Gateway to Hispanic Culture

By Douglas J. Gillert American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON -- "Bienvenido -- Welcome 'Hispanic America,'" proclaimed the title of the Internet address.

The World Wide Web site is one of thousands that highlight the Hispanic culture -- from family matters to politics, religion to government service, heroes of the past to hopes for the future.

This and other sites promise a delectable salsa of informacion to the erstwhile web conquistador. As I dip into this bowl of enticement, I think, "I like what they've done to my Internet."

A good place to begin a tour of Hispanic web sites is a search engine. After logging on to a web browser (Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer, for example), I'm offered the use of several "search engines." Search engines work by asking users for a word or phrase to identify the subject of interest.

I choose "Yahoo!" (http://www.yahoo.com/) and type "Hispanic" in the space provided. The engine finds 88 matches containing Hispanic, listing them alphabetically by topic. Yahoo!

I then select "Hispanic America" (http://www.neta.com/~1stbooks/index.html) and wind up with another, smaller index that provides an overview of the contributions of Hispanic Americans.

"Hispanic Medal of Honor Recipients USA" catches my eye, and I click on the title to learn more. Thirty-eight names with brief narratives contributions of Hispanic Americans.

"Hispanic Medal of Honor Recipients USA" catches my eye, and I click on the title to learn more. Thirty-eight names with brief narratives follow. I know one of them and you may, too: Roy Benavidez, an Army Special Forces master sergeant during the Vietnam War.

I don't know David Barkley, nor would I have ever linked him with such a list, proof that surnames don't always reveal a person's heritage. The report says he was the Army's first Hispanic Medal of Honor recipient. Barkley served with the Army in World War I, and his Hispanic background "came to light 71 years after he gallantly gave his life for his country," the narrative states.