John Leguizamo on Learning the Untold History of Latinos: “It Changed My DNA”

>>> NEXT, TO THE UNITED STATES, WHERE LATINO COMMUNITIES HAVE LONG BEEN OVERLOOKED WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATION, YET THEIR VOTES WILL BE SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT IN DECIDING THE OUTCOME OF THE UPCOMING ELECTION NEXT MONTH.

EMMY-WINNING ACTOR AND ACTIVIST JOHN LEGUIZAMO EXPLORES THIS IN HIS NEW SERIES, "THE UNTOLD HISTORY OF LATINOS," AND HE JOINS HARI SREENIVASAN TO DISCUSS WHAT'S AT STAKE.

>> CHRISTIANE, THANK YOU.

JOHN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

FIRST, BEFORE WE GET STARTED, A LOT OF PEOPLE WATCHED THE EMMYS, AND YOU HAD A FANTASTIC SPEECH THERE, AND I JUST WANT A LITTLE BACK STORY.

HOW DO WE GET FROM A KID THAT'S GROWING UP IN QUEENS, TO NOW A MAN THAT IS DOING DOCUMENTARIES ABOUT THE HISTORY, THE UNTOLD HISTORY, REALLY, IN A LOT OF WAYS, OF LATINOS IN AMERICA?

>> AH, IT'S PRETTY INCREDIBLE, I MEAN, WHO WOULD HAVE THUNK, I WOULD HAVE NEVER, THAT I WAS GOING TO BE AN ACTIVIST, A SPOKESPERSON, AN ARTIST, ALL THAT JUST NEVER SEEMED POSSIBLE, BEING A YOUNG MAN IN AMERICA IN QUEENS, BECAUSE YOU NEVER SAW YOURSELF, YOU NEVER SAW YOURSELF ANYWHERE, REFLECTED ANYWHERE POSITIVELY.

ALL YOU SAW WAS YOUR FAMILY, YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

SO, WHEN I HAD A CHANCE AT THE EMMYS, THEY GAVE ME AN INCREDIBLE PLATFORM, AND THE BIGGEST MOMENT, CENTERPIECE OF THE NIGHT, TO TALK ABOUT THE LACK OF LATIN REPRESENTATION IN FILM, AND HOW ABYSMAL IT IS, BECAUSE WHEN THE FOUNDING FATHERS OF HOLLYWOOD GOT TO L.A., HOLLYWOOD HAD JUST BEEN MEXICO 60 YEARS PRIOR, AND THEY WALKED INTO A PREDOMINANTLY LATINO CULTURE, AND YET, WE WERE NOT PUT ON SCREEN EVER, EXCEPT IN "BIRDS OF A NATION," WHERE WE WERE THE VILLAINS, THANK YOU D.W. GRIFFITH.

>> YOU MENTIONED SOME ANECDOTES ON STAGE ABOUT, THE ONLY THING YOU WERE WATCHING WHEN YOU WERE GROWING UP WAS RICKY RICARDO, SPEEDY GONZALEZ, IF YOU WERE LUCKY ENOUGH TO SEE LATIN REPRESENTATION.

THERE WAS STUDIES THAT SAID 87% OF LATINO HISTORY IS REALLY GIVEN FIVE SENTENCES OF LESS, IF IT'S EVEN IN THE HISTORY BOOKS THAT KIDS STUDY TODAY, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, SIMILAR TO AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY BEING AMERICAN HISTORY, WE DON'T NECESSARILY SEE HOW LATINO HISTORY HAS REALLY JUST WEAVED INTO THE HISTORY OF THIS COUNTRY.

>> IT'S INCREDIBLE HOW WE ARE KIND OF LIVING SOMETIMES IN A PARALLEL SHADOW WORLD, WHICH IS CRAZY, BECAUSE WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN THE LARGEST ETHNIC GROUP IN AMERICA, WE'RE THE OLDEST ETHNIC GROUP AFTER INDIGENOUS PEOPLING AND YET WE'RE INVISIBLE.

THE GENESIS OF THIS SHOW WAS, MY SON WAS DOING A HISTORY PROJECT IN EIGHTH GRADE, I WANTED TO HELP HIM, GET SOME BROWNIE POINTS WITH MY WIFE, AND I SAW THERE WERE NO LATINO CONTRIBUTIONS IN HIS HISTORY TEXTBOOK.

