaped by their adopted country.  In producing the series and reaching out to all communities, we will bring to light the nuances of our different cultures and shared histories — and our profound interconnectedness.  And the project will bring greater numbers of Latino and Latina producers and viewers to PBS.”

The Latino Americans will be supported by an extensive educational outreach and promotion initiative with bilingual components, designed to spark a meaningful dialogue on the relevant issues among all Americans and lend perspective and depth to Americans’ understanding of the Latino culture and contribution.  The project will also be developed to reach out specifically to the Latino American community nationwide and the core PBS audience, and with considerable opportunities beyond the broadcast for the public to make use of the rich outreach content for years to come.

“This important series will showcase the significant contributions Latinos have made and continue to make culturally, professionally and throughout all levels of American life,” said Patricia Harrison, president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The chronicle of Latino history in America will trace three centuries of Latino immigration to the United States from the mid-18^th century to today.  The film will be populated by characters that bring a more intimate, human interest perspective to the broad sweep of Latino history.

The series producer of The Latino Americans will be Adriana Bosch, a veteran creator of acclaimed television for public broadcasting, including films for The American Experience on Fidel Castro, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter.  Bosch will work with several Latino and Latina producers in producing each segment of The Latino Americans.  The executive producers for WETA will be Jeff Bieber and Dalton Delan.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967.  The mission of CPB is to facilitate the development of, and ensure universal access to, non-commercial high-quality programming and telecommunications services.  It does this in conjunction with non-commercial educational telecommunications licensees across America.  For more information please visit www.cpb.org.

Created in 1998 by Edward James Olmos and Marlene Dermer, Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) is a non-profit organization funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.  LPB’s mission is to support the development, production, post-production, acquisition and distribution of non-commercial educational and cultural television that is representative of or addresses issues of particular interest to U.S. Latinos.  These programs are produced for dissemination to public broadcasting stations and other public telecommunication entities.  Mr. Olmos is presently LPB’s Chairman of the Board of Directors.  For more information please visit www.lpbp.org.

WETA Washington, D.C., is the third-largest producing station for public television.  WETA’s other productions and co-productions include The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, America at a Crossroads, American Valor, The Journey Home, The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo, The Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize, In Performance at the White House, and documentaries by filmmaker Ken Burns, including The Civil War and THE WAR.  More information on WETA and its programs and services is available at www.weta.org.”

The FBI reports mortgage fraud cases are skyrocketing nationally. Yesterday, a key figure in a San Diego scheme admitted to forging documents to secure loans for mostly Latino borrowers who couldn’t afford them. A judge then sentenced Alejandro Lopez to three months in prison and four months in a residential re-entry center.

KPBS Reporter Amita Sharma has more on how the mortgage fraud worked in this case.”*

The ACLU and Mexico’s Commission on Human Rights have pledged to work together to protect migrants’ human rights along the U.S.-Mexico border. The groups say they’ll challenge Operation Gatekeeper and other federal programs that put migrants’ lives in danger. KPBS reporter Amy Isackson has details.

Operation Gatekeeper is the federal government’s attempt to stem the flow of illegal immigrants in San Diego in the mid-1990s.”*

*From: http://www.kpbs.org
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

As his jubilant teammates showered each other with Champagne to celebrate winning the 1971 World Series, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Roberto Clemente - the Series’ most valuable player - stepped before the national television microphones. Many Americans had learned in this Series what baseball fans had known for a decade: Clemente was one of the sport’s finest, both on and off the field.

Before answering, Clemente did something unusual for an A-list professional athlete in the turbulent 1970s. He told his interviewer that first he would say something in Spanish, and gave a shout-out to family, friends and fellow Latinos, from his native Puerto Rico to the Bronx.”*

*From: http://www.sfgate.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

In Linda Nieves-Powell’s smart, riotous, and relevant debut novel, two thirty-something moms decide to drop their to-do lists and revisit their dance club past — with unexpected results!

Have you ever dreamed of escaping your hectic life and going back to a time in your youth when everything seemed so simple? Do you remember the days when your biggest worry was where you were going that night, and what you were going to wear?

