John Leguizamo Delves Deeply–and Further Back–Into Latin American History Via PBS Docuseries: If you think Latin American history starts with Christopher Columbus, John Leguizamo would like to have a word. He points out there were great empires and civilizations during the thousands of years before 1492 — like the mighty Incas, Aztecs and Maya, whose great strides in medicine, engineering and science echo today.