Thirteen/WNET: Cantos Latinos

THIRTEEN'S ANNUAL CANTOS LATINOS FESTIVAL CELEBRATES HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH IN SEPTEMBER

Numbering 44 million, Latinos make up the largest and fastest growing ethnic minority in the United States. More than 27 percent of New York City's population is Latino, and the influence and impact of Latinos are apparent in virtually every aspect of life in the tri-state-area. This September, in recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month, Thirteen presents its annual CANTOS LATINOS festival, Tuesday, September 4 through Wednesday, September 26. The festival looks at Latino contributions to our collective culture and identity, and covers a gamut of topics, from art and entertainment to history and politics.

Program Schedule:

Tuesday, September 4, 2007:

9 -10 p.m.: WIDE ANGLE: Brazil in Black and White- New affirmative action quotas in Brazil, one of the world's most racially diverse nations, launch a controversial dialogue about race and identity. WIDE ANGLE follows the lives of five students of diverse backgrounds competing to win a coveted spot at the elite University of Brazilia, where 20 percent of the incoming freshman must qualify as Afro-Brazilian. Brazil has long presented itself as a colorblind "racial democracy," but deep disparities in income, education and employment have finally prompted a campaign for equal treatment for Afro-Brazilians. (Repeats: Sunday, September 9 at 12:30 a.m.)

10-11:30 p.m.: P.O.V.: Made in L.A. - Los Angeles is now the country's center for apparel manufacturing, but many of its factories bear an eerie resemblance to New York's early 20th-century sweatshops. This film follows the remarkable journey of three Latina immigrants working in L.A.'s garment factories and their struggle for self-empowerment as they wage a three-year battle to bring a major clothing retailer to the negotiating table. Made in L.A. offers a rare glimpse into the "other" California, where immigrants in many industries toil long hours for sub-minimum wages, fighting for an opportunity in a new country. (Repeats: Friday, September 7 at 4:30 a.m.)

Saturday, September 8, 2007:

4-5 p.m.: GLOBE TREKKER: Spanish Islands - This program explores the glorious Spanish Islands, visiting the Balearics off the coast of Spain and the Canary Islands near Africa. Host Alex Riley begins his journey on the millionaires' playground that is Mallorca and visits mud baths, ancient caves, yoga resorts, and volcanoes along the way. (Repeats: Sunday, September, 9 at 1:30 a.m.)

Sunday, September 9, 2007:

1:30-2:30 p.m.: VOCES: PANCHO GONZALEZ: WARRIOR OF THE COURT - This film charts Pancho Gonzalez' illustrious tennis career, from his early successes to his retirement at age 47. Born in Los Angeles to Mexican immigrants, young Gonzalez took to tennis with abandon. But disillusioned with being passed over for a prestigious tournament, he quit tennis, took up poker, pool and petty burglary, and served prison time. At the age of 19, Gonzalez returned to the game he loved, fiercely descending upon the vaunted East Coast tennis circuit. Despite his defeat of many of the top stars of the day, Gonzalez constantly battled for recognition from the tennis establishment because he lacked a "proper" surname and tennis pedigree.

Monday, September 10, 2007:

10-11 p.m.: INDEPENDENT LENS: La Lupe: Queen of Latin Soul - Legendary Afro-Cuban pop singer Lupe Victoria Yoli was crowned "The Queen of Latin Soul" by New York's Latin music scene in the 1960s. Renowned for her emotional performances, La Lupe remains the quintessential bad girl dying tragically, virtually unknown in 1992. Shot in Cuba, Puerto Rico and the U.S., this program tells her story through interviews and rare archival footage from a groundbreaking musical era. (Repeats: Saturday, September 15 at 3 a.m.)

Wednesday, September 12, 2007:

8-9 p.m.: BROWN IS THE NEW GREEN: GEORGE LOPEZ AND THE AMERICAN DREAM - This smart, fast-paced program examines how corporate efforts to profit from the "Latino market" are shaping America's perception of contemporary Latinos. Comedian George Lopez, an advocate for Latinos' move into the mainstream, discusses his personal story and his efforts to represent Latinos in a manner true to their realities and aspirations.

