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KCET Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month 2014

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In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, KCET will air special programming from September 15 to October 15 celebrating Hispanic culture. These shows, which cover topics ranging from identity and history to politics and law, highlight the histories and legacies of Americans whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

Here's this month's slate of programming:

California Missions

Sunday, Sept. 14 through Friday, Sept 26 @ 7:30 p.m.

Huell Howser traces the establishment of all 21 California Missions, stretching from San Diego in the south to San Francisco in the north. The 10-part miniseries features three missions in each 30-minute episode as well as profiles of the Pala Indian Reservation, mission gardens, and mission art. This series details not only the individual missions and their unique architecture, but also the religious and political motivation of the Spanish missionaries who built the churches during the 18th and 19th centuries for the indigenous people along El Camino Real.

Missions Opening

Cuba's Secret Side, Parts 1 & 2

Saturday, Sept. 20 @ 7 p.m.

This two-part documentary, presented back-to-back, journeys into the soul of Cuba. Adventure filmmaker and author Karin Muller hitchhiked around Cuba for three months, living with fisherman and farmers, Santeria priestesses and country doctors. She was arrested over a dozen times, but managed to get beyond the propaganda and rhetoric to capture the true character of the Cuban people. "Cuba's Secret Side" is an entertaining, insightful, and often humorous look at a side of Cuba that few foreigners get to see.

Cuba's Secret Side 30-Second Promo C

Vamos al Baile (Let's Go to the Dance)

Saturday, Sept. 20 @ 10 p.m.

Award-winning artists Little Joe y La Familia, Ruben Ramos and the Mexican Revolution, and Joel Guzman, Sarah Fox and their band take the stage for live performances. "Vamos al Baile" ("Let's Go to the Dance") captures the different styles of Mexican-American music and the family atmosphere of the dance halls in which they are performed.

Immigrant Nation: The Battle for the Dream

Saturday, Sept. 20 @ 11 p.m.

This feature documentary about the modern immigrant rights movement highlights the struggle of Elvira Arellano, a single mother from Chicago who fought her deportation. The film also interweaves the stories of individuals, organizations, activists, and community leaders united by a concern for justice. This film illustrates the opposition to the controversial HR4437 immigration bill, as well as the ongoing struggle and demand for comprehensive immigration reform.

Immigrant Nation!: The Battle for the Dream -Trail

Johnny "Chano" Martinez: El Padrino Salsero

Friday, Sept. 26 @ 8:30 p.m.

Johnny Martinez was known as the Godfather of Salsa in Los Angeles, but his influence spanned worldwide. Martinez started playing bass in the 1940s and worked with the great bands of Perez Prado, Chuy Reyes, Celia Cruz, Noro Morales, Tito Rodriguez, Carmen Cavallero, and Migalito Valdez. Martinez's orchestra recorded albums for Capitol Records, RCA, Liberty, Columbia, Decca, Tropicana, Fiesta, and Musimex/Sono Tropic. Martinez recalls the pivotal moments of his career and how much he loved watching people dance to his music.

Johnny Chano Martinez El Padrino Salsero

Linda Ronstadt: In Conversation

Monday, Sept. 29 @ 9 p.m.

Climbing to the top of the music industry is a feat for any artist, especially if you're a woman in the male-dominated music world. Linda Ronstadt is one of the few female rock icons who not only broke through the glass ceiling, but remains one of the most adored performers of our era. Award-winning journalist and radio personality Patt Morrison interviews the legendary singer about her latest memoir, "Simple Dreams." Ronstadt reveals the long and difficult road to becoming the most successful rock star of the '70s, and her inability to ever sing again due to Parkinson's disease.

KCET Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month 2014 - You

Cubamerican

Monday, October 6 @ 9 p.m.

"Cubamerican" is the stirring story of how the Cuban Revolution shattered the Cuban family. The film, which spans the past 60 years of Cuban history, evokes this tragedy and its universal themes of loss, freedom, assimilation, struggle, and triumph through the stories of Cuban exiles who have achieved acclaim in diverse fields in the U.S., rendering a mosaic of bittersweet exile experiences. The pro-immigrant story grapples with the agony of displacement, ruminates on the future of Cuba, and highlights the importance of exercising human rights.

Cubamerican - Cinequest 23 Trailer

ABC Colombia

Wednesday, Oct. 8 @ 9 p.m.

Seen from the perspective of two young boys, this moving film explores the experiences of children growing up in an area of major conflict near Colombia's Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (a region controlled by one of the country's illegal armed groups) where violence can erupt at any time.

Stranded: The Andes Plane Crash Survivors

Wednesday, Oct. 15 @ 9 p.m.

"Stranded" is the tale of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crash-landed in a desolate glacial valley high in the Andes mountains. Fifteen people died, including the pilot, five were severely injured, and 29 miraculously lived. Over three decades after the crash, 16 survivors revive long-buried emotions and intimate memories. They take viewers, moment by agonizing moment, through their suffering as their hope turned into despair and as hours stretched into weeks. With death by starvation drawing ever nearer, the survivors realized that in order to live, they had to eat their teammates who died alongside them.

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