Villa Alegre (TV series)

Villa Alegre (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbiʎa aˈleɣɾe], 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 at least weekly in some markets.

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]

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ a b Villa Alegre at Retroland.com. Retrieved July 15, 2007.[unreliable source?] Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b Villa Alegre at the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved July 15, 2007.
  4. ^ "Militant found career in films", Rocky Mountain News (Colorado), 21 May 1994, Local section, special feature "La Gente", p.74A.
  5. ^ 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.