Villa Alegre (TV series)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Villa Alegre (Spanish for "Happy Village" or "Joyous Town"), a children's television show, was the first national bilingual (Spanish/English) program in the United States.[1] It was produced by Bilingual Children's Television as its inaugural project on the company's founding in 1970.[2] Villa Alegre debuted on the PBS network in 1973 and ran there until funding disputes ended the project in 1980.[1][2] During its run, the show won a Peabody Award along with many other honors.[3] The show was also seen in syndication on commercial stations in some markets, on at least a weekly basis.
Much like another bilingual children's show of the era, Carrascolendas (produced at KLRN in San Antonio, Texas), Villa Alegre centered on life in a Mexican village. The program had an upbeat, catchy mariachi-flavored theme song, which ended with adults and kids shouting "¡Villa Alegre!"
[edit] Actors and staff
On leaving politics following the Watergate scandal in the mid-1970s, Cuba-born activist Raúl Espinosa went on to produce Villa Alegre.[4] Other producers included Moctesuma Esparza, who worked on only the first season[5], and David Ochoa.[6]. Actress Carmen Zapata starred in the program for nine seasons[7], and Marisela, the Mexican-American singer-actress, appeared on the show in her youth.[8] The show was directed by Argentinian actor and director Alejandro Rey.[9]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Carmina Danini. "Rivas-Estrella was part of the first national bilingual TV show," San Antonio Express-News, January 25, 2006, State & Metro section, p. 4B.
- ^ a b Retrolandia: Villa Alegre. Retrieved July 15, 2007.
- ^ Victor Payan. "Interview with Moctesuma Esparza: From the L.A. High School walkouts to "Selena" and "The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca," In Motion Magazine, May 21, 1998. Retrieved July 15, 2007.
- ^ John Lovejoy. "Revolution to Republican - Raúl Espinosa fled Cuba and became a bigwig in U.S. politics," Ledger Dispatch (California), November 10, 2000, News section, page 1.
- ^ Villa Alegre on Internet Movie Database. Retrieved July 15, 2007.
- ^ "Militant found career in films," Rocky Mountain News (Colorado), May 21, 1994, Local section, special feature "La Gente", page 74A.
- ^ Lowe Kilmer. "Celebrities" (column), Watertown Daily Times (New York), October 7, 2003, Lifestyles & Leisure section, page B2.
- ^ Blanca Arroyo. "Ahora 'sin él', pero lista para volver - La cantante confiesa que a los 15 años tuvo un tórrido romance con Marco Antonio Solís y que le 'encantaría' trabajar otra vez con 'El Buki Mayor,'" ["Now 'Without Him', but ready to return: The singer confesses that at age 15 she had a torrid romance with Marco Antonio Solís and that she would be 'delighted' to work again with 'El Buki Mayor'"], La Opinión (Los Angeles, California), May 6, 2001, Espectáculos section. (In Spanish)
- ^ Associated Press. "Alejandro Rey, 57, starred in TV's 'The Flying Nun,'" San José Mercury-News, May 23, 1987, Local News section, page 10B.
[edit] External links
 |
This article about a children's television series is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
