¿Qué Pasa, USA?
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| ¿Qué Pasa, USA? | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Creator(s) | WPBT |
| Starring | Manolo Villaverde Ana Margarita Martínez-Casado Luis Oquendo Velia Martínez Esteban Echevarría Ana Margarita Menéndez |
| Country of origin | USA |
| No. of episodes | 39 |
| Production | |
| Running time | About 24 minutes (per episode) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | PBS |
| Original run | 1977 – 1979 |
| Links | |
| IMDb profile | |
¿Qué Pasa, U.S.A.? was America's first bilingual situation comedy, and the first sitcom to be produced for PBS. It was produced and taped in front of a live studio audience at PBS affiliate WPBT in Miami, Florida and aired on PBS affiliates nationwide. The program explored the trials and tribulations faced by the Peñas, a Cuban-American family living in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood, as they struggled to cope with a new country and a new language. The series was praised as being very true-to-life and accurately, if humorously, portraying the life and culture of Miami's Cuban-American population.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The series focused on the identity crisis of the members of the family as they were pulled in one direction by their elders - who wanted to maintain Cuban values and traditions - and pulled in other directions by the pressures of living in a predominantly Anglo society. This caused many misadventures for the entire Peña family as they get pulled in all directions in their attempt to preserve their heritage.
[edit] Use of Language
The series was bilingual, reflecting the mix of language often heard in Cuban-American neighborhoods - from Spanish in the home and English at the supermarket to the inevitable combining of both into "Spanglish". The use of language in the show also paralleled the real-life generational differences in many Cuban-American families of the era. The grandparents spoke almost 100% Spanish and were reluctant, even hostile at times, towards the idea of learning English. The parents were more or less fluent in English, though with a strong Cuban accent, and would alternate between the two languages depending on the situation. And the children, having been exposed for years to American culture, spoke primarily in lightly accented colloquial English, but were able to capably converse in Spanish as needed (such as when speaking to their grandparents).
[edit] Cast
- Pepe - Manolo Villaverde
- Juana - Ana Margarita Martínez-Casado
- Antonio - Luis Oquendo
- Adela - Velia Martínez
- Joe - Esteban Echevarría
- Carmen - Ana Margarita Menéndez
[edit] Broadcast History
The series initially ran for three seasons from 1977-1979 (39 episodes were produced) and continues to run in syndication. A DVD set of the entire series can be purchased via the series' official website.
