Interview:
Sonia Manzano,
documentary subject,
Ernie Bustamante,
director,
"Street Smart: Lessons from a TV Icon"
Directed by Ernie Bustamante, Street Smart: Lessons from a TV Icon offers a warm and loving celebration of the life, career, and accomplishments of one of Sesame Street’s longest-serving and most influential cast members, Sonia Manzano. Inspired by Manzano’s 2015 memoir “Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx,” the documentary offers a deep dive into the self-described “Nuyorican”’s heritage and upbringing, her draw to acting, and the circumstances that resulted in her casting as Sesame Street’s pragmatic but kindhearted Maria. Told in the form of invaluable life lessons, Street Smart examines the responsibility Manzano accepted with relish when she joined the PBS series in 1971 as one of the first authentic Latina characters on television, which eventually led to her winning 15 Emmy Awards for her writing in her bid to ensure the show offered truthful and vibrant representation of the Latinx community. Street Smart includes interviews with U.S. Supreme Court Justice and fellow South Bronxite Sonia Sotomayor, Godspell composer Stephen Schwartz, Sesame Street cast member Alison Bartlett, Elmo puppeteer Ryan Dillon, and Rosita puppeteer Carmen Osbahr-Vertiz. Street Smart: Lessons from a TV Icon will screen at 8:30 p.m. May 14 at the AFS Cinema during the Cine Las Americas International Film Festival with Sonia Manzano and director Ernie Bustamante in attendance. In addition to starring as Maria on Sesame Street from 1971-2015, Sonia Manzano appeared in the series’ various spinoff projects, including the film Follow That Bird and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland. She has also lent her voice to the animated children’s shows The Casagrandes and The Loud House. The stage veteran and children’s book author also created the PBS kids animated series Alma’s Way, which premiered its third season earlier this year. Ernie Bustamante, who makes his feature directorial debut with Street Smart: Lessons from a TV Icon, received in 2022 a Children’s & Family Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Preschool Animated Program for Alma’s Way. Bustamante has also written for Lab Rats, Liv and Maddie, and Rosie’s Rules. He created the 2019 comedy series Border Patrol.
Aired: May 13, 2026. Web sites: https://www.streetsmartfilm.com/ https://soniamanzano.com/ https://www.votebustamante.com/ https://cinelasamericas.org/events/streetsmartlessonsfromatvicon/ |
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