Barrio Sésamo Barrio Sésamo is the Spanish " Sesame Street " co - production ( literally " Sesame Neighborhood " ) . There have been three different versions of the show , beginning in the late 70s and running on and off through 2000 . All of the shows aired on TV España . First run : Late 70s . The show originally aired in Spain in the late 70s , as a dubbed version of the American " Sesame Street " . In 1979 , they created their own characters - - Caponata , an orange , purple and yellow bird with curly pink hair ( a full - body Muppet and counterpart to Big Bird ) , and Perezgil , a green snail with glasses ( this character is permanently set on a wall ) - - while retaining the American characters ( Ernie and Bert , Kermit and Grover , etc . ) for inserts . American Muppets were renamed so that Spanish - speaking child audiences would not get confused with English writing norms . A list of Spanish names is provided below . The original show wasn ' t successful , and it was cancelled in 1980 . Second run : 1983 - 1987 . From 1981 to 1983 , a different children ' s program on Spanish television , " La Cometa Blanca " , included some sketches from " Sesame Street " . This program was directed by Muppet fan Lolo Rico . It also featured some actors which would later appear in " Barrio Sésamo " , mainly Mari Luz Olier , Alfonso Vallejo and the child - actress Ruth Gabriel ( then known as Ruth Abellán ) . The " Sesame Street " sketches were successful with their young audience , so " Sesame Street " was given another chance in 1983 with Espinete ( a hedgehog ) and Don Pimpón ( a friendly monster ) . Both characters were full - body Muppets . A human character who gained popularity in this version was Chema , an adult baker . Also Ana ( a young student ) , Julían ( a kiosk salesman ) , two children ( Roberto and Ruth , with their parents Matilde and Antonio . Again , it retained American Muppet inserts . The show only aired until 1987 , although it ' s still famous and loved by the generation that watched it . It was replaced by a similar series , " Los mundos de Yupi " ( " Yupi ' s Worlds " ) , which featured Spanish puppets . Actor Alfonso Vallejo , who performed Don Pimpón on " Barrio Sésamo " , was cast as Astrako - - a non - puppet character in a Buzz Lightyear - like spacesuit with a personality that was much like Don Pimpón . Yupi was a Muppet - like alien , and two Ernie and Bert - style astronauts were also featured . " Los Mundos de Yupi " lasted from 1988 to 1990 . The series was cancelled after its third season , but was not replaced with " Barrio Sésamo " . The third run of " Barrio Sésamo " on Spanish TV would not take place until 1996 . There was a small reunion in 2006 on " Gala Infantil " , hosted by Miriam Díaz - Aroca . Together with Espinete , Don Pimpón , Chema and Ana she looked back at the highlights of the show . Third run : 1996 - 2000 . In 1996 , the show returned with more new characters : Bluki ( a blue full - body catlike Muppet ) , Vera ( a yellow monster ) , Bubo ( an owl ) and Gaspar ( a human Muppet ) . Additional characters that made occasional appearances included a wild monster with red fur and a healthy appetite - portraying a role similar to Cookie Monster ' s - and a tan Anything Muppet that could be turned into various different characters ( such as a baby , a girl friend of Vera ' s , a clumsy man with a moustache , or a pig ) . Spanish names for American Muppets . American muppets were renamed for Spanish scenes , being their names in Spanish ( including notes in parenthesis if needed ) :