In New York City, "Villa Alegre" ran on the three local PBS stations which were Channel 13, 25, and 31.
Do you remember which station the show ran in your town?
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La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la VILLA ALEGRE!
Sometimes called the bilingual Sesame Street, Villa Alegre was the inaugural project of Bilingual Childrens Television in 1970. Like Sesame Street and other programming from the Childrens Television Workshop, Villa Alegre (Happy Village in Spanish) was meant as educational television for the grade school set.
Also like its CTW counterparts, Villa Alegre was set in a fictional Mexican town (or village as the case may be) whose inhabitants were a mix of roving parent-less children, adult-aged authority figures and assorted fantastical characters including the town parrot.
Each episode of Villa Alegre revolved around a central theme such as Energy, Food, or Family, exploring that theme through film and video segments in locales around the Happy Village. The village market, run by actress Carmen Zapata, served as a centerpiece to town activities. The children often gathered there to ask Carmen advice and questions, and the viewers at home would learn Spanish words from Zapata. Go away kids! The store is cerrado! or Okay, now you can come back inthe door is abierto! Lessons in counting to 10 in Spanish were likewise a regular feature of Villa Alegre. The film segments usually illustrated some facet of the episodes theme. In a show about energy, one segment was devoted to how a Ferris wheel works.
The rest of the lessons in Villa Alegre were delivered through songs. Dr. Moises Rodriguez composed all of the songs for the show, including the very memorable theme, an infectious classic Mexican style melody in a mariachi arrangement of guitar and brass. The all-Spanish vocals were performed by a chorus of children, and for most people who have not seen the show since its original run, it is the only detail that they can remember. That and the visual complement to the theme: a miniature version of the village against a night sky that had, hovering above it, the words VILLA ALEGRE as they burst into a frenzy of fireworks. All other songs were performed by various cast members and children.
Villa Alegre was cancelled after a battle over funding in 1980, and for the most part it hasnt been seen since. Several attempts were made at reviving or redistributing Villa Alegre, but to date all have failed. Gone, but not forgotten by a long shot. Just try humming a few bars of the theme in a crowded roomLa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la and listen for people answering you with a rousing VILLA ALEGRE!
The CricketSoda Myspace Profile Editor
Who I'd like to meet: Alejandro Rey (R.I.P. - 21 May 1987) Director,
Charles Ed Rickey (R.I.P. 2002) Director,
Pat Shields (R.I.P. 1993) Director,
Claudio Guzman (R.I.P. - July 12th 2008) Producer,
Moises Rodriguez Music,
Bob Baker King of Marionettes,
CAST:
Barbara Chain Writer,
Michael Chain Writer,
Gilbert Duron Writer,
Carlos Saens Writer,
Garner Simmons Writer,
Linda Dangcil as Elena,
Hector Elias as Mario,
Maria Grimm as Soluna,
Darryl Henriques as Mimo,
Rodolfo Hoyos Jr. as (as Rodolfo Hoyos),
Marco Antonio Martinez as Himself,
Julio Medina as El Vendedor,
Federico Roberto as El Capitan,
Peter Santana as Pablo,
David Yanez as Carlos,
Carmen Zapata as Luz
OK you'll like this but you'll need to follow these directions EXACTLY to get perfect results. Put the following into the address area of your web-browser. Type a random number between 1 and 100 then a dot and then type your favorite food and then a dot and then type your current mood and then a dot and then type "retwistic" (without the quotes) and then a dot and then type com and then hit enter. Let me know how it works out!
I have very sad news. Today I have found out that Linda Dangcil who played "Elena" on Villa Alegre for many years has passed away. She was a great actress, singer, dancer, and the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I will miss you, God bless you and your family. Joaquin (aka Francisco )
I've been trying to get my hands on the LP's that I had when I was growing up in Brooklyn in the 70's and you came up in my Google search.I loved the cartoon with the Aztec robot.I want to be able to share this show with my baby girl Iris who is due on Thursday. I'd settle for a bootleg video tape at this point.
One night the theme from Villa Alegre popped into my head, so I searched. I have fond childhood memories of watching the show, which made me want to learn more español. ¡gracias a todos!
