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The Great Hispanic American History Tour
There I was, on my Great Hispanic American History Tour, visiting yet one more gallery where our heritage is on display, and much to my surprise — through my camera lens — I made a discovery that almost knocked me down.
I was visiting Miami's Freedom Tower, the National Historic Landmark that served as the U.S. government's "Cuban Refugee Center" in the 1960s and early 1970s, and I was determined to write a very personal account of what that building means to me — how it received my own family when it served as "the Ellis Island of the South." But nothing had prepared me for the shock I received last week when I entered the tower — now a museum — for the first time in more than 50 years. Read more . . . 
On the broad streets of Washington, D.C., and within the majestic halls of the U.S. Capitol, our often-hidden Hispanic heritage had not been hard to find. My Great Hispanic American History Tour had discovered many remarkable monuments and works of art recognizing Hispanic patriots and heroes and their contributions to this great nation. I was truly impressed — until I got to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.
Wow! After visiting so many Hispanic historical sites around the country, what a disappointment! It was as if I had walked into an average American history book, with all its typical blatant omissions of the contributions of Hispanic Americans. Read more . . . 
When we go to our nation's capital, mostly as tourists trying to make time to cover all the major attractions, we seldom find enough time to visit some smaller sites that would be monumental if they were elsewhere.
Washington has so many statues, sculptured buildings, busts, monuments and other outdoor attractions that it's easy to overlook many of them — even when some could have special significance to you. This is especially true for U.S. Latinos . . . Read more . . . 
You see Hernando De Soto and his Spanish conquistadors as they discovered the Mississippi River. You view different artistic interpretations of the moment Christopher Columbus first landed in the New World. You see Hernando Cortes' meeting with Montezuma in Mexico and Francisco Pizarro on his way to Peru. You see tributes to Spanish monarchs and missionaries — and to U.S. Hispanic heroes and accomplishments. Read more --> (78)
WASHINGTON — It took Congress 231 years to keep this particular promise, perhaps setting a record, but it finally happened in December, when a portrait of Spanish Gen. Bernardo de Galvez finally was hung on a wall in the U.S. Capitol. Read more --> (77)
He was the star of the Founding Fathers, the intellectual architect of our system of government, the author of our Declaration of Independence, our first secretary of state and our third president. He was well-known for his attraction to France. But if you were to ask Thomas Jefferson, he would tell you how important it is for you to learn Spanish. Read more --> (76)
Somewhere beneath the Hilton Hotel and Ballpark Village — the fancy new complex built by the St. Louis Cardinals next to Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis — lie the remains of an old Spanish fort that played a key role in defeating the British during the American Revolution. In fact, had it not been for Fort San Carlos, hastily built by Spanish troops and French Creole settlers to protect the small village of St. Louis in 1780, some historians believe American independence from Great Britain would not have been achieved. Read more --> (75)
After Spanish conquistador Francisco Vasquez de Coronado gave up on New Mexico because the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola turned out to be made of mud instead of gold — and before returning to present-day Mexico — he went all the way up to present-day Kansas. Marching with more than 1,000 people, with several thousand head of livestock, and often sending small groups of soldiers to explore in different directions, the 1540-42 Coronado expedition covered a huge territory — through today's Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Read more-> (74)
You are standing on a hilltop, next to a beautiful shrine. You see a valley of farmland embraced by mountain ranges. You are overlooking a quaint, historic community at the bottom of the hill — and all of it is named in Spanish. You are on "La Mesa de la Piedad y de la Misericordia," or the Hill of Piety and Mercy, standing next to "La Capilla de Todos Los Santos," or the Chapel of All Saints, overlooking the San Luis Valley, which is embraced by the Sangre de Cristo and San Juan Mountains. You are in southern Colorado. But from the names of the landmarks here, you could just as well be in Spain. Read more --> (73)
Back in 1776, while 13 British colonies were becoming an independent nation on the eastern side of North America, two Spanish priests were leading an expedition across present-day New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona. They were looking to establish a northern route from Santa Fe to the Spanish settlements in present-day California. But the mighty Colorado River stood in their way. Read more -->
Long before southern Arizona was part of the United States and long before it was part of Mexico, back when it was part of the territory of New Spain, the town of Tucson was born. Its name is a Spanish adaptation of "S-cuk Son," which is what Tohono O'odham Native Americans called their village. But the name Tucson is what stuck, especially after 1775, when the Spanish decided to build a fort to protect the village and called it Presidio de San Agustin del Tucson. Read more -->
