In 1969, the national public educational television network in the United States, PBS (public broadcasting service) broadcast the first episode of a children’s series like no other, whose message of inclusion and love of neighbor has led it to become an iconic figure for the pop culture. The imaginary world of the Muppets, created by puppeteer Jim Henson, came to life once a week to mix the human plane with the magic behind various curious characters.
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The cast made up of black and Latino characters caused a stir in American society, which was still far from accepting non-white communities within its social group. The dialogues of inclusion, learning and friendship between humans became an integral part of the program, however, what really caught the attention was the interaction between the ‘Muppets’, some figures imagined by Jim Henson, and real life. Life lessons like having healthy habits, eating vegetables, and making friends became fun, sensitive, and upbeat monologues, which the youngsters immediately identified with.
‘Big Bird’ quickly became the best friend of children and together with his group of friends that included characters such as: Beto and Enrique, Count Count, Archibaldo and Elmo himself, they quickly became popular within the content grid on television, for which it was necessary to find a way to adapt the tenants of ‘Plaza Sésamo’ to other formats, some that included Latino or Hispanic roles. From there they were born: Pancho Contreras, Lola and Abelardo, who came together as the distant cousins of the gang of American puppets.
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Now, almost 51 years after the first episode of the children’s program HBO, he is preparing a documentary that aims to tell the story behind the magic that makes up Sesame Street. The show that was conceived in the middle of the ‘boom’ of television and invaded the imagination of thousands of children, already has its first preview, which takes a walk through the original recording set, its creators and the most faithful audience of all the times; not without first detailing the tribulations that the work team went through. The real way to make something remain forever in the imagination of an audience turned out to be: keep it alive through television.
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