SO, I BOUGHT ALL THE BOOKS ON AMAZON ON LATINO HISTORY, WENT ON THE SITES, AND WHAT I LEARNED WAS SO MIND-BOGGLING THAT IT CHANGED MY DNA, ANY CHROMOSOMES IMMEDIATELY.

WHEN I LEARNED THAT LATINOS FOUGHT IN EVERY WAR AMERICA HAS EVER HAD, I'M TALKING ABOUT THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, CIVIL WAR, WORLD WAR I, WORLD WAR II, 10,000 UNKNOWN LATINO PATRIOTS FOUGHT IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, OUT OF 80,000 TOTAL TROOPS, WE WERE 1 IN 8.

WE FUNDED THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, CUBA, MEXICO, AND SPAIN GAVE $2 MILLION TO GEORGE WASHINGTON.

GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS RUNNING LOW ON CASH TO PAY HIS ARMY, HE TURNED TO HIS LATINO AMIGOS FOR HELP.

THE CUBAN, SPANISH, AND MEXICAN PEOPLE DELIVERED THE NEEDED MONEY, MAKING IT POSSIBLE FOR WASHINGTON'S TROOPS TO KEEP FIGHTING.

>> A LOT OF PEOPLE DONATED WEDDING RINGS, GOLD AND SILVER CHURCHES WITH CHALICES, AND DELIVERED IT SO THEY PAID THE MILITIAS.

THEY GOT RAISES, THE MULTICULTURAL NAVY, AS WELL AS ARMY.

WHAT WE NOW CONSIDER CUBANOS, MEXICANOS.

>> WE HELPED BUILD THE RAILROADS, ALL THE WAY TO THE PACIFIC, THEN WE BUILT THE WHOLE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE WEST AND THE SOUTHWEST.

AND THEN, I LEARNED THE SAD PARTS, FROM 1830 TO 1930, 6,000 LATINOS WERE LYNCHED, BURNED ALIVE AND SHOT.

WE WERE MASSACRED, REDLINED, EXPERIMENTED ON.

OUR WOMEN WERE STERILIZED IN THE EARLY 1900s UNBEKNOWNST TO THEM.

AND YET, WE WERE THE FIRST TO FIGHT AGAINST SEGREGATION IN 1911, THE FAMILY IN DENVER, COLORADO, AND THEY WON.

MENDES FOUGHT AGAINST SEGREGATION IN 1940 AND WON, PAVED THE WAY FOR BROWN VERSUS BOARD OF ED.

AFTER ALL THAT OPPRESSION AND TRAGEDY, WE CONTRIBUTE $3.6 TRILLION TO THE GDP YEARLY.

IF WE WERE OUR OWN ECONOMIC NATION, WE'D BE THE FIFTH LARGEST NATION IN THE WORLD, BIGGER THAN INDIA, BIGGER THAN ENGLAND, BIGGER THAN FRANCE, BIGGER THAN BRAZIL.

>> WHY DO YOU THINK IT IS, GIVEN THIS LONG HISTORY OF CONTRIBUTION TO THIS COUNTRY, THAT THERE IS STILL A TENDENCY TO OTHERIZE ORMARGINALIZE THE CONTRIBUTIONS, BUT ALSO, JUST THE HUMAN BEINGS THAT ARE AMERICAN, BASED ON A WHOLE HOST OF DIFFERENT FACTORS?

>> I MEAN, I THINK IT'S PRETTY OBVIOUS.

IT'S A POWER GRAB.

TEXAS, WE WERE THE MAJORITY IN TEXAS, THE MAJORITY IN CALIFORNIA, WHEN IT WAS INVADED BY THE U.S., AND WE WERE PROMISED TO KEEP OUR POLITICAL POWER AND LAND WEALTH, AND YET, WHEN WE HELPED FLIP ALL THOSE TERRITORIES TO AMERICA, THEY TURNED AGAINST US.

SO, WE BECAME THE ENEMY VERY EARLY ON.

BECAUSE WE ALSO SPOKE A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE, THAT WE WEREN'T GIVING UP, YOU KNOW?

AND YET, WE STILL CONTINUE -- WHO IS THE ESSENTIAL WORKERS IN AMERICA?

LATINOS.

WHO IS DOING ALL THE FARMING AND GROWING ALL THE PRODUCE?

LATINOS.