The first time I met him, I immediately perceived that he had a unique talent for bringing Hispanic American history into present-day context. And that's all I needed. Because my history columns seek the same objective, I became an instant fan and follower of Dr. Bernard "Bunny" Fontana. It was more than two years ago, and we were in the living room of his Sonoran Desert home, just outside the Tohono O'odham Native American reservation in southern Arizona — the area he has explored, researched and exposed in several books as a noted anthropologist and historian. Read more -->
Right then and there, as I knelt on a pew at the Mission San Xavier del Bac church in southern Arizona two years ago, I made a pledge that I would go back — not just for another Sunday Mass but by way of a cross-country pilgrimage to discover America's hidden Hispanic heritage. This church was so uniquely beautiful, so spiritually fulfilling, so ethnically enriching that it rearranged my professional priorities and took my life in a new direction. Read more -->
They were the best that 17th- and 18th-century Europe had to offer. Every one of them was an explorer, a diplomat, a teacher, a cartographer, a farmer, a rancher, a builder, a scribe and a preacher. The men who really settled and first established what now are huge portions of the United States were Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries who worked for the king of Spain. Read more -->
As you drive there, you get the feeling you are terribly alone. The area is so remote and desolate that if you are traveling by yourself, it feels a little spooky, like being on a deserted planet. You don't see anyone for miles! You've driven across the country to visit the Coronado National Memorial in southern Arizona, which commemorates the 1540 to 1542 Francisco Vasquez de Coronado expedition through North America and "the cultural influences of Spanish colonial exploration." But you are greeted by signs warning you that if you are traveling alone, you shouldn't be there. Read more ->
Using 16th-century maps but traveling on 21st-century highways — and even some waterways — my cross-country trip has been roughly following the route of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, the Spanish conquistador who spent almost eight years traveling across the North American wilderness from 1528 to 1536 — from Tampa, Florida, to Mexico City. Read more >
When a huge chunk of Mexico became part of the United States in 1848, many of the Mexicans who lived in the affected territory moved further south, back into Mexico, because they didn't want to live in the country that had invaded them. Back then, the flow of immigration was in reverse! Read more ->
Back in 1995, when I was almost 20 years younger, I was daring enough to hike all the way up to the mountaintop. But much to my relief, there was no need to do it again, because this time, I was there for a different reason. Instead of the view from 4,675 feet above sea level, this time I was there to see that majestic sierra from a distance and to admire the huge crucifix that stands on its summit. This time, I was on the Great Hispanic American History Tour, and Mount Cristo Rey — in Sunland Park, New Mexico, just west of El Paso, Texas — was a mandatory stop. It was conceived by a Hispanic priest, was created by a Spanish sculptor and has guided Latinos along El Paso del Norte (the Pass to the North) for more than seven decades. Read more->
When the United States and Mexico agreed to designate a large portion of the Rio Grande as the international border between the two countries in 1848, no one asked the river whether it wanted to accept such a huge responsibility. And so, because nature is never bound by international treaties, the course of the river kept shifting — making the border inconsistent, inviting unscrupulous land-grabbing and igniting bitter feuds that lasted more than a century. . . Read more->
It is, by all accounts, "the world's biggest equestrian statue" — so big that it's meant to be seen from a distance. Standing next to this rearing Andalusian stallion — mounted by a Spanish conquistador — can be intimidating, not to mention illegal. Read more ->
MORE COLUMNS
Dear friends,
In order to begin a dialogue with the readers and followers of my series of articles (and my web site) on America's Hidden Hispanic Heritage, I've launched a Facebook page to serve as the blog for HiddenHispanicHeritage.com. The new FB page is: http://www.facebook.com/HiddenHispanicHeritage My hope is that this page will become a public forum for all of us who believe the time has come to re-conquest American history, so that the contributions of our Hispanic ancestors are properly recognized. I hope you join my cause by "liking" this page, and then I hope you get your friends to like OUR cause. Mil gracias! -- Miguel Pérez Powered by Calendar Labs 
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Dear friends,
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Miguel Perez, an acclaimed award-winning journalist and former chair of the Journalism, Communications, and Theater Department at Lehman College, recently achieved a major career milestone. On September 19, Professor Perez was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, an organization that he co-founded in 1984. The Hall of Fame honors journalists “whose efforts resulted in a greater number of Latinos entering the journalism profession or have helped to improve news coverage of the nation’s Latino community.”
