by Antonio Mejías-Rentas
La reina Celaz Cruz (izquierda/left) y/and Tito Puente derecha/right)
SERIES RETURNS: Documentary films about salsa legends Tito Puente and Celia Cruz are part of a new season of Voces set to air this fall on PBS.
The limited weekly series, presented by Latino Public Broadcasting and distributed by American Public Television, is set to coincide with Hispanic Heritage Month.
Voces is made up of independently produced films described by PBS as “celebrating the rich diversity of Latino life.” Actor Edward James Olmos, who presents each film, adds that, “above ail, they are American stories.”
He points out that Voces “is the only series devoted to bringing these terrific films to a national audience.”
The Celia Cruz documentary, titled Celia the Queen, is “a loving look at the amazing life and legacy of a woman whose voice symbolized the soul of a nation and captured the hearts of fans worldwide,” according to the release. It is from filmmaker Joe Cardona and scheduled to air Sept. 1 at 10:00 p.m.
Tito Puente: The King of Latin Music, by George Rivera, is scheduled for Oct. 4. It tells the life of the infl uential bandleader, percussionist and composer through archival footage and interviews and excerpts from one of his last concerts.
Other subjects included in the documentary are a Puerto Rican educator and organizer in Antonia Pantoya: jPresente! By Lillian Jimenez (Sept. 6); the controversial guest worker program of the 1940s and 50s in Bracero Stories by Patrick Mullins (Sept. 13) and a Queens, New York soccer league made up by middle-aged Central American immigrants in The Go/den Age by Phil Tuckett (Sept. 20). Dates and air times may vary market to market. Full list of fi lms and information at www.voces.tv.
CHARITABLE: Three of Latin America’s most popular performers will come together next week to launch a new antipoverty campaign by the Inter-American Development Bank.
Juan Luis Guerra, Juanes and Ricky Martin will launch the campaign at the IADB’s Washington base on June 24. With the Yo amo America slogan, the campaign will urge strategic changes in early childhood education and access to financial services for the poor.
Latin American music stars are increasingly participating in charitable activities. Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin, an advocate for children’s rights, recently announced the creation of a $1.5 million educational center in the impoverished municipality of Loiza. Hispanic Link.
