National Hispanic Heritage Month includes a plethora of colorful events and television and online programming in honor of la raza. This HHM, two of the more interesting offerings are the films "Frontera! Revolt and Rebellion on the Rio Grande" and "New American Girls," which will be featured on PBS.org throughout the "month," from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, thanks to Latino Public Broadcasting.

Latino Public Broadcasting, the media company that acts as a voice for the diverse Latino community and pushes for the prevalence of culturally-appropriate media, presents "Frontera! Revolt and Rebellion on the Rio Grande." "Frontera!" is an animated short from award-winning Chicano media artist John Jota Leaños, which traces the footprints of influential events and the colonialism that shaped the deeply contested territories of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands.

From the perspective of Native and Chicana narrators, viewers gain an understanding of the violence dealt against indigenous people, the greed of the Spanish occupiers and the extreme actions that erupted from the Spaniards' presence in indigenous lands. Stylistically, the film employs comic book style animation, humor and hip-hop to tell the story of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, which occurred after years of hunger, drought, religious persecution and colonial violence.

"Frontera!" incorporates the diverse voices of talented artists and spiritual leaders, and features an original score by Cristóbal Martinez, a member of the acclaimed Native artist collective, Post-Commodity. A number of renowned scholars were a part of the project, including Matthew Liebmann (Harvard University), author of "Revolt: An Archaeological History of Pueblo Resistance and Revitalization in 17th Century New Mexico."  

Mitchell Teplitsky, a documentary producer specializing in cross-cultural stories based in New York City, and Betty Bastidas, an award-winning filmmaker, photographer and educator based in Ft. Greene, Brooklyn, collaborated to produce "New American Girls," a three-part piece that profiles three remarkable "DREAMers," young women who were raised and educated in the U.S., looking for careers in medicine, law and education.

The films focus on the three women, who share the stories of more than 1.8 million young adults who were brought to the U.S. as children by undocumented parents, who now have an unclear pathway to citizenship.

The featured women, Mandeep, Lorella and Kassandra, each tell personal stories about being American, undocumented and unafraid, and their desire to excel despite their legal status.

"I know that it's an uphill battle. DREAMers play a really important role, we humanize the issue in a way that no one had been able to do; it's a way to say, 'I am your neighbor, I am your daughter's best friend, and I am undocumented,'" said Lorella, who was born in Peru and brought to the United States for medical treatment.  

The premiere of the short films coincides with other LPB -funded programs that will air on public television throughout Hispanic Heritage Month, including the acclaimed series "The Latino Americans," "Ruben Salazar: Man in the Middle," "Rebel," Independent Lens films "Precious Knowledge," "The Graduates" and "The State Of Arizona," and the POV film "Reportero."

To view the films and to check out other material PBS has to offer about Hispanic Heritage Month, visit them online, find them on Facebook and on Twitter. Also, find Latino Public Broadcasting on Facebook and Twitter.