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.
Muppet characters created for the shows include pink full-body bird Caponata and green snail Perezgil from the late 70s, brown full-body monster Don Pimpón and full-body pink hedgehog Espinete from the mid 80s, and blue full-body catlike Muppet Bluki, yellow monster Vera, owl Bubo and humanoid Muppet Gaspar from the late 90s.
==First run: Late 70s==
The show originally aired in Spain in the late 70s, as Ábrete Sésamo, 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 theme song used for this era was the original instrumental closing theme from the American production. 
The original show wasn't successful, and it was cancelled in 1980.
==Second run: 1983 - 1987==
A second Barrio Sésamo co-production began 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.
The series uses a re-recorded disco version of the original Sesame Street theme, with a female chorus humming the lyrics. 
In 1989, a clip of Don Pimpón singing "Frutos Sanos" was included in the special Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting.
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==
thumb|300px|Barrio Sésamo on the set
thumb|300px|Barrio Sésamo - 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).
The theme song is now played in D major and later in the series, was given lyrics for the first time after years of remaining instrumental.
Television Espanola S. A. commissioned 130 episodes in 1996. Each was filmed in Catalan during the morning, then in Castillian in the afternoon. The Catalan episodes were aired as Barri Sesam."Leisure time: Sesame Street has new international addresses", The Courier-News (Bridgewater, New Jersey), 2 September 1996, page 10.
==Fourth run: 2017 - Onward==
Since 2017, the show is part of the HBO programming in Spain under its original title, Sesame Street, with dubbed episodes of the HBO seasons.
==Spanish names for American Muppets==
*Kermit: La Rana Gustavo
*Ernie: Epi
*Bert: Blas
*Grover: Coco
**Super Grover: Súper Coco
**Marshal Grover: Sheriff Coco 
*Fred the Wonder Horse: La Jaca Paca (jaca means pony), later changed to Fred
*Cookie Monster: Triqui, el monstruo de las galletas
*Count von Count: El Conde Draco
*Telly Monster: Monstruo Teo
*Oscar the Grouch: Óscar el Gruñón
*Big Bird: Paco Pico
**In some books and other media, he is wrongly called "Caponata", a different character from him from the First Series
*Prairie Dawn: Belinda (initially); Aurora (Third Series onwards)
*Guy Smiley: Pepe Sonrisas
*Forgetful Jones: Juan Olvida
*Twiddlebugs: Los Nabucodonosorcitos ("The Little Nabucodonosor's"), for King Nebuchadnezzar II (called Nabucodonosor in Spanish) of Babylon.
==Original Cast (1979-1980)==
===Muppets===
*Jesús Alcaide as Perezgil
*Emma Cohen as Caponata
===Humans===
*Conchita Goyanes as Adela
*Petri Martínez as Petri
*José Riesgo as Basilio
*Alfonso Vallejo as Manolo
*Juan Margallo as Desi
==Second Series Cast (1983-1987)==
===Muppets===
*Alfonso Vallejo as Don Pimpón
*Chelo Vivares as Espinete
*Iñaki Echevarria as Kurro (one episode)
===Humans===
*José E. Camacho as Antonio
*Isabel Castro as Ana
*Cristina Higueras as Cristina
*Mari Luz Olier as Matilde
*José Riesgo as Julián
*Jesús Ruyman as Jesús
*Juan Ramón Sánchez as Chema the baker
*Toni Sevilla as Desi
*Carmelo Espinosa as various roles
*Antonio Alfonso
*Maria Luisa Bernal
*Elvira Menéndez
*Alfonso Castizo
*Encarna Abad
===The Kids===
*Susana Osuna as Susana
*Francisco Javier as Frank
*Ruth Abellán as Ruth
*Roberto Mayor as Roberto
*Mónica Díaz as Mónica
*Francisco Sánchez
==Third Series Cast (1996-2000)==
===Muppets===
*Joan Bentallé as Bluki, a big blue cat-like character
*Rosa Pou as Vera, a young yellow monster
*Vicent Ortolà as Gaspar, employee at Suleiman's greengrocer
*Jordi Arús as Bubo, an old owl who lives in the park
*Jordi Farres as Bubo (1999-2000) and Gaspar right hand
*Additional Puppeteers: Nartxi Azcargorta, Ingrid Domingo and Alvaro Angosto
===Market workers===
*Miquel Àngel Ripeu as Suleiman, the vegetable salesman
*Mireia Villanueva as Rebeca, a saleswoman in the market
*Teresa Soler as Nati, the fishmonger and Bernardo's daughter
*Ramon Teixidor as Bernardo, a fisherman and Nati's father
*Joan Manuel Orfila as Marcial, the tinsmith
*Gloria Roig as Elena, owner of the haberdashery and Eduardo's mother
===Other adults===
*Imma Colomer as Emma, the antique saleswoman
*Sergi Calleja as Basilio, the park gardener
*Joan Gilbert as Eduardo, the carpenter and Elena's son
*Toni Sevilla as Desi, who works with his spouse in a hotel
*Carme Abril as Amanda, who works with her husband in a hotel
*Karim Alami as Salim, the waiter in the hotel
*Roser Campanya as Mercedes, the librarian
*Sebasitan Porras as Manuel, a businessman and Fatima's husband
*Mercedes Porras as Fatima, a doctor and Manuel's wife
*Rubén Ametllé as Ramón
*Bastian, the cookery salesman
===Kids===
*Joan Roses as Eloy, Desi and Amanda's son
*David Bosch as Narciso, a boy who love the computers
*Teresa Maria Badal as Sonia, a girl who usually plays with the other kids
*Dolores Navarro as Carlota, daughter of Manuel and Fatima
==Sources==
==See also==
*Barrio Sésamo Merchandise
*Monstruos Supersanos (2012)
*Barrio Sésamo episodes with recycled plots (Second Run)
*Barrio Sésamo Theater
==External links==
*Youtube: First run behind the scenes
*Youtube: Second run opening
*Youtube: Gala infantil 2006: remembering Espinete and friends
*Dailymotion: christmas special (semi behind the scenes)
*https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-20001014-152.html (Anything Muppets from the co-production of Sesame Street Spain in 2000)
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Category:International Sesame Street Shows
Category:Barrio Sésamo