On Hispanic Heritage Month
a short history lesson every day!
Amigos,To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month the way that it should be, through education, I will post a short history lesson every day from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. They could be in photos, videos, articles and even multi-media virtual reality presentations. Will you follow my lessons? Will you help me share them on social media?
My multi-media, virtual reality art gallery aims to illustrate the similarities of our colonial cities in the U.S. and the Americas. To visit this gallery, just click on this photo!
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On this second day of Hispanic Heritage Month, I wonder why we don't devote more time to our HISTORY. It's not Hispanic Fiesta Month! To read more, click on the photo.
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In a TV interview, Prof. Pérez explains that his course covers the hidden chapters of American history that are mostly Spanish.
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He was a highly celebrated American hero, shouting "Damn the torpedoes; full speed ahead!" and winning the Battle of Mobile for the Union Navy in the Civil War. But his Hispanic heritage is hardly known. He was Admiral David Farragut, a hidden Hispanic role model! Read more . . .
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9/19 - Manhattan's First Immigrant
With a lot of help from AI, this is my illustration of Manhattan's fist immigrant, Juan Rodriguez, who came from present-day Dominican Republic and established a Native-American family. To read more, click on the photo.
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9/20 -A Latina Role Model
She is hardly known outside of Texas, but in San Antonio Adina De Zavala is a well-known name. Best known for barrackating herself to save The Alamo, this courageous Latina was a remarkable conservationist and role model. Read more . . .
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American history tends to omit Hispanic accomplishments, but in parts of the country where he left a mark, people still recognize Hernando De Soto and his 1539-43 expedition across the Southeast. In August of 2022, I followed his trail through Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. In April of 2024 I picked up his trail through Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas. These are my lessons from the road: Tracing De Soto's Trail.
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9/22 - A Tale of Two Cities
Jamestown is called "America's Birthplace," and yet St. Augustine was established almost 42 years earlier. Check out: A Tale of Two Cities
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9/23 Land of Estevan Gomez
With some help from AI, this is my depiction of conquistador Estevan Gomez as he named the San Antonio River (now known as the Hudson) and charted the East Coast, contributing to the earliest maps of the present-day United States. Mapmakers even called the Northeast "La Tierra de Estevan Gomez."
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This AI image depicts the siege and defeat of British Mobile, Alabama, by Bernardo de Galvez's Spanish and Hispanic American troops in 1780. Read: The Hispanic Flank of the American Revolution
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"We Americans have yet to really learn our own antecedents. Thus far, impressed by New-England writers and schoolmasters, we tacitly abandon ourselves to the notion that our United States have been fashioned from the British Islands only, and essentially from a second England only — which is a very great mistake." — Walt Whitman, 1883. Read more: Whitman's Prophetic Letter
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9/26 - Hispanic California
Amigos, As you may have noticed, for my daily lessons on Hispanic Heritage Month, I'm selecting mostly my articles about significant people and events. I'm excluding my many more articles about the Hispanic heritage sites I have visited during my five long roadtrips across the country. They are coming later, in a book! However, in this short video, here is a sampling of places I visited during my 2025 California road trip. Click on this video!
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Many Americans, including those who complain about Spanish speakers, actually speak the language they condemn, without even realizing it. Read: Speak any Spanish lately?
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We come in all races, religions, languages and ethnicities. We are the children of the entire world. We are the Hispanic/Latino rainbow. Read: The Discovery of White Hispanics
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9/29 - We are all Americanos
For many years, we have been telling our fellow U.S. citizens that you can be an American even if you never have visited the United States. Sometimes it takes a few minutes to sink in. But in Central America and South America, as well as the Caribbean and Canada, we are all Americans!
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9/30 Virtual reality exhibit
CROSS COUNTRY — A virtual reality exhibit of digitally-enhanced photography by Miguel Pérez.
A few years ago, at a time when precious Hispanic statues were being vandalized all over this country, it occurred to me that there are many Hispanic monuments that still mark a history that cannot be erased — monuments that no one would dare desecrate! “This is a Hispanic Cross county!” I told myself. "And I have the photos to prove it!” To go on a video guided tour of the exhibit, click on the video above. |
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If there is ever a chapter of American history that needs a refresher course, this is it! Did you know that a huge portion of the United States was once part of Mexico? Have you forgotten how Mexico lost almost half of its territory and the United States grew by a third of its size?
READ: The Conveniently Forgotten War |
Mural in the Cathedral of St. Augustine, depicts America's first Thanksgiving and Catholic Mass. Pedro Menendez de Aviles and his men shared a Thanksgiving feast with Florida natives on September 8, 1565. READ: Our First Thanksgivings were in Spanish!
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Despite what we may have been taught about the first Africans who were brought here as slaves, the very first one was a free man. He came on the Juan Ponce de Leon expedition that discovered Florida in 1513. Read: The First African-American
Was a Spanish Conquistador! |
Many of the major events of U.S. Hispanic history are covered in the timeline (mostly) written by my students over the past several years. It is by no means complete, but it gives readers a good idea of the long, widespread and profound impact of Hispanics in North America. This video is only a sampling of the first few events of the 16th century. To see my students' essays, go to: Hispanic American History Timeline — Let's start with the 16th century
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9/30 Virtual reality exhibit
9/29 - We are all Americanos
9/26 - Hispanic California
9/23 Land of Estevan Gomez
9/22 - A Tale of Two Cities
9/20 -A Latina Role Model
9/19 - Manhattan's First Immigrant
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9/30 Exposición de realidad virtual
9/29 - Todos Somos Americanos
9/26 - California hispana
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