What to Watch on WTTW for Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage Month begins September 15 and runs through October 15. Below, explore WTTW programming that celebrates the contributions of Latinos to history, culture, cuisine, and more. Click on the schedule links for more air times. 

La Frontera with Pati Jinich

Saturdays starting September 13 at 9:00 pm on WTTW Prime
Savor the sights, sounds and flavors of the U.S.-Mexico border alongside acclaimed James Beard Award-winning chef Pati Jinich as she experiences the region’s rich culture, people and cuisine.

Read our interview about La Frontera with Jinich.

Voces American Historia: The Untold History of Latinos

Monday, September 15 at 9:00 pm on WTTW
Join actor John Leguizamo on a quest to uncover Latino and Latina heroes and their contributions. In this three-part series, Leguizamo takes viewers on a captivating journey, delving into both well-known and lesser-known stories of Latino history, spanning thousands of years, from the Ancient Empires to the present, and shining a light on the rich and often overlooked history of Latinos.

Weekend in Havana

Thursday, September 18 at 7:00 pm on WTTW
Join Geoffrey Baer as he travels to Havana, where dancers, musicians, architects, and writers invite him into their lives to experience the color, culture, and history of a beautiful and seductive city.

Soak up even more sights and sounds of Havana at wttw.com/havana. 

Velvet

Saturdays starting September 20 at 10:00 pm on WTTW 
A new season of Velvet returns on Saturdays. Alberto, heir to the Velvet empire, returns home for his father's latest collection. But among the luxury and glamour, the Art Deco palace hides family secrets and forbidden loves. (In Spanish with English subtitles.)

American Masters – Julia Alvarez: A Life Reimagined

Sunday, September 21 at 8:00 am on WTTW Prime
This film explores the life and work of Julia Alvarez, one of America’s most celebrated Latina writers. The documentary discusses her childhood in the Dominican Republic, her complex family dynamics, the lifelong impact of their escape from the dictatorship, her feelings of displacement, hybridity, and loss – and how she transforms all of this, in a nuanced, complex writing voice – into poetry, essays, and novels.

Finding Your Roots: Mexican Roots

Tuesday, September 23 at 7:00 pm on WTTW
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and guests Mario Lopez and Melissa Villasenor look at the Mexican American experience as seen through the lens of two families.

American Masters – Orozco: Man of Fire

Tuesday, September 23 at 8:00 pm on WTTW 
Follow the life of Mexican muralist Jose Clemente Orozco – a life filled with drama, adversity, and triumph – who has one of the great stories of the modern era.

Joseph Rosendo’s Steppin’ Out – Cuba: A Journey of Heritage and Heart

Thursday, September 25 at 9:30 pm on WTTW 
From Havana to Viñales, Joseph returns to his grandparents’ homeland in Cuba. It’s a heartfelt homecoming as he dives into the vibrant culture of his family's past. He enjoys an electrifying dance performance, hand rolls cigars at a finca, learns about maintaining vintage cars, bakes bread in Old Havana, and is filled with emotion to find a cathedral dedicated to Saint Rosendo.

38th Hispanic Heritage Awards

Friday, September 26 at 10:00 pm on WTTW
Celebrate the recipients of the 38th annual Hispanic Heritage Awards. The evening commemorating Hispanic Heritage Month includes performances and appearances by some of the country's most celebrated Hispanic artists and visionaries.

Pati’s Mexican Table

Saturdays starting September 27 at 4:00 pm on WTTW
A new season of Pati’s Mexican Table begins on September 27. In the season premiere, Pati returns to her hometown, Mexico City, and joins historian Erika Zuniga to trace its history from Templo Mayor to Bellas Artes, with a stop for churros at the legendary El Moro. Later, she meets journalist Enrique Acevedo at Central de Abastos, the world’s busiest market, where they share delicious tacos de lengua and reflect on the city's vibrant present and future.

Día de Los Muertos

Saturday, September 27 at 11:00 pm on WTTW Prime
Celebrate the popular tradition observed by people of Mexican heritage everywhere with a new musical and cultural fiesta featuring rock greats Los Lobos, the salsa-rap-reggae-funk band Ozomatli and the all-female mariachi band Flor de Toloache.

American Masters – Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided to Go for It

Sunday, September 28 at 2:00 pm on WTTW
Discover how Rita Moreno defied her humble upbringing and racism to become one of a select group of Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award winners. Explore her 70-year career with new interviews, clips of her iconic roles, and scenes of the star on set today.

Voces: Omara

Sunday, September 28 at 4:00 pm on WTTW 
Meet the beloved Cuban singer Omara Portuondo, who has thrilled audiences for over half a century, from the stages of Havana’s legendary nightclubs to her worldwide fame as part of the Grammy-winning Buena Vista Social Club.

Finding Your Roots: Latin Roots

Tuesday, September 30 at 7:00 pm on WTTW 
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. traces the family trees of musician Ruben Blades and journalist Natalie Morales, interweaving stories from across Latin America. Along the way, both guests learn secrets that their ancestors tried hard to conceal.

Voces – Mambo Legends: The Music Never Ends

Sunday, October 5 at 8:00 am on WTTW Prime
The Mambo Legends Orchestra is committed to keeping the sounds of the great Afro-Cuban bandleaders Machito, Tito Puente, and Tito Rodriguez alive for future generations. Comprised of several former members of these legendary orchestras, The Mambo Legends provide a link to the golden era of music in New York in the early 1940s, when the Machito Orchestra fused the big-band sound of popular music with the rhythms of Africa, Cuba, and Puerto Rico to create an enduring musical genre beloved around the world.

Voces: Letters to Eloisa

Sunday, October 5 at 9:00 am on WTTW Prime
A haunting portrait of a writer's life and struggle for artistic freedom, meet Cuba’s Jose Lezama Lima, an all but forgotten figure of the Latin American literary boom that included Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Octavio Paz and Mario Vargas Llosa.

Great Performances Now Hear This: Piazzolla’s History with Tango

Friday, October 10 at 9:00 pm on WTTW Prime
Tango to Buenos Aires, Argentina, with host Scott Yoo and flutist Alice Dade to explore the evolution of composer Astor Piazzolla’s work and the music genre itself as it becomes fused with jazz across time and numerous instruments.

Great Performances Now Hear This – Albeniz: Portraits of Spain

Friday, October 10 at 10:00 pm on WTTW Prime
Discover the inspirations Spain provided composer Isaac Albéniz with host Scott Yoo, guitarist Manuel Barrueco, and pianist Juan Pérez Floristán along with musicians from Albéniz’s birthplace in the Pyrenees mountains as well as Sevilla, Mallorca, and more.

American Masters: A Song for Cesar

Saturday, October 11 at 9:30 am on WTTW Prime
This is a documentary film that explores the life and work of Cesar Chavez, a civil rights activist and labor leader who used music as a tool to unite and inspire workers during the United Farm Workers’ struggle for better labor conditions. The film sheds light on the challenges that Chavez and his followers faced, and how they managed to overcome them through solidarity and perseverance. The film also touches on the broader historical context in which the United Farm Workers’ struggle took place, including the social and economic realities of farm workers in the mid-20th century United States, the role of political activism and organizing in the civil rights movement, and the power of music as a medium for political expression and social change. 

Voces: Almost American

Saturday, October 18 at 9:30 am on WTTW Prime 
In 2018, the Department of Homeland Security terminated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for almost all TPS holders – foreign nationals from countries beset by civil unrest, violence, or natural disaster who are permitted lawful residence in the United States, the majority of whom are from El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti. The decision left American families on the brink of a family separation crisis – not on the border, but in communities across the United States.