During the 1960s, while Clemente played baseball in Pittsburgh, civil rights laws ended legal segregation. At the same time, more and more Latinos—people from Spanish-speaking countries in Latin American—immigrated to the U.S. They brought with them their food, language, and other parts of their culture. This had a major effect on American culture.

When two cultures mix like this, rather than being kept separate, each group’s identity changes a little. Americans began to adopt parts of Latino culture—eating foods like tacos and salsa, and using Latino styles in popular music. Latinos began to learn English and adjusted to living in the United States.

Watch this video to see how the attitude of American fans toward Clemente began to change as he led the Pittsburgh Pirates to a World Series victory in 1960.

Click on the left to watch the video.