PLAZA SÉSAMO has begun production on its tenth season. Shooting in Televisa's San Angel studios, the new season focuses on Healthy Habits and includes original segments such as "Plaza Olimpiadas," in which well-known Mexican and Latin American athletes Ana Guevara, KiKin Fonseca and Fernando Platas encourage children and their families to lead a safe and balanced lifestyle through exercise and healthy eating habits. In "Cantando por una fruta," actor Adal Ramones hosts an AMERICAN IDOL parody-a singing contest starring fruit Muppets. Season 10 will begin airing on Televisa and Discovery Kids in October 2006.
The new season continues to help children in Mexico and Latin America prepare for school by presenting the cognitive fundamentals about letters and numbers, and will also feature important messages about healthy eating habits, enjoying fun activities safely, and appreciating cultural diversity. In response to high levels of preventable illnesses and injuries among preschoolers in the region, new PLAZA SÉSAMO segments will model healthy and safe behaviors such as wearing a safety belt in the car, being physically active and eating healthy foods.
In addition, Colombian children will see their stories come to life when they are given cameras to create live action films for the series. To assist in the creation of new animated segments, primary school Colombian kids 5 to 9, will participate in workshops where they tell stories which will then be visualized through their own and adult-assisted drawings. The segments are part of an effort to showcase the rich cultural diversity of Latin America, as well as enhance PLAZA SÉSAMO's effort to reflect the lives of children throughout the region.
Another special feature of the new season will include an Argentine family moving to PLAZA SÉSAMO. The Plaza family will welcome the new family and learn about what makes Argentinean culture unique and how to respect and understand people from different backgrounds.
PLAZA SÉSAMO is made possible by partners nonprofit educational organization Sesame Workshop, leading pan-regional Latin American pay-TV children's network Discovery Kids, Mexico's largest terrestrial producer and broadcaster Televisa and U.S. broadcaster TeleFutura.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
