WGNO’s 2025 Hispanic Heritage Special

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with a special report highlighting the influence of the Hispanic community on our lives in the New Orleans area and around the country.

Hispanic Heritage Month runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. We are getting a head start with this special report hosted by Isis Casanova and Kenny Lopez.

Since 1989, we’ve celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month, and today, over 63 million people from Latin America enrich the United States with vital contributions.

Louisiana began its relationship with Spain in 1762, when the secret Treaty of Fontainebleau was signed. Louisiana was sold to Spain as a way for France to pay off debt after the French and Indian War.

Spain ruled the Bayou States from 1763 to 1803.

In 1976, New Orleans’ Spanish Plaza was dedicated by Spain to the City of New Orleans to commemorate the Spanish connection of Louisiana’s culture. The plaza features a distinctive fountain and is decorated with ceramic tiles bearing the Coat of Arms of Spanish provinces and cities.

Spain is by far not the only influence in the word Hispanic. Over the centuries, Cubans brought café traditions and music, and Honduran and other Central American immigrants helped to shape the city’s seafood and fruit industry, as well as help to rebuild New Orleans after various storms.

In this special Moving New Orleans Forward report, we tell stories of musicians from Cuba, restaurant executive chefs, undocumented immigrants fighting for rights, soccer clubs and business owners who overcome hardship and disability to live a beautiful life and ultimately celebrate humanity.

WGNO is proud to celebrate Hispanic Heritage and the diverse culture it represents.

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