WXXI TV

La Recua: The Mule Pack Train • WXXI-TV

An aging vaquero who lives in the heart of Baja, guards much of the Old Californio traditional knowledge in his mind and soul.

La Recua: The Mule Pack Train airs Saturday, October 4 at 5 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streams live on the WXXI app.

It’s all about cowboys, mules and desert trails… but it’s so much more! An aging vaquero who lives in the heart of Baja, guards much of the Old Californio traditional knowledge in his mind and soul…. and he wants to tell his story!

Broadcast in Spanish with English subtitles.

Great Performances: The Magic of Grace Bumbry • WXXI-TV

Discover Grace Bumbry’s inspiring rise to global opera fame.

Great Performances: The Magic of Grace Bumbry airs Friday, October 3 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streams live on the WXXI app.

The Magic of Grace Bumbry recounts the story of the African American Missouri native who rose to fame in the 1960s international opera scene. Bumbry’s rise began in the 1950s when she won a radio competition at the age of 17. Encountering racism when she was prevented from studying at the St. Louis Institute of Music, she nevertheless achieved international renown with her breakthrough performance in Wagner’s “Tannhäuser” at the 1961 Bayreuth Festival, in which she appeared for 40 performances. The film explores Grace Bumbry’s groundbreaking career, featuring performances from her early career leading up to her role in the 1966 Salzburg Festival production of “Carmen,” directed by German conductor Herbert von Karajan.

The film follows the format of previous documentaries from Great Performances’ “Magic of” series, including The Magic of Spirituals highlighting opera stars Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman and The Magic of Nureyev, which explored the career of ballet dancer and choreographer Rudolf Nureyev. Featuring interviews with singer and vocal coach David Lee Brewer, opera singer Felicia Weathers, opera singer Anna Tomowa-Sintow and La Scala general director Dominique Meyer.

Songs About Buildings and Moods • WXXI-TV

What do the buildings we create say about us? How does a musical interpretation change our perception of a building?

Songs About Buildings and Moods, Season 2 airs Sunday, September 28 at 3:30 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streams live on the WXXI app.

How does a musical interpretation change our perception of a building? Songs About Buildings and Moods, a five-part series uses storytelling and performance to create a unique series exploring the connection between music and architecture. The buildings include Saarinen’s masterpiece for TWA, Calatrava’s Milwaukee Art Museum and a Black church in Chicago among others.

Episode titles & dates:
9/28 Ex Teresa Arte Actual and George Peabody Library Discover Ex Teresa Arte Actual in Mexico City and the George Peabody Library in Baltimore.
10/5 Estudios Churubusco and the Fisher Building Visit the birthplace of Mexico’s Golden Era of Cinema, the Estudios Churubusco.
10/12 Biblioteca Vasconcelos and Ohio State Reformatory Get a glimpse of Mexico City’s Biblioteca Vasconcelos with their floating shelves.
10/19 Brooklyn Tower and the Wrigley BuildingExplore Brooklyn’s first super-tall tower and Chicago’s Wrigley Building.
10/26 Stony Island Arts Bank and Cranbrook Academy of Art Discover Stony Island Arts Bank and the Cranbrook Academy of Art.

Rush: The Time Machine — Live from Cleveland • WXXI-TV

This live concert, recorded in April 2011 at Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena, pays homage to the city that first played their music on the radio.

Rush: The Time Machine — Live from Cleveland airs Saturday, September 20 at 4:30 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streams live on the WXXI app.

Rush’s The Time Machine Tour was a favorite among fans, thanks to its incredible set list, which encompassed songs from the progressive rock trio’s entire career. This live concert, recorded in April 2011 at Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena, pays homage to the city that first played their music on the radio. Highlights include “Tom Sawyer,” “Limelight” and “Closer to the Heart.”

Omara — Cuba’s Legendary Diva • WXXI-TV

Enjoy this celebratory portrait of beloved Cuban singer Omara Portuondo.

Omara — Cuba’s Legendary Diva airs Friday, September 26 at 10 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streaming live on the PBS app.

This heartfelt documentary follows Omara Portuondo, a driving force in Afro-Cuban music for over half a century, as she performs for passionate fans from Cuba to New York to Tokyo.

Omara: La Diva Legendaria de Cuba — Viernes, 26 de septiembre, a las 10 p. m. en WXXI-TV
Este conmovedor documental sigue a Omara Portuondo, una fuerza impulsora de la música afrocubana durante más de medio siglo, mientras actúa para sus apasionados fanáticos desde Cuba hasta Nueva York y Tokio.

Prohibition “A Nation of Scofflaws” • WXXI-TV

Part 2 of this Ken Burns’ production examines the problems of enforcement, as millions of law-abiding Americans become lawbreakers overnight

The Prohibition “A Nation of Scofflaws” airs Friday, September 12 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streams live on the WXXI app.

