PBS Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month With a Documentary Recognizing the Latino...

PBS Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month With a Documentary Recognizing the
Latino Contribution to American Music

The Latin Music USA Four-Part Documentary to Launch During Hispanic Heritage
Month on October 12th and 19th

BOSTON, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Did you know Salsa came from New
York? That the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie" is a cha cha cha? How did rap meet
reggae to make Reggaeton?

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, PBS will premiere Latin Music USA, a
four-hour documentary series celebrating the Latin rhythms at the heart of
jazz, rock, country and rhythm and blues and highlighting the great American
music created by Latinos. Revealing the Latin sounds that have influenced the
music of great American artists from the Drifters to the Isley Brothers to
Santana, the documentary aims to reach lovers of music everywhere, along with
fans of American history and everyone who loves to dance.

Airing in primetime on Mondays, October 12 and 19, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET on PBS,
the documentary series is narrated by acclaimed Golden Globe and Emmy-award
winning actor Jimmy Smits and features the stories of Latino artists Celia
Cruz, Carlos Santana, the Fania All-Stars, Shakira, Gloria Estefan and Ricky
Martin, along with exclusive interviews and never-before-seen footage.

The life experiences of the artists featured in the documentary reveal how
Latinos have reinvented their music in the United States and forged new
identities within this country, while never losing sight of their own rich
traditions.

"LATIN MUSIC USA is a cornerstone of PBS' celebration of Hispanic Heritage
Month this year," said John F. Wilson, PBS Chief TV Programming Executive.
"It's a program for everyone who loves to explore music, dance and American
history and their fascinating connections to our overall culture."

PBS' celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month extends beyond the broadcast and
onto pbs.org. PBS' video player (pbs.org/video) -- where viewers can watch
hours of free PBS programming online and on their own time -- features an
extensive lineup of programs honoring and exploring Latino culture in
"Nuestras Historias | Our Stories," a special Hispanic Heritage Month
collection. LATIN MUSIC USA will premiere online on October 13 (English) and
14 (Spanish) as part of this collection. "Nuestras Historias | Our Stories" is
at www.pbs.org/nuestrashistorias.

Latin Music USA was produced by a team led by WGBH, in co-production with the
BBC. The documentary series anchors a comprehensive multimedia project -- on
air, online, in print and in the community -- that explores the vibrant
musical conversations between Latinos and non-Latinos that have helped shape
the history of popular music in the United States for more than five decades.
"We are thrilled to have Latin Music USA showcased during Hispanic Heritage
Month," states Executive Producer Elizabeth Deane. "This is a groundbreaking
series, a fresh take on our musical history, reaching across time and across
musical genres to tell the story of music created by Latinos and embraced by
all."

As part of the project's multimedia and multicultural approach, Latin Music
USA has partnered with the Spanish TV network V-me to premiere the series on
two consecutive Tuesdays, October 13th and 20th at 10 p.m., fully translated
and narrated in Spanish by Leila Cobo, one of the world's foremost experts in
contemporary Latin music.

Latin Music USA is comprised of four 60-minute episodes featuring a fast-paced
mix of music and interviews:

-- Episode One, BRIDGES (10/12, 9-10 p.m. on PBS): The first hour traces
the rise of Latin jazz and the explosion of the mambo and the cha cha
cha as they swept the U.S. from East to West and looks at how Latin
music infiltrated rhythm and blues and rock 'n' roll through
the 1960s.
-- Episode Two, THE SALSA REVOLUTION (10/12, 10-11 p.m. on PBS): The
second
hour explores how Puerto Ricans and other Latinos in New York
reinvented
the Cuban son and the Puerto Rican plena by adding elements from soul
and jazz to create Salsa, which became a defining rhythm for Latinos
the
world over.
-- Episode Three, THE CHICANO WAVE (10/19, 9-10 p.m. on PBS): Mexican
Americans in California, Texas and throughout the Southwest created
their own distinct musical voices during the second half of the 20th
century. This episodes shows how their music played an important role
in
the struggle for Chicano civil rights and ultimately propelled them
from
the barrio to the national stage.

-- Episode Four, DIVAS AND SUPERSTARS (10/19, 10-11 p.m. on PBS): The
final
hour focuses on the Latin pop explosion of the turn of the 21st
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 like Spanish rap and
Reggaeton, as well as Rock en Espanol.

Funding for Latin Music USA is provided by the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting and public television viewers.

About PBS
PBS, with its 356 member stations, offers all Americans -- from every walk of
life -- the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television
and online content. Each month, PBS reaches more than 124 million people
on-air and online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history,
nature and public affairs; hear diverse viewpoints; and take front-row seats
to world-class drama and performances. PBS' broad array of programs has been
consistently honored by the industry's most coveted award competitions.
Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital
content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. PBS' premier
children's TV programming and Web site, pbskids.org, are parents' and
teachers' most trusted partners in inspiring and nurturing curiosity and love
of learning in children. More information about PBS is available at
www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org Web sites on the Internet.

About WGBH Boston
WGBH is America's preeminent public broadcasting producer, the source of fully
one-third of PBS's primetime lineup, along with some of public television's
best-known lifestyle shows and children's programs and many public radio
favorites. Its production menu is diverse, including Nova, Frontline, American
Experience, Antiques Roadshow, Masterpiece Theatre, Arthur, and Curious George
on PBS and The World and Sound & Spirit on public radio. WGBH has been
recognized with hundreds of honors: Emmys, Peabodys, duPont Columbia Awards,
even two Oscars.

About V-me
Already reaching 60% of all US Hispanic TV Households via broadcast, cable and
satellite, V-me entertains and informs Latino families in Spanish with
primetime drama, music, sports, current affairs, and Latin cinema, along with
world-class kids, food, lifestyle, and nature programming. The 24-hour
network, partnered with public television, is America's largest Spanish
digital channel. V-me is the first venture of the media production and
distribution company, V-me Media Inc. To find out more visit VmeTV.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Edelman WGBH
Vanessa Tartak Ann Petruccelli
323.202.1453 617.300.5331
vanessa.tartak@edelman.com ann_petruccelli@wgbh.org

Willy Villarreal
323.202.1464
willy.villarreal@edelman.com

SOURCE PBS

Vanessa Tartak, +1-323-202-1453, vanessa.tartak@edelman.com, Willy Villarreal,
+1-323-202-1464, willy.villarreal@edelman.com, both of Edelman for WGBH; Ann
Petruccelli of WGBH, +1-617-300-5331, ann_petruccelli@wgbh.org