PBS Listens to Latino ‘Voces'

Series Puts Aspects of U.S. Hispanic Life in Focus

by Laura Martinez -- Multichannel News, 7/29/2009 5:47:34 PM

Just in time for this year's Hispanic Heritage Month, public-television stations nationwide will premiere Voces (Voices), a series curated by Latino Public Broadcasting and showcasing several aspects of Latino life.
The new season of Voces kicks off Sept. 1, with Celia the Queen, Joe Cardona's 2008 documentary about the Cuban salsa legend Celia Cruz.
The weekly series will feature films about Latino music legends and several documentaries, including ¡Presente! about Puerto Rican activist Antonia Pantoja; Bracero Stories, on Mexican "guest workers" in the U.S.; and The Golden Age, documenting a soccer league in Queens, N.Y., made up entirely by former World Cup players from Central and South America. Each weekly episode will be presented by actor Edward James Olmos.
"In addition to being entertainment, Voces is a reminder of the enormous influence that Latinos have had on every aspect of American life, from music to sports to education to public service," said Patricia Boero, executive director of Latino Public Broadcasting and curator of Voces.
According to Boero, the series is expected to air on about 350 public TV stations nationwide, thought programming will be done on a market-to-market basis. Now on its second season, Voces will also be available for online viewing at a dedicated page on www.voces.tv.