On January 16, 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution goes into effect, making it illegal to manufacture, transport or sell intoxicating liquor. Episode Two, A Nation of Scofflaws, examines the problems of enforcement, as millions of law-abiding Americans become lawbreakers overnight. While a significant portion of the country is willing to adapt to the new law, others are shocked at how inconsistent the Volstead Act actually is. Many had believed that light beer would still be available, but the Act defines “intoxicating beverages” as anything containing a half of one percent of alcohol. Under these draconian terms, even sauerkraut is illegal.

Exceptions and loopholes in the law make a mockery of it: a family can legally make wine at home but not beer, a friendly doctor’s prescription is all that’s needed for whiskey, and anyone claiming to be a rabbi can buy, and sell, “sacramental” wine.

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Episode 3: A Nation of Hypocrites airs Friday, September 19 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV
In the mid 1920s, an unprecedented winning streak continues on Wall Street, and it feels to many like the good times will go on forever. Americans during the Jazz Age, writes F. Scott Fitzgerald, are “a whole race gone hedonistic, deciding on pleasure.” Prohibition, with its moralistic underpinnings, begins to feel anachronistic at best. In Episode 3, A Nation of Hypocrites, support for the law diminishes as the playfulness of sneaking around for a drink gives way to disenchantment with its glaring unintended consequences.

Episode 1: A Nation of Drunkards, aired Friday, September 5 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV
Americans have argued over alcohol for centuries. Since the early years of the American Republic, drinking has been at least as American as apple pie.
As Episode 1: A Nation of Drunkards begins, clergymen, craftsmen and canal-diggers drink. So do the crowds of men who turn out for barn-raisings and baptisms, funerals, elections and public hangings. Tankards of cider are kept by farmhouses’ front doors, and in many places alcohol is considered safer to drink than water. Alcohol, along with its attendant rituals and traditions, is embedded in the fabric of American culture.

Cultural Expressions: Pride, Heritage, and Family • WXXI-TV

In memoriam of Víctor Antonetti Sr., the founder of Orquesta Antonetti and a beloved figure in the Rochester Latin music community, WXXI brings to you an encore show about Latin music and its vibrance in the Rochester Latin community, featuring Víctor Antonetti Sr.

Cultural Expressions: Pride, Heritage, and Family reairs Friday, September 5 at 8:30 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streams live on the WXXI app.

In this 2016 episode of Cultural Expressions, Julio Saenz, author of “Rochester’s Latino Community,” along with members of two prominent families—Antonetti and Padilla—and members of the City of Rochester Hispanic Heritage Committee engage in meaningful conversations about the lives, contributions, and history of Rochester’s Hispanic community. Featuring siblings: Nydia, Annette, and Tony Padilla; siblings Víctor and Maria Antonetti; and Ray Mayoliz, Erica Hernandez, and Johanna Santiago from the City of Rochester Hispanic Heritage Committee.

Born in Salinas, Puerto Rico in 1948 and moving to Rochester in 1956, Víctor founded Orquesta Antonetti in 1970 alongside family members. The band quickly became a big part of the burgeoning Salsa music scene in Rochester and soon grew into a versatile ensemble performing merengue, mambo, tango, jazz, and more. Antonetti Sr. recently received the Key to the City of Rochester from Mayor Malik Evans for his distinct contribution to the city’s cultural history, inspiring audiences and bridging cultures through his artistry and leadership. Antonetti Sr. passed away on Friday, August 22, 2025 at the age of 77.

You can also watch the episode on-demand here:

Photo: Víctor Antonetti Sr. playing congas.
Credit: Provided/Víctor Antonetti Jr.

Great Scenic Railway Journeys 30th Anniversary Special • WXXI-TV

In this 30th anniversary special, gain access to some of America’s best railway adventures, from the Rocky Mountaineer to the Skyrail as they offer a glimpse into our nation’s legacy of railroad that rewrote the history of transportation and defined the spirit of North America.

Great Scenic Railway Journeys 30th Anniversary Special airs Friday, September 5 at 4 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streams live on the WXXI app.

Hop aboard the Rocky Mountaineer for unparalleled views of the American west with vista dome cars, tour the legendary Canadian rail line spanning from the Atlantic to the Pacific with non-stop views of the country’s majestic scenery, or head back in time to 1872 with the East Broad Top railway of Pennsylvania. This special also takes viewers on a breathtaking journey by steam along the ocean’s edge with the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad, a quaint tour through Pennsylvania on the Reading Blue Northern Railroad that includes a stop at Jim Thorpe, PA, and a scenic ride on the Potamic Eagle Scenic Railway with fantastic views of bald eagles in nature.

Photo: A man taking pictures of a scenic ride from a train.
Credit: American Public Television.