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In The Americas with David Yetman

IN THE AMERICAS WITH DAVID YETMAN takes a fresh look at the lands that make up much of the Western Hemisphere. The 10-part series showcases the landscapes, peoples and history of the Americas - from the stories of a small village of Japanese immigrants in the Amazon to descendants of poor Italians in Chile, from Mayan temples in Guatemala to ancient fortresses in Mexico, and from the frigid, glacier-carved barrens of northern Canada to the timeless villages of the altiplano in Peru. By raft, boat, ferry, horse and motorcycle, host David Yetman journeys to parts of Cuba mostly unknown to the outside world, the wild mountains of western Argentina, festivals in Columbia and the often ignored Great Lakes of the United States. Along the way, he meets people from all walks of life - natives and immigrants, islanders and mainlanders, pastoralists and city-dwellers - and hears their stories. David Yetman, longtime host of The Desert Speaks (also distributed through APT Exchange) works as a research social scientist at the Southwest Center of the University of Arizona. Yetman is also a nationally known author of numerous books and articles and an accomplished photographer.

In The Americas with David Yetman  
  • Chiapas Highlands: Mexico's Indian Empire
    Sunday, December 22
    12:30 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    In the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico's southernmost state, David finds nations apart from mainstream Mexico. Populated for centuries by peoples speaking Mayan languages, they retain their customs and dress--while struggling to protect their homelands. Their towns and villages retain traditional pre- Columbian governments. They invite David to one of their annual ceremonies.
  • Father Kino and the Southwest
    Thursday, December 26
    3:30 am on UEN-TV 9.1
    In the late 1600s, the Spanish Crown sent Catholic missionaries to northwest Mexico to pacify Indians and make the way for European settlers. One cleric is remembered for his charisma, his geographical wandering, and his penchant for founding missions, including the architectural masterpiece of the Southwest, the Mission San Xavier del Bac: Francisco Eusebio Kino.
  • Father Kino and the Southwest
    Sunday, December 29
    12:30 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    In the late 1600s, the Spanish Crown sent Catholic missionaries to northwest Mexico to pacify Indians and make the way for European settlers. One cleric is remembered for his charisma, his geographical wandering, and his penchant for founding missions, including the architectural masterpiece of the Southwest, the Mission San Xavier del Bac: Francisco Eusebio Kino.
  • Brazil's Pantanal: Wetlands and Wildlife
    Thursday, January 2
    3:30 am on UEN-TV 9.1
    In southwestern Brazil, the Pantanal, the world's largest freshwater swamp, is home to a startling variety of wildlife, especially birds and caimans. Throughout this vast swampland, cowboys still roam America's oldest ranches on specially adapted horses to follow herds of swamp cattle.
  • Brazil's Pantanal: Wetlands and Wildlife
    Sunday, January 5
    12:30 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    In southwestern Brazil, the Pantanal, the world's largest freshwater swamp, is home to a startling variety of wildlife, especially birds and caimans. Throughout this vast swampland, cowboys still roam America's oldest ranches on specially adapted horses to follow herds of swamp cattle.
  • Pororoca: Brazil's Famous Wave
    Thursday, January 9
    3:30 am on UEN-TV 9.1
    The Amazon is famous for being the world's largest river, but less well known for the massive tidal bore, a colossal wave that appears at the river's mouth around the equinoxes. It's called the Pororoca and surfers now flock from around the world to ride it. But it has also nearly destroyed a city along its way. We arrive at Sao Domingos do Capim, and wait.
  • Pororoca: Brazil's Famous Wave
    Sunday, January 12
    12:30 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    The Amazon is famous for being the world's largest river, but less well known for the massive tidal bore, a colossal wave that appears at the river's mouth around the equinoxes. It's called the Pororoca and surfers now flock from around the world to ride it. But it has also nearly destroyed a city along its way. We arrive at Sao Domingos do Capim, and wait.