I MEAN, WE HAVE BEEN ESSENTIAL LABORERS AND WORKERS FOR AMERICA SINCE THE BEGINNING, BESIDE OUR BLACK BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN SLAVERY.

>> YOU SEE THESE SORT OF FAMILIAR PATTERNS REPEATED.

IT'S LIKE WE DON'T NECESSARILY LEARN FROM HISTORY, WE JUST SORT OF END UP REPEATING SOME OF ITS MISTAKES.

YOU POINT OUT PRESIDENT HOOVER WAS TALKING ABOUT REAL JOBS FOR REAL AMERICANS, AND YOU SEE SOMETHING VERY, VERY CLOSE NOW.

>> THE FIRST TIME THAT WE WERE DEPORTED IN LARGE NUMBERS, IT WAS CALLED A REPATRIATION ACT, AND IT WAS BLAMING US BECAUSE THE DEPRESSION HAD JUST HAPPENED, THAT WE WERE TAKING JOBS THAT AMERICANS WANTED, SO, THEY DEPORTED 2 MILLION AMERICAN CITIZENS, 60% OF THEM WERE AMERICAN CITIZENS, AND SENT THEM BACK TO MEXICO, WHEN MOST OF THEM HAD NEVER BEEN, HAD BEEN HERE FOR GENERATIONS.

AND THEN THEY DID IT AGAIN WITH THE WETBACK ACT, WHICH IS A HORRIBLE NAME, IN THE '50s, '60s, AND '70s, AND DEPORTED A MILLION LATINOS, A MAJORITY WERE AMERICAN CITIZENS.

AND NOW, AGAIN, A THIRD SORT OF HORRIBLE DEPORTATION OF AMERICAN CITIZENS, WE'RE THE ONLY ONES THAT THIS HORRIFIC CRIME KEEPS HAPPENING TO.

>> YOU HAVE -- HAD AN OPPORTUNITY IN THIS DOCUMENTARY TO GO TO SOME PRETTY AMAZING PLACES, AND WHAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A SCENE THAT I WANT TO GET TO, YOU'RE IN A TUNNEL OF A TEMPLE THAT MOST PEOPLE ARE NEVER GOING TO GET A CHANCE TO SEE.

WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?

WHAT DID YOU LEARN THERE?

>> OH, MY GOD, DON'T TRY TO PRONOUNCE IT, YOU KNOW, YOU'LL GET HURT.

WE DIDN'T DIG THE SUBWAY TUNNELS OF NEW YORK UNTIL ABOUT A HUNDRED YEARS AGO.

2,000 YEARS EARLIER, THE ORIGINAL SCIENTISTS AND RULERS BUILT A SERIES OF TUNNELS, DOZENS OF FEET BENEATH THE GROUND, WITHOUT THE USE OF MACHINERY OR POWER TOOLS.

THESE TUNNELS CONNECTED CHAMBERS HOLDING TREASURES LONG FORGOTTEN, UNTIL THEY WERE UNEARTHED IN 2003.

WE WENT UNDERGROUND WHERE THEY HAD THESE TOMBS THAT WERE BEAUTIFUL.

THEY WERE COVERED IN RED MERCURY, IT'S POISONOUS, YOU COULDN'T TOUCH THE WALLS.

THEY PUT GOLD AND POOLS OF SILVER MERCURY.

IT WAS LIKE DISNEY LAND BEFORE DISNEY LAND.

SO, IT WAS INCREDIBLE THAT I WAS ABLE TO BE THERE.

>> THESE ARE INCREDIBLY ADVANCED CIVILIZATIONS, THE TYPE OF MATH, THE TYPE OF ASTRONOMY, THE TYPE OF SOCIETY, LAWS, ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT THEY HAD ALREADY ESTABLISHED, AND YET NOW, HUNDREDS OF YEARS LATER, WHEN WE LOOK AT THEM, WE HAVE THIS SORT OF REDUCTIONIST VIEW THAT THEY NEEDED TO BE CIVILIZED, EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE ALREADY THAT, IN FACT, THEY WERE FAR MORE SO, AS YOU POINT OUT, COMPARED TO THE EUROPEAN COLONIZERS THAT CAME.

>> YEAH, WELL, I MEAN, YOU CAN'T ROB A WHOLE PEOPLE AND ALL THESE EMPIRES UNTIL YOU DESTROY THEIR CULTURE, THEIR RELIGION, AND THEIR LANGUAGE.