“It’s wonderful to be recognized in this way,” said Perez, reflecting on his induction. “This is one of the most highly respected journalism organizations in the world presenting me with a lifetime achievement award that recognizes my entire career.” “At first I thought it was funny that they were giving me a lifetime achievement award,” he adds. “I said, ‘Wait a minute, I’m not dead.’” Perez made his reputation as an indomitable reporter and columnist covering issues of importance to the Latino community at the New York Daily News, the Miami Herald and The Record. He also achieved major success on both English and Spanish radio and television stations and as an insightful political analyst who has appeared on Telemundo 47, CNN, Univision, and the Fox Business Channel. His admission to the hall of fame is the culmination of these and many other achievements in an extraordinary career that has spanned more than three decades. Making the honor even more special was that his nomination came from three association members who worked at other New York publications when Professor Perez was at the Daily News. Professor Perez’s daughter Lilia Perez, a photography major at New Paltz University celebrated the event with her father in Orlando. “He deserves the recognition for his contribution to the Hispanic media,” says Rafael Prieto, the editorial director of the Charlotte-based, Spanish language publication, Qué Pasa-Mi Gente. “Miguel embodies everything we expect from mainstream journalists and especially Hispanic journalists. He’s always been a beacon on the critical issues affecting the Hispanic community.” Perez considered that he had reached the “height of his career” during his years at the Daily News. But as he was increasingly offered radio and television gigs and then teaching opportunities at Lehman, he realized that each new job offered its own rewards. He’s especially proud of his time as a journalism professor and former department chair at Lehman for three years, during whose tenure the school’s state-of the art multimedia center was established. “It was a great opportunity because I became chair just as we were opening the multimedia center,” he said. “We were able to change the curriculum and improve the courses and because we had the facility, we were able to offer many more innovative programs. My major role was making sure that the transition took place and we could teach multimedia journalism.” His recent passion project has been HiddenHispanicHeritage.com, a website that includes the columns, photographs, and videos of a 47-day, 9,000-mile journey across the U.S. in 2013, chronicling the fascinating but underreported Hispanic history found in cities from St Petersburg to Tucson. He’s planning to publish this continuing work as a book and frequently updates the site with new and compelling stories. He is also a columnist for Creators.com, an online outlet that publishes the work of many well-known writers and politicians. “I’ve loved it all,” he admits about his life in the media. “I’ve loved every single thing I did with my career.” |
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Discussing the indictment of Sen. Robert Melendez:
ON TELEVISION |
ON ASSIGNMENT |
MY STUDENTS |
ON THE RADIO |
COLLEAGUESHISTORY TOUR |
CELEBRITIES |
As many of you know, my syndicated column occasionally takes a break from current events and becomes one more chapter of “America’s Hidden Hispanic Heritage,” a history series I’ve been writing since 2007.
This on-going series, now up to 81 parts, has become my greatest passion. Two years ago, I launched a new web site - HiddenHispanicHeritage.com (http://www.hiddenhispanicheritage.com/) – where I can put my passion on display.
You may have read some of these columns when they were distributed by the Creators Syndicate and published in web sites and newspapers, but you didn't see them as you will here, alongside the many photographs I've taken during my travels to many historic landmarks.
My pilgrimage in search for our hidden Hispanic heritage has turned into "a bucket list of places, ideas and historical evidence to help reconnect Americans with their Hispanic roots." I hope you enjoy it and send me some feedback in the site’s companion Facebook blog, at https://www.facebook.com/HiddenHispanicHeritage
But most importantly, PLEASE, help me disseminate this information by sharing this web site with your friends. I’m willing to share my passion!
Mil gracias!
Miguel Pérez - HiddenHispanicHeritage.com (http://www.hiddenhispanicheritage.com/)
This on-going series, now up to 81 parts, has become my greatest passion. Two years ago, I launched a new web site - HiddenHispanicHeritage.com (http://www.hiddenhispanicheritage.com/) – where I can put my passion on display.
You may have read some of these columns when they were distributed by the Creators Syndicate and published in web sites and newspapers, but you didn't see them as you will here, alongside the many photographs I've taken during my travels to many historic landmarks.
My pilgrimage in search for our hidden Hispanic heritage has turned into "a bucket list of places, ideas and historical evidence to help reconnect Americans with their Hispanic roots." I hope you enjoy it and send me some feedback in the site’s companion Facebook blog, at https://www.facebook.com/HiddenHispanicHeritage
But most importantly, PLEASE, help me disseminate this information by sharing this web site with your friends. I’m willing to share my passion!
Mil gracias!
Miguel Pérez - HiddenHispanicHeritage.com (http://www.hiddenhispanicheritage.com/)
The Great Hispanic American History Tour
One of the fringe benefits of being a journalist
is that sometimes you rub shoulders with greatness!
To watch videos, click on these photos:
is that sometimes you rub shoulders with greatness!
To watch videos, click on these photos:
Ruben Blades
Miriam Colon
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Pele
Tito Puente and Miriam Colon
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Machito
Mario Vargas Llosa
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When I co-hosted "Tiempo" with Anna Carbonell on WABC-NYC in 1983, I had the privilege to interview:
() The great Cuban bandleader Machito, shortly after he won the Grammy for Latin Music at the age of 74.
() Pele, the greatest soccer player of all time. () Tito Puente, the King of Latin Music. () Miriam Colon, the Queen of the NY Hispanic Theatre. () Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa. () Salsa Superstar Ruben Blades.