  • Baracoa: Cuba's Outpost on the Atlantic
    Thursday, January 16
    3:30 am on UEN-TV 9.1
    About 700 miles east of Havana, Cuba's capital, sits the old town of Baracoa. Nearly cut off from the rest of the nation by high mountains, it has become self-sufficient in a nation that stresses self-sufficiency. The long road trip shows us Cuba's vast sugar cane fields, and the convoluted geology of mountain ranges, bays, and cliffs. Baracoa has its own heritage of mixed Caribbean and African culture, evolving without interference from the outside.
  • Baracoa: Cuba's Outpost on the Atlantic
    Sunday, January 19
    12:30 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    About 700 miles east of Havana, Cuba's capital, sits the old town of Baracoa. Nearly cut off from the rest of the nation by high mountains, it has become self-sufficient in a nation that stresses self-sufficiency. The long road trip shows us Cuba's vast sugar cane fields, and the convoluted geology of mountain ranges, bays, and cliffs. Baracoa has its own heritage of mixed Caribbean and African culture, evolving without interference from the outside.
  • The Road from Oaxaca to Chiapas
    Thursday, January 23
    3:30 am on UEN-TV 9.1
    The states of Oaxaca and Chiapas in southern Mexico are culturally different from the rest of the country. We descend from the mezcal-producing fields of Oaxaca into the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, where the native culture is dominated by women, then on to Chiapas, where a river town is home to ancient peoples and a most unusual carnival celebration.
  • The Road from Oaxaca to Chiapas
    Sunday, January 26
    12:30 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    The states of Oaxaca and Chiapas in southern Mexico are culturally different from the rest of the country. We descend from the mezcal-producing fields of Oaxaca into the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, where the native culture is dominated by women, then on to Chiapas, where a river town is home to ancient peoples and a most unusual carnival celebration.
  • Dry Times in the Southwest: The New Realities
    Thursday, January 30
    3:30 am on UEN-TV 9.1
    Nowhere are the realities of climate change more sharply defined than in the American Southwest. Here rivers are drying and reservoir levels have reached at all-time lows. Cities and countryside alike must adapt to drought, but the strategies used by municipalities are far different from those used by ranchers.
  • Dry Times in the Southwest: The New Realities
    Sunday, February 2
    12:30 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    Nowhere are the realities of climate change more sharply defined than in the American Southwest. Here rivers are drying and reservoir levels have reached at all-time lows. Cities and countryside alike must adapt to drought, but the strategies used by municipalities are far different from those used by ranchers.
  • The Blue Ridge Parkway: From Virginia to North Carolina
    Thursday, February 6
    3:30 am on UEN-TV 9.1
    Begun during the Great Depression as stimulus to the local economy, the 500 mile-long Blue Ridge Parkway is now part of our national park system and winds through some of our fairest hardwood and coniferous forests in their mountainous setting. We choose segments to show the landscape, places, and people along the way, from local music, to moonshine, to barbecue, to NASCAR.
  • The Blue Ridge Parkway: From Virginia to North Carolina
    Sunday, February 9
    12:30 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    Begun during the Great Depression as stimulus to the local economy, the 500 mile-long Blue Ridge Parkway is now part of our national park system and winds through some of our fairest hardwood and coniferous forests in their mountainous setting. We choose segments to show the landscape, places, and people along the way, from local music, to moonshine, to barbecue, to NASCAR.
  • Galapagos: The Great Climatic Seesaw
    Thursday, February 13
    3:30 am on UEN-TV 9.1
    The Galapagos Islands are especially affect by climate changes. During El Nino years, the islands receive more rain and land critters prosper, but the water is warm, endangering the life of all marine creatures. During La Nina, rains are sparse, threatening terrestrial life, but the colder water brings bounty to marine creatures. It's a never-ending race to survive from one climatic extreme to the next.