AND THEN YOU CAN HAVE A READY SLAVE POPULATION.

OTHERWISE, YOU'LL HAVE REBELS, AND REBELLIONS, AND YOU DON'T WANT THAT, AND WE HAD ALL THIS WEALTH.

SPAIN IN THE CONQUEST TOOK 5 500,000 TONS OF GOLD FROM US, AND BASICALLY FUELED THE ENLIGHTENMENT, ALL THE GOLD THAT YOU SEE IN ALL THE GREAT CHURCHES IN EUROPE, THAT'S OUR GOLD.

AND THEN TWICE AS MUCH SILVER, WHICH FUNDED THE CHINESE EMPIRES AND THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE.

SO, ALL THIS WEALTH THAT WAS TAKEN FROM US, YOU HAVE TO DESTROY THE PEOPLE.

THEY MELTED INCREDIBLE MUSEUM ARTIFACTS THAT WE HAD, 12-FOOT STATUES OF SOLID GOLD, BEAUTIFULLY SCULPTED.

WE HAD THE FIRST RUNNING TOILETS, THE AZTECS HAD RUNNING TOILETS IN THE PALACES.

THE INCAS HAD BRAIN SURGERY THAT WAS MUCH MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN ANYTHING EVEN UP TO THE CIVIL WAR.

WE HAD ANESTHESIA, OUR MEDICINES, THE SPANIARDS SAID THEY WOULD RATHER BE TREATED BY AN AZTEC DOCTOR THAN BY A EUROPEAN DOCTOR.

THAT'S HOW CIVILIZED AD AHEAD OF EVERYTHING THEY WERE.

THE INCAS HAD BINARY CODE.

THAT'S HOW THEY KEPT TRACK OF THE POPULATION.

THESE WERE INCREDIBLE CULTURES THAT WERE COMPLETELY DECIMATED.

>> ONE OF THE KIND OF CHAPTERS THAT'S INTRIGUING TO ME WAS JUST, I GUESS HOW WE LOOK AT CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, FOR EXAMPLE.

YOU POINT OUT THAT WHEN HE ARRIVED IN 1492, THERE WERE 1 MILLION INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, 16 YEARS LATER, 94% OF THEM WERE GONE.

>> COLUMBUS BASICALLY IS THE HITLER TO US LATINO INDIGENOUS PEOPLE.

BECAUSE HE STARTED THE CARIBBEAN HOLOCAUST, WHERE 95% OF ALL THE PEOPLE IN PUERTO RICO, CUBA, AND DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AND HAITI VANISHED OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH FROM VERY CRUEL TREATMENT.

I MEAN, HE -- HE -- IF YOU TRIED TO RUN AWAY, HE WOULD CHOP YOUR FEET.

HE BURNT PEOPLE ALIVE.

IF YOU DIDN'T PRODUCE ENOUGH GOLD, HE WOULD CHOP YOUR HANDS OFF AND TIE THEM TO YOUR NECK, HE WOULD SET DOGS ONTO BABIES.

AND THEN HE HAD A PROSTITUTION RING OF 9-YEAR-OLD GIRLS THAT HE BRAGGED ABOUT IN HIS JOURNALS.

HE WAS FINALLY ARRESTED IN THE CARIBBEAN, AND THEN FINALLY TAKEN TO SPAIN AND TRIED.

THAT'S HOW BAD HE WAS, THAT HIS OWN PEOPLE TRIED HIM.

WE NEED TO TAKE DOWN COLUMBUS, BECAUSE -- HE'S THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN AN INCREDIBLE CIVILIZATION THAT WOULD BE TODAY, THAT WOULD BE MASSIVE POWERHOUSES.

>> JUST THE VERY FACTS THAT YOU'RE SHARING NOW ABOUT COLUMBUS ARE LIKELY TO SORT OF TRIGGER SOME PEOPLE IN OUR AUDIENCE WATCHING, BECAUSE WE'VE ALSO LIVED THROUGH JUST IN THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, THIS INCREDIBLE CULTURAL FIRESTORM ABOUT WHAT TYPE OF FACTS ARE SHARED IN HISTORY BOOKS, IN CLASSROOMS, AND KIND OF HOW WE DETERMINE THE -- THE ROOTS OF AMERICA.

