KCET Marks Hispanic Heritage Month

today through Oct. 15--with a prime-time schedule of Latino-themed programs, including six original shows, 11 encore presentations and short profiles of five Southern Californians who have made special contributions to the local Latino community.

Among the premieres is “The Border,” a two-hour PBS special airing Monday that examines life along the line separating the U.S. and Mexico. Hosted by ABC News correspondent John Quinones, who grew up near the border in Texas, the documentary is made up of six largely personal vignettes that explore issues ranging from water rights to Hollywood’s push into Baja California.

Six weeks of special programming officially begin Friday with “Songs of the Homeland,” an encore presentation celebrating tejano music, followed by “Corpus: A Home Movie for Selena,” a controversial look at Selena Quintanilla, tejano’s martyred queen, which first ran in July and only after filmmaker Lourdes Portillo excised unfavorable comments about Selena at the request of her father, Abraham Quintanilla.

The television debut of “Julio y Su Angel” (“Julio and His Angel”), an independent film that has played at most of the nation’s Latino film festivals, follows on Sunday. The Spanish-language film, which airs with English subtitles, was made by longtime Hollywood character actor Jorge Cervera Jr. and tells the story of an 8-year-old boy who is adopted by a grumpy old man he mistakes for his guardian angel.

Other first-run programs include “Kennedy Center Presents the Americano Concert,” a 90-minute musical gala featuring Gloria Estefan, Jose Felicano, Juan Luis Guerra and Sheila E. that officially kicks off KCET’s fall season on Sept. 29; “Cafe Con Leche,” a Sept. 29 documentary about Miami’s aging generation of “yuccas” (young up-and-coming Cuban Americans); and documentaries exploring both the history and importance of Argentina’s national dance--”Tango: The Obsession,” airing Oct. 8--and Mexico’s Day of the Dead festival--”Food for the Ancestors,” showing Oct. 29.

But despite the high profile the station is placing on its Hispanic Heritage Month offerings, Mary Mazur, KCET’s senior vice president for programming and production, said the percentage of programming devoted to Latino issues in September and October isn’t much of an increase.

“It’s something that’s very important to our market and to our audience,” she said. “The Hispanic Heritage Month designation is an opportunity to celebrate what is a very diverse culture in our country.”

Special encore presentations upcoming on KCET include documentaries about both Diego Rivera and the Chicano experience along the Texas-Mexico border; the critically acclaimed drama series “Foto-Novelas,” produced by Los Angeles filmmaker Carlos Avila and inspired by the Latin American comic book tradition; a four-hour look at the Mexican-American War; and “Roosters,” an episode of the “American Playhouse” series featuring Edward James Olmos, Sonia Braga and Maria Conchita Alonso.