  • Galapagos: The Great Climatic Seesaw
    Sunday, February 16
    12:30 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    The Galapagos Islands are especially affect by climate changes. During El Nino years, the islands receive more rain and land critters prosper, but the water is warm, endangering the life of all marine creatures. During La Nina, rains are sparse, threatening terrestrial life, but the colder water brings bounty to marine creatures. It's a never-ending race to survive from one climatic extreme to the next.
  • Havana: Cultural Treasure House of the Caribbean
    Thursday, February 20
    3:30 am on UEN-TV 9.1
    Havana, Cuba's capital city is home to a prodigious wealth of colonial and nineteenth century architectural masterpieces. These are slowly and painstakingly emerging from neglect brought on by the U.S. economic blockade. Havana's harbor and the city's Revolutionary Square provide ideal backdrops for understanding Cuba from the late 1950s to the present, why it so appealed to Ernest Hemingway, why its fabled fifties-era taxis are still running, how African roots influence the city's culture, and why even now it is a mecca for international tourists.
  • Havana: Cultural Treasure House of the Caribbean
    Sunday, February 23
    12:30 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    Havana, Cuba's capital city is home to a prodigious wealth of colonial and nineteenth century architectural masterpieces. These are slowly and painstakingly emerging from neglect brought on by the U.S. economic blockade. Havana's harbor and the city's Revolutionary Square provide ideal backdrops for understanding Cuba from the late 1950s to the present, why it so appealed to Ernest Hemingway, why its fabled fifties-era taxis are still running, how African roots influence the city's culture, and why even now it is a mecca for international tourists.
  • Galapagos: Volcanoes and Nature on the Islands
    Thursday, February 27
    3:30 am on UEN-TV 9.1
    Volcanoes created the Galapagos Islands and made life possible they, and they continue to create and destroy. The islands force cold water to the surface and with it wildlife in profusion, while their isolation makes a showcase for evolution in action. Nowhere else in the world is such a living laboratory, including a study between the demands of expanding human populations and limited resources.
  • Galapagos: Volcanoes and Nature on the Islands
    Sunday, March 2
    12:30 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    Volcanoes created the Galapagos Islands and made life possible they, and they continue to create and destroy. The islands force cold water to the surface and with it wildlife in profusion, while their isolation makes a showcase for evolution in action. Nowhere else in the world is such a living laboratory, including a study between the demands of expanding human populations and limited resources.

 

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  • Chiapas Highlands: Mexico's Indian Empire
    Thursday, December 19
    3:30 am on UEN-TV 9.1
    In the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico's southernmost state, David finds nations apart from mainstream Mexico. Populated for centuries by peoples speaking Mayan languages, they retain their customs and dress--while struggling to protect their homelands. Their towns and villages retain traditional pre- Columbian governments. They invite David to one of their annual ceremonies.
  • Christopher Columbus, His Time and His Plans
    Monday, December 16
    9:00 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    Columbus spent nearly a decade in Spain lobbying for his expedition. More than anywhere else, he remained in Huelva, a port on Spain's southwestern coast. With him on his voyages he brought the heritage of his surroundings and their many assumptions. His quest shaped his mission and the sailors he chose were of critical importance to the success or failure of his mission. Understanding them and their times helps clarify the influence- and the destruction they would heap on the Americas.
  • Cuba's Far East
    Sunday, December 15
    12:30 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    Santiago de Cuba, a thousand kilometers southeast of Havana, was once Cuba's most important city. Ravaged by hurricanes and impoverished by the U.S. blockade, it has endured and still celebrates its African roots and an ancient religious shrine. Residents of African descent celebrate an old French custom.
  • Cuba's Far East
    Thursday, December 12
    3:30 am on UEN-TV 9.1
    Santiago de Cuba, a thousand kilometers southeast of Havana, was once Cuba's most important city. Ravaged by hurricanes and impoverished by the U.S. blockade, it has endured and still celebrates its African roots and an ancient religious shrine. Residents of African descent celebrate an old French custom.
