John Leguizamo And Ben DeJesus Unveil PBS Documentary On Untold Latino History‌ ‌

John Leguizamo in a file photo. Leguizamo’s project ‘American Historia: The Untold History of Latinos’ was inspired by his stage play. LATIN HEAT.

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NEW YORK — John Leguizamo was born in Bogotá, Colombia but raised in New York City. He has appeared in over 100 films, working as a stand-up comedian, actor, writer and producer.

On stage, his one-person play, Latin History for Morons garnered him a Tony Award after 400+ performances, and he followed that up by his PBS special: Great Performances: The Road to Broadway.

Now, working in tandem with acclaimed television director Ben DeJesus, they have co-created PBS’s VOCES American Historia: The Untold History of Latinos, hosted by Leguizamo and scheduled to debut on September 27, 2024.

“This project was originally inspired by my stage play, which I created because I was horrified by the almost total absence of Latinos from my son’s American History books,” said Leguizamo during the recent Television Critics Association press tour.

Leguizamo’s one-man show highlighted the fact that Latinos didn’t just simply arrive here, they’ve been here since 1492. The first Euro language spoken in America was not English, it was Spanish, and the American land mass, from the Mississippi to the Pacific, was, in fact, Mexico until 1840.

“To label John as just the host of this show would be doing him a disservice, DeJesus adds, “John is the genesis of the whole thing.” Leguizamo laughs, “I’ve always been a history nerd, especially when it comes to Latin history. I’m like the Rain Man of Latin facts.”

So all this came to him easily because he’d been studying the subject for the last 20 years. Leguizamo doesn’t just narrate the documentary. He conducts one-on-one interviews. Instead of just telling this history, he talks to individuals who can help bring the narrative to life.