Monday, September 17, 2007:

10-11:30 p.m.: JUSTICE FOR MY PEOPLE: THE DR. HECTOR P. GARCIA STORY - This show tells the story of Dr. Hector P. Garcia - Mexican Revolution refugee, doctor to the barrios, decorated war veteran, civil rights activist and presidential confidante - as he fought to bring attention to the Mexican-American civil rights movement. Returning to Texas with six battle stars, Garcia found that while Mexican-American veterans had been changed by the war, prejudiced America had not. Choosing to peacefully resist prejudice, Dr. Garcia founded the American G.I. Forum in 1948, empowering Mexican Americans to fight numerous legal and political battles against discrimination.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007:

9-10 p.m.: AMERICAN MASTERS: Orozco: Man of Fire - Often thought of as the other Mexican muralist, beside his more flamboyant compatriot Diego Rivera, Orozco was a leader of the Mexican Renaissance. His bold, dynamic frescoes had a profound impact on American painters and inspired the president to put artists to work during the Great Depression. His most famous U.S. murals - The Table of Universal Brotherhood, The Epic of American Civilization and Prometheus - still convey their power in New York, New Hampshire and California. An iconoclastic personality, Orozco survived the loss of his left hand and destruction of more than half his early work by border agents. (Repeats: Sunday, September 23 at 1 p.m.)

10-11 p.m.: AMERICAN MASTERS: Rivera in America - Considered the greatest Mexican painter of the 20th century, Diego Rivera continues to have a profound effect on the international art world. As a young man, he encountered the works of CŽzanne, Gauguin, Renoir, and Matisse in Paris. But it was the Renaissance frescoes in Italy that fueled his vision of a new form of painting that could reach and celebrate the working man. He returned to Mexico and, ultimately, propelled the fusion of fresco with modern art and architecture. Rivera In America also draws upon Rivera's personal story, which was equally dramatic, from his stormy love affair with fellow painter Frida Kahlo to his controversial commissions for Henry Ford and the Rockefellers in the United States. (Repeats: Thursday, September 20 at 2 a.m.)

Thursday, September 20, 2007:

12:30-2 a.m.: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF FRIDA KAHLO - Frida Kahlo was more than a great painter: her life and art reflected the maelstrom of revolution and culture that defined the first half of the 20th century. She was at times a socialist, a communist and a revolutionary. She was friends with Nelson Rockefeller and Henry Ford, but also counted Leon Trotsky as one of her many lovers. She was an internationally acclaimed artist who preferred to paint at home for her own pleasure. Combining Kahlo's stunning artwork with photographs, archival films and contemporary interviews with many who knew her, this documentary presents Kahlo's extraordinary life as a reflection of her cultural history, her art and the times in which she lived.

Saturday, September 22, 2007:

4-5 p.m.: GLOBE TREKKER: Ecuador & The Galapagos Islands - GLOBE TREKKER host Justine visits Banos, a spa town that lies on the edge of the Andean foothills and the Amazon jungle, where she bathes in thermal baths heated by the nearby volcanoes and goes biking and hiking in the Pastaza Valley. She continues on to climb the snow-capped Cotopaxi, the highest active volcano on earth and journeys to Ottovalo, Ecuador's most famous market, where she samples a great delicacy of Andean cuisine that dates back to pre-Inca times.

Sunday, September 23, 2007:

2-2:30 p.m.: VISIONS: Latino Art & Culture - Latino artists across the U.S. take center stage in this groundbreaking television series. Viewers experience the world of Latino artistic expression as the series journeys throughout the country, capturing rich stories about theater, music, dance, spoken word, and the visual arts. Part one of this six-part series features the Latino Mural Movement of the 1960s, Nuyorican spoken word artists Pedro Pietri, Piri Thomas and Caridad, and editorial cartoonist Lalo Lopez.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007:

4-5 a.m.: VISIONS OF PUERTO RICO - Hosted by Rita Moreno, this program features aerial and ground footage of Puerto Rico, from the timeless plazas of Old San Juan, to the lush El Yunque rainforest, to the beautiful beaches of Culebra and Vieques, and more.