  • Colon's Spain and the Quest for Western Lands
    Monday, December 9
    9:00 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    Christopher Columbus set out from Huelva, on Spain's southwest coast, in 1492 in a quest to chart unknown lands with hoped-for riches. With him he brought three ships and a cultural impact that changed the world forever in the space of thirty years. Huelva and its surrounding area reveal a wealth of cultural and historical influences, from Romans through Moors to Spaniards, from technology to disease, through Italians and (perhaps) Portuguese ancestry that Columbus and subsequent would-be conquerors carried with them. They would transform the Americas into a European province.
  • Oregon: Violent Past and Verdant Present
    Sunday, December 8
    12:30 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    More than any other of the contiguous United States, Oregon has been shaped by volcanoes. East and west of the Cascade Range are two different landscapes. On the east side, David climbs through lavas of volcanic glass and follows a mountain bike trail at the edge of a flow, then ventures west to the fertile valleys and the wild Pacific coast in all its glory.
  • Oregon: Violent Past and Verdant Present
    Thursday, December 5
    3:30 am on UEN-TV 9.1
    More than any other of the contiguous United States, Oregon has been shaped by volcanoes. East and west of the Cascade Range are two different landscapes. On the east side, David climbs through lavas of volcanic glass and follows a mountain bike trail at the edge of a flow, then ventures west to the fertile valleys and the wild Pacific coast in all its glory.
  • As The Waters of Lake Powell Recede
    Monday, December 2
    9:00 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    The Colorado River was dammed at Glen Canyon in the early 1960s. The resulting reservoir, Lake Powell, is the second largest reservoir in the United States. As a prolonged drought grips the southwestern United States the lake is shrinking. The falling water levels reveal a wonderland of canyons from angles never before seen. And the new landscapes reveal fragments of ancient peoples who made Glen Canyon home.
  • Dominican Republic: Of Baseball, Whales, and Limping Devils
    Sunday, December 1
    12:30 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    The Dominican Republic has survived a troubled history of dictators and intervention from the north. Now it is a hotbed of baseball, a hotspot for viewing humpbacked whales, and home to one of the liveliest carnivals anywhere, the best place to view diablos cojuelos-limping devils-on parade: the Carnival of La Vega.
  • Dominican Republic: Of Baseball, Whales, and Limping Devils
    Thursday, November 28
    3:30 am on UEN-TV 9.1
    The Dominican Republic has survived a troubled history of dictators and intervention from the north. Now it is a hotbed of baseball, a hotspot for viewing humpbacked whales, and home to one of the liveliest carnivals anywhere, the best place to view diablos cojuelos-limping devils-on parade: the Carnival of La Vega.
  • Whales and Their Offspring In San Ignacio Lagoon
    Monday, November 25
    9:00 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    For millennia, gray whales have made an annual pilgrimage from the cold, rich marine waters in the Gulf of Alaska to the warm, protected waters of San Ignacio Lagoon. The calm bay sits on the west coast of Baja California. There the mother whales feel safe from predators and give birth to their calves. They also urge the newborn giants to make contact with humans, who await them in boats, hoping for an opportunity to pet them. In this vast shelter, both the Mexican government and the boatmen, fishermen the rest of the year, guard the whales and nurture the friendship between people and the gentle leviathans.
  • Costa Rica: Laboratory of the Biosphere
    Sunday, November 24
    12:30 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    Researchers at Biosphere II in Arizona have re-created tropical rainforest in a closed environment to study the effects of climate change. Scientists compare that artificial environment with a tropical rainforest reserve in Costa Rica, a living laboratory where scientists record the effects of global warming on the forest and its dwellers.
