From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Villa Alegre
(
Spanish pronunciation:
[?bi?a
a?le??e]
,
Happy Village
) is a
children's television
show and 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
Public Broadcasting Service
(PBS)
public television
in 1973 and ran there until funding disputes ended the project in 1981.
[1]
[2]
The show was also seen in
syndication
on commercial stations in some markets, on at least a weekly basis.
Villa Alegre
was the creation of
Dr. Rene Cardenas
, who served as president of Bilingual Children's Television and Executive Producer.
[3]
Other producers included
Moctesuma Esparza
, who worked on only the first season,
[3]
and David Ochoa.
[4]
The show won a
Peabody Award
among other honors.
[5]
Description
[
edit
]
Villa Alegre
centered on life in a whimsical bilingual (Spanish and English) village. The program had an upbeat, catchy
salsa
-flavored
theme song
, which ended with adults and kids shouting "
¡
Villa Alegre!" The educational series was designed to teach English to Latino kids and Spanish to Anglo children. It featured various educational subjects (such as mathematics and science) and life lessons, in addition to
Hispanic culture
.
[6]
The executive producer was
Claudio Guzman
[7]
and the head writer was
Barbara Chain
. Her son Michael Chain
[8]
was a staff writer
[9]
who also composed much of the specialty music for the episodes.
[
citation needed
]
Performers
[
edit
]
Kenia Hernandez Cueto
played the child actress/singer Maria. Actress
Carmen Zapata
starred in the program for nine seasons in the role of Dona Luz, the mayor of Villa Alegre,
[10]
[11]
Mexican-American singer-actress
Marisela
appeared on the show in her youth.
[12]
Actress
Linda Dangcil
played Elena on the show.
[13]
The show was directed by
Argentine
actor and director
Alejandro Rey
(who co-starred with Dangcil on
The Flying Nun
).
[14]
Nono Arsu played Felipe
[7]
in the first and second seasons. Steve Franken and Hal Smith were regulars also.
Darryl Henriques
played Mimo
[7]
in the first and second seasons.
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Danini, Carmina. "Rivas-Estrella was part of the first national bilingual TV show,"
San Antonio Express-News
, 25 January 2006, State & Metro, p.4B.
- ^
a
b
Villa Alegre
at Retroland.com. Retrieved July 15, 2007.
[
unreliable source?
]
Archived
September 28, 2007, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
a
b
Villa Alegre
at the
Internet Movie Database
. Retrieved July 15, 2007.
- ^
"Militant found career in films",
Rocky Mountain News
(Colorado), 21 May 1994, Local section, special feature "La Gente", p.74A.
- ^
Payan, Victor.
"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.
- ^
Woolery, George W. (1985).
Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series
. The Scarecrow Press. pp. 535?537.
ISBN
0-8108-1651-2
.
- ^
a
b
c
Ethnic Groups: Hispanic/ Latino: R?Z: "Villa Alegre"
at TVAcres.com, 5 February 2013; archived
- ^
Michael Chain biography page
at the
Internet Movie Database
- ^
Michael Chain
at the Internet Movie Database
- ^
Kilmer, Lowe. "Celebrities" (column),
Watertown Daily Times
(New York), 7 October 2003, Lifestyles & Leisure section, p.B2.
- ^
Meier, Matt S.; Serri, Conchita Franco; Garcia, Richard A. (1997),
Notable Latino Americans: A Biographical Dictionary
, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, p. 410,
Most important, in her role of Dona Luz she was, for nine years, the heart and soul of the Public Broadcasting System's bilingual program, 'Villa Alegre.'
- ^
Arroyo, Blanca. "Ahora 'sin el', pero lista para volver - La cantante confiesa que a los 15 anos tuvo un torrido romance con Marco Antonio Solis y que le 'encantaria' 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 Solis and that she would be 'delighted' to work again with '
El Buki Mayor
'"],
La Opinion
(Los Angeles, California), May 6, 2001, Espectaculos section. (in Spanish)
- ^
Barnes, Mike (2009-05-08).
"Actress, dancer Linda Dangcil dies at 67, show"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
. Archived from
the original
on May 10, 2009
. Retrieved
2009-05-09
.
- ^
"Alejandro Rey, 57, starred in TV's 'The Flying Nun'
".
San Jose Mercury-News
. Associated Press. 23 May 1987. p. 10B, Local News.
External links
[
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]