>> IT'S MY EUROPEAN -- EURO-AMERICANS ARE HAVING A PROBLEM.

I THINK A LOT OF WHITE PEOPLE IN AMERICA UNDERSTAND THAT AMERICA WAS MADE BY A LOT OF DIFFERENT GROUPS, AND NOT JUST WHITE PEOPLE.

OBVIOUSLY, WHO IS EVER IN POWER GETS TO CONTROL THE NARRATIVE.

HE WHO CONTROLS THE STORIES CONTROLS SOCIETY.

THAT'S UNDERSTOOD BY EVERYONE.

BUT IT'S TIME TO CHANGE, YOU KNOW, IT IS REALLY TIME TO CHANGE THE TEXTBOOKS.

OTHERWISE, THE AMERICAN TEXTBOOKS ARE FICTION.

IT'S A FICTION.

YOU ARE NOT LEARNING THE PROPER HISTORY UNTIL YOU LEARN WHAT BLACK PEOPLE, LATINO PEOPLE, ASIAN PEOPLE, DID IN THIS COUNTRY TO BUILD IT.

AND THE NARRATIVE THAT IS CONSTRUCTED IS TO MAINTAIN ONE GROUP IN POWER.

>> YOU ARE ABLE TO HIGHLIGHT PEOPLE THAT I THINK A LOT OF AMERICANS HAVE MAYBE FORGOTTEN, I MEAN, WE MIGHT HAVE HEARD ABOUT CESAR CHAVEZ, BUT MORE LIKELY THAN NOT, DOLORES HUERTA, WHO YOU SAT DOWN WITH, THE CONTRIBUTIONS SHE MADE TO THE FARM WORKERS' MOVEMENT, ARE LARGELY HIDDEN FROM THE BULK OF AMERICANS TODAY.

>> BY THE TIME I GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL, MOST OF MY BLACK AND BROWN FRIENDS AND FILIPINOS, THEY HAD DROPPED OUT, NOT FINISHING HIGH SCHOOL.

WE CALL IT PUSH-OUT.

BECAUSE THEY HAVE AN UNWELCOME CLIMATE, THE WAY THEY'RE TREATED IN SCHOOLS.

KIDS DON'T FEEL WELCOME.

AND I HAD THIS ANGER INSIDE OF ME THAT I NEVER KNEW WHAT TO DO WITH IT, UNTIL I LEARNED HOW TO ORGANIZE.

>> LATINO WOMEN ARE A STRONG FORCE OF NATURE, AND THEY'VE BEEN ACTIVISTS, AND REVOLUTIONARIES ALONGSIDE OF US, IF NOT LEADING US.

AN INCREDIBLE MEXICAN WOMAN IN THE LATE 1800s, EARLY 1900s, WAS A JOURNALIST, RAN HER OWN NEWSPAPER IN THE SOUTHWEST AND SAVED LATINO CHILDREN FROM BEING LYNCHED IN THE SOUTHWEST.

IN THE 1930s, A UNION ORGANIZER.

SO, LATINOS WERE PART OF THIS UNION ORGANIZING EARLY ON, AND THEY WERE WOMEN.

SUCH POWERHOUSES.

>> RIGHT NOW, WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A HEATED CAMPAIGN, WHERE THE OUTCOME OF THE PRESIDENCY COULD BE DECIDED BY AN INCREDIBLY SMALL GROUP OF HUMAN BEINGS.

WHEREVER THOSE PEOPLE ARE IN THESE BATTLEGROUND STATES, RIGHT?

WHAT IS IT THAT YOU THINK HAS TO HAPPEN TO TRY TO JUST MAKE SURE THAT LATINO AMERICANS TODAY ARE MOTIVATED ENOUGH TO GO TO THE POLLS AND TO BE PART OF THIS DECISION PROCESS?

ESPECIALLY IN A VERY CLOSE RACE?

>> I MEAN, WE'RE 40% OF THE POPULATION IN TEXAS, 30% OF THE POPULATION IN ARIZONA, SO, WE'RE MASSIVE.

BUT THEY'RE TRYING TO KEEP FRUS VOTING, YOU KNOW, COMING UP WITH ALL THESE REASONS TO HAVE, LIKE, BIRTH CERTIFICATES WITH YOU.

I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE MINE IS.

TO SHOW UP TO -- TO VOTE.

THIS IS CRAZY.

