Latino USA

In the early 70s, Miguel Angel Villavicencio was focused on making his most ambitious dream possible: to become a famous singer in Bolivia and across the world. And he was halfway there—his love songs were on the radio and he was appearing on TV. But to take his singing career truly international, he needed money. So he decided to work for Bolivia's most powerful drug cartel in the 80s—a major supplier for Pablo Escobar. Choosing this path would lead him on a journey of self-destruction, unexpected betrayal and finally, redemption.

In 2001, Nickelodeon started airing "Taina," a show about a Latina teen who attends a performing arts high school in NYC and daydreams of being a star. While the show only lasted two seasons, "Taina" is seared into the memories of many who grew up watching it, because at the time it was rare to see an authentic portrayal of what it was like to be a Nuyorican teen in the early 2000s. Maria Hinojosa talks to the show's award-winning creator Maria Perez-Brown, who is Nuyorican herself, about jumping into the world of children's television after being a tax lawyer.

Felipe Coronel, aka Immortal Technique, is a legendary underground hip-hop artist known for his skills on the mic and his raw, highly political lyrics. The Peruvian-American rapper became well-known for his first album in 2001, "Revolutionary Vol. 1." Tech says growing up in Harlem during the 80's and 90's caused him to harbor a lot of rage. Much of his music discusses colonialism, poverty, and corruption. We sit down with Immortal Technique to get a deeper sense of what it was like growing up in Harlem and how his rage has played into his successful music career.

Melissa Fumero and Stephanie Beatriz play Amy Santiago and Rosa Diaz, two Latina detectives in the diverse comedy series 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine.' The show premiered on Fox in 2013 and was canceled in 2017. But after fans expressed their anger, NBC took over the production and the sixth season will start on January 10th. The actresses both talk with Maria Hinojosa about how they got their roles, growing up between two worlds and struggling to find their identity. Stephanie also talks about her decision to disclose her sexuality on social media—and talk about it in the show.

After a fiery plane crash in 1948, all 32 people onboard died—but they weren't all treated the same after death. Twenty-eight of the passengers were migrant workers from Mexico and they were buried in a mass grave. The other four were Americans and had their remains returned to their families for proper burial. It took the work of a determined Mexican-American author to find out who the Mexican passengers were and tell their stories. In this episode rerun, Latino USA follows Tim Hernandez on his seven-year journey to give names to the dead—a journey that all started with a Woody Guthrie song. This story first ran in February 2017.