In conjunction with a community Latino outreach program, Iowa Public Television is airing the PBS program “American Family.” The show is an account of a poor Latino family struggling to keep their culture strong while dealing with day-to-day challenges in the United States.

The program stars Edward James Olmos and Raquel Welch and is the first drama series to air on broadcast television featuring an all-Latino cast.

“American Family” is the second of Iowa Public Television’s attempts to reach out to the Latino population, said Mary Bracken, programming and outreach coordinator at the IPTV station.

“We tried about four years ago to begin the outreach program with `Chicano,’ which was our first attempt,” Bracken said. “And now with `American Family,’ this is our chance to really reach out to the Latino community with a quality program.”

Iowa Public Television is trying to get the community involved with accepting and learning from the Latino culture, she said. They have a Secondary Audio Programming channel, so any of the broadcasts can be viewed in Spanish.

Very few people are aware of this convenience, Bracken said.

Along with the Spanish-spoken program, Iowans can share their stories and experiences with Latino culture on the Web site, www.iptv.org.

“There are so many interesting Latino families here with such interesting stories,” Bracken said. “We are trying to get these people to say why they came here and how. We really want to hear all that they have to share.”

Jose Amaya, assistant professor of English, said he encourages his students to watch the show and spread the word as well. The show sends an important message to society, said Amaya, who teaches a Latino studies course.

“I just thought that this show would be a good opportunity for people to get an idea of Latino cultures here in America,” he said. “I think it is helpful to expand our learning and understanding.”

The Latino population in Iowa has greatly expanded within the past few years, and there have been many misunderstandings and issues that go unrecognized, Amaya said.

“I am teaching U.S. Latino literature, and this is very helpful to get the knowledge out there in society,” he said. “People don’t often realize that there have been and are problems within the Latino population in Iowa.”

“American Family” airs at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays throughout February. The program’s creators hope to show that a Latino family in America is like any other family, Bracken said.

Amaya, too, said he believes that watching the show and expanding the understanding of the Latino culture is the best way to overcome stereotypes.

“If we know more about each other, we become more receptive to each others’ ideas and we therefore live in a more intelligent and accepting society,” he said.