This is just one of the themes award-winning writer/director/producer Linda Nieves-Powell delves into in her edgy, fresh, and laugh-out-loud funny, debut novel, Free Style (Atria Books; $14.00; March 2008).

Inspired by an adult exchange Nieves-Powell had with a childhood friend, Free Style is a book about the past, and how to let it go. Using her trademark fresh dialogue and dynamic characters, Nieves-Powell plumbs the depths of serious issues, while wrapping them up in a brash and bold, utterly refreshing, tale.

Idalis Rivera is tired. She’s tired of fighting with her estranged husband and being a good mother to her six-year-old son. She’s tired of using her first-grade art skills instead of her brain at the New York City advertising agency where she works, and she’s tired of not knowing what she wants to do with her life. She longs for the simple days when her biggest worry was deciding what she was going to wear to CLUB 90, the bastion of early 90s pop culture. And if she was stressed from fighting with her mother or boyfriend, she’d just chase away her troubles by dancing the night away.

Idalis’ childhood friend, Selenis, is in the same boat. The mother of three — with a husband who seems to be addicted to computer porn — she feels burdened by caring for everybody else. All day long she looks after her children, cleans the house, and makes meals. She also eats Oreos and ice cream to chase away her sadness.

Idalis and Selenis just want to enjoy the fun moments in life, like they did back in the day. But more than having fun, they long to be fun. They need to find “them” again. So they plan an escape. In an impetuous move, they decide to revisit CLUB 90 and forget their everyday lives — if only for a little while. Idalis and Selenis leave suburbia behind, and begin a series of adventures that takes them back to their youth, and teaches them both some valuable lessons.

Among the things they learn is the value of friendship, the fragility of life, that it’s important to make your own choices, and to follow your dreams. But most importantly, sometimes it’s best to leave the past where it is…

Entertaining, irreverent, and absolutely pertinent in today’s world, Free Style launches what is sure to become a long successful literary career for Linda Nieves-Powell.

Linda Nieves-Powell is the writer/director/producer of the off-Broadway hit YO SOY LATINA! as well as the “New Soul Latina Show” and “Jose Can Speak.” She was named one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics by Hispanic Business magazine, one of the Groundbreaking Latinas of 2006 by Catalina magazine, and one of the Top 100 Latinas by El Diario. Her nonfiction has appeared in national periodicals, including Latina magazine, Estylo magazine, and Latino Impact Entertainment News. She’s also appeared on a myriad of television programs, including Today, PBS City Arts, Good Day New York, Urban Latino TV, and Telemundo News.

To learn more about Linda Nieves-Powell, her work, and her production company Latino Flavored Productions, Inc., visit:

www.latinoflavored.com
www.lindanievespowell.blogspot.com
www.myspace.com/freestylechicas

Free Style A Novel
By Linda Nieves-Powell
Published by:
Atria Books
ISBN:
1-4165-4281-7
Pages:
224
Price:
$14.00
Pub Date:
March 2008″*

*From: http://www.prweb.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

When Jock Soto retired from the New York City Ballet three years ago, he’d spent a quarter-century becoming one of the most celebrated male dancers in the company’s history. Half Navajo and half Puerto Rican, stocky and athletic, Soto didn’t fit the danseur noble mold, but his grace and strength as a soloist and fame as the surest of partners (famously to iconic ballerinas Heather Watts, Lourdes Lopez, and Wendy Whelan) cemented his reputation as one of the most universally beloved dancers in New York. PBS’s Independent Lens today airs Water Flowing Together, a documentary about Soto’s career and rediscovery of his heritage. Vulture caught up with Soto, who now spends his days running a catering business with his partner, and talked to him about the dances in his past and the cooking show in his future.

Now that you’re retired, is it strange to see all this footage from your career?
I first saw it in San Francisco at the gay and lesbian film festival there, and it was kind of shocking! I felt like I was watching somebody else. It was quite emotional.”*

*From: http://nymag.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish