Latino veterans have been fighting in America's wars since the mid 1800s. Though many join out of a sense of duty, the military benefits and the prospect of a better future are undeniable draws to service. Ramona Martinez examines whether Latino veterans have gotten enough back from the country they have fought for.

Experience Hispanic Heritage

Latino Veterans

In the 1950s, Taft, Texas, was a segregated cotton town with a sizeable Mexican-American population, all of whom lived on the South Side of the railroad tracks. It was in a part of the state had a history of Anglo-on-Mexican violence, including police brutality and lynchings. Ramona Martinez spoke to one woman was born and raised in Taft, a place where success and upward mobility were not often seen.

Grace Flores-Hughes: A Tale of Survival

When we talk about immigration, many people forget that Latinos have been living in the United States for a long time, even before English settlers arrived on the East Coast. At the Vida Senior Center in Washington, D.C., many elderly Latinos come together to participate in a bicultural community and enjoy each other’s company. In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, and to demonstrate just how many different cultures fall under the term “Hispanic,” Ramona Martinez went to the center to hear their stories.

Seniors’ Moment

Sofia VergaraMaid, immigrant, bombshell. Oddly these are the most common roles that Latina actresses get to play in television and movies. These roles often re-enforce stereotypes that negatively affect Latina Americans in the real world. And they've existed since Latinas made their entrance onto the screen. Ramona Martinez has more.

Latina Stereotypes

In the United States, over 1,000 people are deported daily. About a quarter of people deported in the last two years are parents of a U.S. citizen child. Currently there are more than 5,000 children in foster care whose parents have been deported, and that number is expected to grow to 15,000 by 2016, according to some groups. This is the harsh reality of many Latinos in the United States. Ramona Martinez brings us one story of deportation, and of the disconnect between White House policy and the immigration offices that enforce it.

Dreams on Ice

In the 1960s, a Civil Rights Movement in the Latino community was beginning to take hold. Young Mexican Americans began to organize for greater political rights, better educational opportunities, and worked to establish a new collective identity. Los Angeles was the epicenter of this movement, and its chronicler was a journalist named Ruben Salazar. Ramona Martinez has this portrait of the best known Latino journalist of the 20th century.

Remembering Ruben Salazar

Hispanics are the largest and fastest growing minority group in the country. Though many are recent immigrants, Hispanics have been living in America as far back as the 16th century, even before settlers from England. But where did the terms “Hispanic” and “Latino” come from? Ramona Martinez sheds some light on the subject.

Hispanic or Latino?

Although immigration reform seems all but forgotten compared to the crisis in Syria and the debt ceiling, it is still relevant to the 11 million undocumented people in the United States. Many of those are youth who were brought to the country as children, but live in the shadows, where a chance at a better life seems all but unattainable. Ramona Martinez introduces us to one such youth who refused to live a life on the fringes of society.

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Experience Hispanic Heritage

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