NewsTaco

By Federica Longo, Voxxi

“Sesame Street” has been on a hunt for a new Latino act to add to their cast. They held an open casting call in New York City to find their new member and they’ve found the lucky talent! The new Hispanic character will be announced nationally on May 10th.

“Sesame Street” first came out in 1969 and, over the years, has added different versions in countries like  Germany, Israel and Mexico, where “Plaza Sésamo” is produced. The show and its evolution has gone along with the way the world and its people have changed. Latinos Sonia Manzano and Emilio Delgado, who play the role of Maria and Luis, started working on “Sesame Street” back in 1971. There is also the character of Rosita, which debuted in 1993. She is the first bilingual Muppet and will go back and forth in Spanish and English mid-sentence. Rosita, who can be recognized by her turquoise coat, is from Mexico and often plays the guitar and teaches her fellow friends Spanish words they are not aware of.

Lately, the focus on Hispanics has been a huge deal. It’s been thrust by the increase in the U.S. Latino population, which is 50 million strong. Maybe that’s the reason for the new Hispanic addition?

‘Sesame Street’ casting call

“Sesame Street” recently released part one of the casting calls held back in August in New York City. The producers decided to add another Hispanic character to the “Sesame Street” gang. They have a long tradition of representing a diverse group of characters. People came from all over, standing in line overnight, to attend this casting and for a chance at joining the crew. “We know that the Hispanic population in the U.S. is growing and “Sesame Street” has always modeled that diversity, since the beginning,” said Carol- Lynn Parente, executive producer of “Sesame Street”.

This article was first published in Voxxi.

Federica was born and raised in Miami from Argentinian descent and she is a recent graduate from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale.

[Photo by LR_PTY]

By Daniel Cubias, Being Latino

I was in the first generation of kids who grew up with Sesame Street. Even at a young age, I recognized how rare it was to see fellow Latinos on television, much less a happily married, well-adjusted couple like Maria and Luis.

I wasn’t even traumatized when Grover would get all quiet, lean in to whisper to a little Hispanic child, and then start shouting and waving his spindly arms around. Seriously, he did that a lot.

So I am happy that Sesame Street continues to take its mission seriously and reflects the evolving culture of America. Recently, the show announced that it will be adding a new Latino character and would focus on Hispanic heritage for its upcoming 44th season.

The show is also seeking a bilingual actor or actress between the ages of 18 and 25 who is “capable of singing and improvising in both English and Spanish and [has] a good sense of humor.”

One presumes that the superhuman ability to tolerate Elmo for more than 19 seconds would also be a plus. For the right actor, this could be a big break of Snuffleupagusian proportions.

As we know, the creators of Sesame Street were always way ahead of the cultural curve, bringing multiculturalism into the American home decades before the term became a laudable goal or a evil conspiracy (depending on whom you talk to).

The Jim Henson Company continues to be at the forefront of societal change, as evidenced by its decision to sever ties with Chick-Fil-A over the homophobic stance of that company’s head. Apparently, Big Bird is no fan of religious zealots.

Of course, some people will insist that Sesame Street is just being PC or trendy for adding a Latino character. This ignores the fact that acknowledging Hispanic culture — a generation before virtually any other television program did — is not trendy. It’s genius.

This article was first published in Being Latino.

[Photo courtesy Sesame Street]

I’m curious to see exactly how Sesame Street is going to portray Latinos. The iconic children’s television show recently hired an expert to guide them in their effort to accurately include the Latino culture in their cast of characters. The hire is a man named Jaime Naidoo, who according to Huffington Post is “an assistant professor at University of Alabama’s School of Library and Information Studies, who’s research focuses on the representation of minority populations in print and non-print media.” That sounds impressive, especially since he lives in the belly of the anti-immigrant beast – Alabama, where the nastiest of anti-immigration laws have been thought-up. It makes ironic sense that a voice of reason should come from a place that could imagine such awful laws.

But the reason I’m curious about the Sesame Street outcome is because the program has a very good record of character diversity. I’m wondering how they can improve on it. The genius behind their success is their no-holds-barred creativity:  it’s impossible to peg Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch or Elmo to any specific ethnic group, culture or race. But it’s easy to understand the diversity of the group. So you conjure another fuzzy character, give it a Latino sounding name, maybe a hint of an accent, have it talk about its daily life and traditions, add a little Spanish and there you go!

Is it that easy? Of course not. That’s probably why I don’t work at Sesame Workshop (formerly known as the Children’s Television Workshop), and why they’ve hired  Naidoo to lead them by the hand.

The Latino Sesame Street character, or characters, is a work in progress (as is the Latino community in the U.S.). I think it’s about time.

[Photo by Theme Park Mom]

Hey all, I saw this and thought it was the most ridiculous thing I’d seen in a while.  It’s a nice way to top off a week, ey?  TGIF!  Enjoy!

[Video via stianhafstad]