This is part of a compensated campaign with Latina Mom Bloggers and Ford. However, all opinions expressed are my own.
Last week’s episode of the PBS series LATINO AMERICANS was so exciting!
First off, my daughter, Maya, insisted on watching it with me. Live. I hesitated – considering her bedtime is 8:15pm, and the show runs from 8 to 10 – but gave in to her puppy dog eyes, and am so glad I did! She watched the entire thing and was completely captivated, asking me all sorts of questions…
In case you didn’t read my last post about the show, LATINO AMERICANS is a three-part, six-hour series on PBS, narrated by Benjamin Bratt. It documents the history and experiences of Latinos, who have played a huge part in helping to shape North America over the last 500 years. MUST. SEE. TV.
Now for the exciting part. So Maya and I were watching the show last Tuesday night and I get a phone call from my mom. I decline the call, texting her “Can’t talk. Watching TV.” Realizing how AWFUL that sounded, I text her again: “Watching TV- for work.” Then she calls again. And messages me on Facebook. Grrr! Considering I was live-tweeting the show, I just couldn’t keep up- until I realized that she wanted to talk to me about the show. Get this- she actually KNEW someone that was on LATINO AMERICANS! Dr. Hector Pérez García, prominently featured at the beginning of the episode, was a medical doctor, war veteran, civil rights activist, and the first Mexican-American to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom… and he was my mom’s DOCTOR when she lived in Corpus Christi in the late 1970’s! She messaged me on Facebook- “Dr. García was my doctor! His office was on Morgan Ave! I knew his sister, too – Clotilde!” Amazing. She knew he was a great man, but had no idea just how significant his work was. I talked to her on the phone after the show was over, and it was neat to hear the excitement in her voice. She even called me last night to confirm what time the show airs this week; she was afraid she missed it! I saw that the Latino Americans DVD and book set is available on the Shop PBS online store… and now I know what I’m getting her for Christmas. 😉
The last part of LATINO AMERICANS will air TONIGHT, Tuesday, October 1st, from 8 – 10pm EST on PBS – don’t miss it! It will focus on how Latinos got involved with the political process in America, and the process of organizing farm workers in California. If you prefer Spanish, the series will air in Spanish on Vme TV with one new chapter every Friday at 10pm EST, through October 25th. For your local listings, please visit www.vmetv.com.
I’ll be watching again tonight at 8pm and tweeting along! Join the conversation on Twitter by using hashtags #LatinosPBS and #LatinosFord.
A big thank you to Ford Motor Company! A proud member of the Hispanic community and corporate sponsor of LATINO AMERICANS, Ford is one of the longest standing partners of the Hispanic community and understands and appreciates the impact that Latinos have made, and continue to make! Follow the brand on Facebook.com/FordenEspanol and Twitter @FordEspanol.