  • Costa Rica: Laboratory of the Biosphere
    Thursday, November 21
    3:30 am on UEN-TV 9.1
    Researchers at Biosphere II in Arizona have re-created tropical rainforest in a closed environment to study the effects of climate change. Scientists compare that artificial environment with a tropical rainforest reserve in Costa Rica, a living laboratory where scientists record the effects of global warming on the forest and its dwellers.
  • The Salton Sea. Life and Death In An Inland Ocean
    Monday, November 18
    9:00 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    For more than a thousand years, the Salton Sink In southeastern California has been home to the largest body of water in the state. It is there because the San Andreas Fault is tearing southern California apart and the bottom is dropping out. Three hundred years ago, it was Lake Cahuilla, a freshwater lake, but changing geology, the whims of the Colorado River, and the negative side of extensive, industrial agriculture have resulted in a very salty and polluted sea. Once a booming tourist mecca, drought, agriculture, and failed development have produced a nearly dead body of water. All around the lake are fragments of broken dreams. One place, a most unusual one, continues to thrive.
  • Mexico's Sierra Pinacate
    Sunday, November 17
    12:30 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    Situated along the U.S.-Mexico border, the Pinacate Volcanic Range houses a violent history of fire and brimstone. Visible from outer space are five massive craters, hundreds of cinder cones, and lava flows miles long, all set in a varied desert of epic dryness only a few miles away from a burgeoning ocean resort town. Peoples, ancient and modern have left their traces.
  • Mexico's Sierra Pinacate
    Thursday, November 14
    3:30 am on UEN-TV 9.1
    Situated along the U.S.-Mexico border, the Pinacate Volcanic Range houses a violent history of fire and brimstone. Visible from outer space are five massive craters, hundreds of cinder cones, and lava flows miles long, all set in a varied desert of epic dryness only a few miles away from a burgeoning ocean resort town. Peoples, ancient and modern have left their traces.
  • The Northern Jaguar Preserve: Where the Great Cats Roam Freely
    Monday, November 11
    9:00 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    A little over one hundred miles south of the U.S-Mexico borders in the state of Sonora, international conservation groups have discovered the ideal habitat for jaguars, mountain lions, and ocelots. Through their efforts, former cattle ranches in some of the roughest country in North America now belong to these top predators, who leave their images on cameras that now document populations of the secretive beasts. The photographs reveal jaguars so at home in the region that researchers have given them names.
  • Our Warming Oceans: Biosphere to Bahamas
    Sunday, November 10
    12:30 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    In the Arizona desert, scientists study a small ocean at Biosphere II facility, where researchers measure sea changes under controlled conditions. But the real ocean is uncontrolled and vast. David journeys to the Bahamas to join researchers in caves and in reefs who are making startling findings about changes in climate and their effects on our oceans.
  • Our Warming Oceans: Biosphere to Bahamas
    Thursday, November 7
    3:30 am on UEN-TV 9.1
    In the Arizona desert, scientists study a small ocean at Biosphere II facility, where researchers measure sea changes under controlled conditions. But the real ocean is uncontrolled and vast. David journeys to the Bahamas to join researchers in caves and in reefs who are making startling findings about changes in climate and their effects on our oceans.
  • The wild and explosive past of northwest New Mexico
    Monday, November 4
    9:00 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    For thousands of years, New Mexico's northwestern quadrant has been home to a wide variety of native peoples. The places they chose to live are a showcase of the powers of volcanoes and erosion. These natural monuments help define the territories these people have chosen and have become symbols for their homelands. Towering volcanic remnants shoot up from the earth while others record disruptive flows of lava that continue nearly to the present. Some formations defy normal human expectations.
  • Mexico City: 600 Years of Urban Glory
    Sunday, November 3
    12:30 pm on UEN-TV 9.1
    Six centuries ago the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlán, now Mexico City, was the world's grandest urban center and its market the world's busiest. Now home to more than 20 million souls, Mexico City's museums, monuments, galleries, public celebrations, and vast ethnic mix reflect its past and present glories, and make it Latin America's most vibrant city.