Sonia Manzano

Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

Jesse Thorn

Society & Culture

4.5 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 5 January 2024

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Sonia Manzano is a legend of kids TV. She played Maria on Sesame Street for four decades and changed what children's media looked like. In 2021, she premiered a children's cartoon of her own called Alma's Way. On Bullseye, we're looking back at our conversation with Sonia: she talked with us about the show's first season and her childhood in the Bronx. Plus, what it's like when she meets fans in real life. Turns out: lots of tears!

Transcript

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0:00.0	Bullseye with Jesse Thorne is a production of Maximum Fund.org and is distributed by NPR.
0:12.4	For Maximum Fun.org and NPR, it's Bullseye. For maximum fun
0:13.1	fun dot org and n PR it's bullseye.
0:15.0	In 1971.
0:20.0	In 1971 Sonia Monsanto was in her early 20s.
0:25.0	She was a junior in college studying acting.
0:29.0	She'd just gone back home to New York for her first gig,
0:32.0	a role in an off-Broadway musical called Godspell.
0:35.0	While she was there, she got an audition for another part.
0:38.0	This time, it was a TV show for kids, set in New York.
0:42.0	She got that part, and her life changed forever. The
0:46.1	show of course was Sesame Street. Sonia played Maria, one of the human friends to Big Bird and Grover and the Count.
0:55.6	Maria!
0:57.6	Oh, did I give you a scare?
0:58.8	Yes.
0:59.8	Oh, sorry.
1:00.8	I just wanted to find out, why are you walking around like that muttering to yourself?
1:04.0	Well I'm trying to figure out the right way to go in there and ask Lisa give me a raise.
1:10.0	Oh I see. Uh Maria? What's a raise? Oh, I see.
1:13.0	Uh, Maria?
1:14.0	Huh? What's a raise?
1:15.0	Well, it means that I'm going to ask him to pay me more money for the work I do in the
	...

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