I just wanted to take this time to thank you for this my space page. I believe i googled it and found out there was a my space. Thanks for having this, i think it's great cause i often wondered if i would ever see Villa Alegre or hear anything about the show. Glad to know that there are so many people that still remember the show, which brings back so many memories of my childhood. Just hearing the opening song reminds me of how i would sit infront of the Magnavox console tv we had in the living room at the time and watch one of my favorite shows. Being raised in a small town Eagle Pass,Tx a bordertown with Mexico, there weren't that many tv stations to watch and even if there were i would've probably have chosen to watch Villa Alegre. THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL OF THIS.
Hello Villa Alegre!!! Watched it all the time as child. It helped me to learn the only spanish I still know today! My favorite was MEMO! Bring Villa Alegre back...
High! Pablo here, reporting from Inner Space to wish you a great 2009! (we interrupt this comment with a brief announcement): Pablo's first new album in 5 years,"Take Two," Is Here & Now! -16 tracks of sugar coated insanity - Stop by my page to hear 4 new songs! (P.S. the new album is best appreciated on a higher plane....;)) God bless!!! P
I found this page via the Facebook page. I used to watch VA on WEDU in Tampa, FL. I never picked up Spanish, but those songs have never left my head. La la la la la la la la la la la la la!
On a Fargo North sketch (The Electric Company), while trying to decode the message "Swimmers are yummy", one of his guesses is "Cookies are yummy". Then he saya, "It's probably sent by that blue monster on... what's the name of that show? Oh yeah, Villa Alegre!"
I was born in LA County in 1971, so I think I was required to watch this show. I loved it. Though I can only speak a few phrases in Spanish now, I've been told that my pronunciation is perfect. I owe that to this show.
I'm so glad you guys have a MySpace!!! Now maybe people will stop thinking I made it all up in my head! I still sing the closing song, for some reason I cant remember the opening, but I always hum the closing as I am closing my Library..."Good bye my friends, our show is over..."
I remember as a little kid sitting in front of the tv and singing the villa alegre theme song. Being from a mexican family it was great to have such a show on...Now theres only DORA....:(
Thank you for the add! You know it's amazing-so many of the people I know don't remember this wonderful show! I'm multiethnic, and my parents always had us watch things that would help us to learn more about our culture/heritage, and this was one of those shows! I would LOVE for my children & nieces & nephews to be able to see it. This show needs to be on DVD! Dee
For years I've been trying to find ANYTHING about Villa Alegre, which I totally loved when I was a child and was heartbroken when it went off the air. So I decided to try the search again and this page came up! I couldn't believe it! I had been told the reason that nothing could be found is because all videos and images from the program had burned in a fire. Thank you for this site and for the memories! =:D
The other morning the theme song was stuck in my mind, so I searched online for any information I could find about the show. The Wikipedia article I found included a link to this page. I was very young when it was on the air, so I don't remember details of the show. I just remember feeling happy whenever the theme song would come on!
man, you know that I mention it to my husband who is from Paterson, NJ and he said he never saw it, but he remembers Sesame Street, and other shows. Other people from NJ don't even know what I am talking about. But I saw it in Brooklyn, NY. ;)
I found out that the great Claudio Guzman is now gone. He was a great director and producer with great vision. Thank you for letting me be on your show, God Bless you!
Growing up, I got to speak Spanish at Grandma Maria's, Norwegian at Mathilda's, and Samoan and Tagalog at school. When mom was around, though, it was strictly English-Only. No reading, no writing, no musing aloud — that was a tv-centric household. If her Me Generation cohort had seen just what their kids were learning from Villa Alegre, Vegetable Soup, Hot Fudge, Snippets, etc, and how their multicultural polyglot brainiac identities were bolstered, not dissolved, by all that cathode ray exposure, I might have had to go play outside. Thank you, Villa Alegre, for keeping me safe from the wind and fog [SF in the summers], for letting me whisper in Spanish at home, and especially for that effing catchy theme song. My husband had gurus and frog ponds and hippies to play with, growing up, so missed out. But after finding your theme song, here, and singing it pretty much nonstop the last few days, I think he's catching on. ;) Thanks again.
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