CRAZINESS, TAKING AWAY MAILING BOXES, IT'S NUTS.

BUT THE MAIN THING IS, I SAID FOR TWO PRESIDENCIES ALREADY, YOU NEED TO GET LATINO EXPERTS, LATINO CONSULTANTS, TO HELP YOU FIGURE OUT HOW TO TALK TO US.

YOU HAVE TO GO TO OUR RADIO STATIONS, YOU HAVE TO KNOCK ON OUR DOORS, YOU HAVE TO COME TO OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, YOU HAVE TO TALK TO US.

WE'RE WINNABLE.

BUT YOU HAVE TO COURT US.

OBVIOUSLY THE THING THAT LA TEE KNOWS REALLY CARE ABOUT IS THE XHEEK, BECAUSE WE'RE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ECONOMIC FOOD CHAIN.

FOOD PRICES, GASOLINE PRICES, HOUSING, THAT'S THEIR MAIN PREOCCUPATION.

>> WE RECENTLY HAD A CONVERSATION ON PROGRAM ABOUT A NEW BOOK, THE RISE OF THE LATINO RIGHT IN AMERICA, AND WHY IN WAYS THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN IS ACTUALLY MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN DEMOCRATS THOUGHT THEY WOULD BE.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS ABOUT THE MESSAGES THAT DONALD TRUMP IS SENDING THAT RESONATE WITH LA TEE KNOWS WHO ARE IN SUPPORT OF HIM?

>> I MEAN, BECAUSE HE LIES.

HE LIES, I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU HUGE TAX BREAKS, I'M GOING TO, YOU KNOW, CHANGE THE TAX -- HE'S NOT GOING TO CHANGE ANY OF THAT.

HE CAN'T.

BUT IT WORKS, IT WORKS FOR LATINOS, YOU KNOW, AND FOR BLACK GROUPS, UNFORTUNATELY.

YOU KNOW, WHEN PRESIDENT TRUMP SIGNED THOSE CHECKS WITH HIS NAME, THAT NO OTHER PRESIDENT HAS EVER DONE, LATINOS BOUGHT IT AND BELIEVED IT.

AND THEY THINK IF HE'S PRESIDENT, THAT HE'S GOING TO BE SIGNING MORE CHECKS FOR THEM.

AND OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A HUGE, VERY CHRISTIAN LATINO GROUP THAT CAN LEAN RIGHT, BECAUSE THEY'RE VERY CONSERVATIVE, SO, YOU HAVE THAT GROUP.

YOU KNOW, YOU GOT TO DO A LOT OF WORK.

YOU HAVE TO GO OUT THERE AND WORK.

AOC DID IT IN AN AREA THAT WAS PREDOMINANTLY LATINO, BUT ALWAYS RUN BY WHITE CONGRESSMEN, AND SENATORS, AND SHE CAME IN, KNOCKED ON DOORS, MY MOM JOINED IN AND HER FRIENDS, AND THEY WENT DOOR-TO-DOOR, SHE STOPPED IN EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD, AND SHE WON, AND SHE WILL WIN AGAIN THAT WAY.

>> WHAT DO YOU HOPE THAT YOUNG PEOPLE TAKE AWAY FROM THIS?

BECAUSE WHETHER THEY ARE YOUNG PEOPLE OF LATIN ROOTS OR NOT, WHAT DO YOU WANT THEM TO REMEMBER FROM THIS?

>> WELL, MY DNA CHANGED IMMEDIATELY.

FROM FEELING SO SMALL IN CLASS IN SCHOOL, WHEN ALL THE LITERATURE WAS WHITE PEOPLE, ALL THE GENIUSES IN THE WORLD WERE WHITE, EVERYTHING WAS WHITE-IFIED, AND TO LEARN WE HAD THESE INCREDIBLE EMPIRES AND CULTURE AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE MAKING OF AMERICA, AND THEY'RE NOT IN HISTORY TEXTBOOKS.

YOUNG PEOPLE SEE THIS AND WILL BE CHANGED FOREVER AND WILL FEEL THAT THEY CAN BE GREAT, THAT THEY CAN ACHIEVE GREATNESS, BECAUSE THEY COME FROM GREATNESS.

>> JOHN LEGUIZAMO, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.

YOU ARE THE HOST OF "THE UNTOLD HISTORY OF LATINOS," THANK YOU.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH, THANK YOU.