In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson proclaimed National Hispanic Heritage Week to honor the contributions of Americans who trace their roots to Spain, Mexico, the countries of Central and South America and the Caribbean. Twenty years later, Congress extended this recognition into an annual month-long celebration, from September 15 through October 15.
In honor of this year's National Hispanic Heritage Month, Smithsonian.com explores Louis Castro's contribution to Major League Baseball, examines the private life of the great Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, who so profoundly influenced American art, and offers a list of festivals, concerts and lectures at the Smithsonian Institution and throughout the country.
Q&A - Cheech Marin
The Smithsonian Latino Center recently honored Cheech Marin with a Legacy Award for his commitment to Chicano artists
At the Smithsonian
Learn about Hispanic Heritage celebrations at the Smithsonian Institution
See calendar >>
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Viva Mexico
Explore Mexico
Now >>
The Mexico Tourism Board invites you to learn about the culture, cuisine and heritage of Mexico.
Travel with Smithsonian
The Arts of Mexico's Heartland
Nov 8 - 14, 2008
From Pre-Columbian to the modern movement, explore a diverse range of arts in the colonial city of Puebla
EXPLORE MORE HISPANIC HERITAGE
- Cross Purposes
Mexican immigrants are defying expectations in this country-and changing the landscape back home
- Downtown Digs
One step ahead of bulldozers, Urban archaeologists pull historic treasures from America's cityscapes
- Venezuela Steers a New Course
As oil profits fund a socialist revolution, President Hugo Chavez picks a fight with his country's biggest customer-the United States
- Remembering the Alamo
Move over, John Wayne. John Lee Hancock's epic re-creation of the 1836 battle between Mexican forces and Texas insurgents casts the mythic massacre in a more historically accurate light
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