PBS Invites you to share your Latino story

I probably should have mentioned I took the summer off from writing but we're back! I won't bore you with my summer travels but ever since I started my Fall 2013 semester at Saint Joseph's University Writing Studies Program, I've been meaning to write more. And what better way than to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month...or as others call it Latino Heritage Month.

I recently came across NYC's flagship PBS station "13" and what they're doing to promote Hispanic Heritage Month. While others tend to highlight the usual suspects,  the local PBS stations is asking for our stories.

• More than four million Latino Americans call the New York and New Jersey region home. Alongside the landmark PBS series "Latino Americans" premiering September 17, 2013, we are collecting the stories of Latino Americans of New York and New Jersey for a 30-minute program, "Latino Americans of NY & NJ," to air on WNET stations Thirteen, WLIW21, and NJTV between September 17 and October 11, 2013. 

Some of the stories are heartwarming, inspirational, dedicated but above all, they are our stories.

• Carmen Rodriguez, Puerto Rico, says, "In poor Latino families, the most common way to express generosity, neighborliness, love, gratitude and warmth is the sharing of food."
•  Amy Ramirez Rodriguez, Dominican Republic, says, "My family migrated to NYC on Christmas Eve in 1965. Since then, my family has gone to great lengths to re-enforce the bonds between those of us here in NYC and those of us in Santo Domingo, en 'La Capital.'"
•  Pedro Martinez, Cuba, says, "  I used to play a lot of religious ceremonies in Cuba that are still practiced in Cuba and here too (called “Santería” in Cuba and “Yoruba” in Africa)."

These are just a few of the hundred stories the station has collected. To share your story and possibly be featured, visit thirteen.org.