Sonia Manzano, who played Maria on ‘Sesame Street,’ discussed “From the South Bronx to Sesame Street: A Story of Inclusion and Belonging” in Bowling Green Thursday.
After being on Sesame Street for 44 years, Sonia Manzano is still delighting families and children with humor and tidbits of advice.
The Wood County District Public Library Foundation invited Manzano to share her stories of inclusion and belonging. She spoke for 45 minutes Thursday in the Bowling Green City Schools Performing Arts Center.
As a first-generation Puerto Rican born on the mainland, Manzano overcame the stereotype that because she was poor and brown, she was dumb.
She grew up in the South Bronx, and shared stories of the teachers that inspired her.
She talked about her years in elementary school and junior high.
She was encouraged to audition for the High School of Performing Arts and after being accepted, she found out just how lacking her education had been.
“I met firsthand the education gap that ‘Sesame Street’ was trying to correct years later,” she said.
She didn’t have the basic education the middle-class kids had.
She got the role of Marie on “Sesame Street,” and eventually began writing scripts for the show.
In the questions and answers after the presentation, someone asked what her favorite episodes were.
“Goodbye, Mr. Hooper,” she responded. The episode explained the death of puppeteer Carroll Spinney.
The front office was vetoed when it suggested explaining his absence by saying he had retired or went on vacation.
The cast told Big Bird he had died and while it will never be the same without him, they will always have their memories.
It was shot in one emotional take, Manzano said.
She also listed the episode where she got married and where she gave birth to her daughter.
Manzano said it was an exciting time in 1969 when “Sesame Street” began, and children were seen in a new light and adults realized youngsters picked up information quicker than they first thought.
While “Sesame Street” was aimed at preschoolers, “we were stunned that 3-year-olds were picking up the same information,” Manzano said.
The show was so groundbreaking, teachers had to change their curriculums, she said.
“That one hour of television a day really paid off,” she said.
She remembers as a kid being thirsty for knowledge and the 1960s was a wonderful time to come of age.
“I became aware of my culture,” which gave her the confidence to hold up to Big Bird, Groucho and Elmo.
When she first listed those characters, a child in the audience shouted “Muppets!”
Being confident in herself gave her the confidence to be Maria, she said.
She recalled going into the studio and watching Lena Horne sing “Bein’ Green” with Kermit.
“I was stunned,” she said, and explained the song was about race, self-esteem, and sharing.
“I was proud that the show gave children the respect that they could understand what they could understand, that the song worked on many levels and the children could take what they could understand and leave the rest behind,” she said.
Manzano retired from the show in 2014.
She saw kids overwhelmed at school, so she developed “Alma’s Way” for PBS. The animated show is about a 6-year-old girl who lives in the Bronx with her family and friends. She faces lots of problems every day, and always stops, listens, looks, thinks to solve those problems.
“It’s an art that we’re losing too quickly,” she said about critical thinking.
Manzano said she is inspired by children, that they aren’t empty vessels.
Now a best-selling author, Manzano shared photos of her youth in her memoir, “Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx.”
“Coming Up Cuban,” published in 2022, explains the impact of the 1959 Cuban Revolution on four children from very different walks of life.
She has penned three picture books, with the latest promoting unity by celebrating cultural and generational unity.
She has been praised for being the first Latino on national television, but she was not the first capable, she said.
“There were others who had the talent. I was the first to get through the door,” she said.
