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Maya & Miguel is a children's television animated series produced by Scholastic Studios. It appears on PBS as part of the PBS Kids Go! lineup and on the CBBC channel in the UK. The show ran from October 11, 2004 to October 10, 2007, and had one season and 65 episodes. Centering on the lives of pre-teen Hispanic twins named Maya and Miguel Santos and their friends, the program is aimed at promoting multiculturalism and education in general. It is geared to the 5-9 age range. Part of the dialogue in each episode in the English version is in Spanish but only individual words or phrases which are explained in English.
The show presents culture and language learning as fun, relevant and rewarding for all children, with a special emphasis on the Latino population. The show chronicles the adventures, and sometimes misadventures, of fraternal twins Maya and Miguel Santos and features their family, friends and a diverse neighborhood. This show centers on Maya's well-intentioned meddling in her family and friends' lives, ultimately creating new quandaries to fix. Their mother is from Mexico, and their father is from Puerto Rico. The underlying message is the importance of doing good for the family and community, and the philosophy that shared happiness is greater than personal gain. The show presents a positive, culturally rich portrayal of Latino family, language and cultures. In some markets, each episode ends with Maya announcing, "Here's what some of our friends are up to," introducing clips of children engaging and interacting in ways consistent with the show's themes. Maya concludes episodes by exhorting viewers to "visit your local library like 'Maya & Miguel'".
Characters
The show centers on 11 main characters. Other characters are included, such as family, but the show mainly revolves around these characters:
Maya Santos: Maya is a sweet, gentle, and energetic girl of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent. She always manages to include her twin brother and friends into her crazy adventures. Whenever Maya comes up with an idea, she always says "¡Éso es!" (That's it!) and her hair bobbles light up; as shown in "The Bet" they will continue to glow until she says "¡Éso es!". She can sometimes be very stubborn, ignorant, and naive, and tends to get involved in other people's business. Although most of her ideas don't go the way she plans them, they somehow manage to accomplish their original objective. Maya's heart is always in the right place. Voiced by Candi Milo.
Miguel Santos: Maya's older twin. Miguel is slightly more practical and sensible than his sister, and enjoys playing soccer and drawing. Every time Maya gets an idea, he gets a bad feeling about it. He knows Maya means well, but he thinks she gets more involved in other people's problems than need be. He keeps track of Maya's ideas that have gone wrong, which annoys Maya. However, he would sometimes admit that an idea of hers is the best idea yet. He is also slightly smarter than his sister. He has a crush on a girl named Kylie, who apparently feels the same way. Voiced by Nika Futterman.
Theo: Miguel's best friend and soccer buddy. He is African-American. Theo loves sports as much as Miguel does. Theo often gets straight A's in his classes. He is the most intelligent of the kids. He is seen using gadgets which he made himself. Theo is often the voice of reason among his friends. Voiced by Jerod Mixon.
Maggie: Maya's Chinese-American friend. She is very dramatic, fashionable, and talented. She rarely disagrees with Maya's ideas. Voiced by Lucy Liu.
Chrissy: Maya's Dominican-American friend, and describes herself as Afro-Dominican. She is very sensitive and level-headed, though sometimes she can also be gullible. Chrissy sometimes points out the flaws in Maya's plans, similar to Miguel. She also loves animals. Voiced by Beth Payne.
Andy: Miguel's other friend. He is an English-American boy who was born with only one arm. Often seen in the background with Miguel and Theo, he likes to play soccer, basketball, and baseball. Andy moved to Maya and Miguel's neighborhood from Wisconsin. Voiced by Jeannie Elias.
Tito Chávez: Maya and Miguel's cousin who moved to the U.S.A. from Mexico with his parents. He lives in the same apartment complex. He admires his cousin Miguel; in the episode "I've Got to Be 'Mi-Guel'" he is shown pretending to act as if he is Miguel (which makes Miguel rather pleased, but eventually annoyed at one point). He loves to play soccer like the twins. Voiced by Candi Milo.
Abuela Elena: Maya and Miguel's grandmother. Voiced by Lupe Ontiveros.
Paco: A bilingual parrot who is the twins' pet, originally owned by their abuela. Most commonly heard saying "Pretty Bird" and "What about Paco, what about Paco?". He often gets loose, causing much trouble and confusion. Paco also often reacts to figures of speech (mostly ones about birds), thinking they are real. Voiced by Carlos Alazraqui.
Rosa Santos: Santiago's wife and Maya and Miguel's mother who was originally from Mexico. Voiced by Elizabeth Peña.
Santiago Santos: Rosa's husband and Maya and Miguel's father who was originally from Puerto Rico. Voiced by Carlos Ponce.
Cast
Carlos Alazraqui as Paco/Mr. Nguyen/Ernesto Chavez
There have been only 3 Maya & Miguel DVD and VHS releases. There are no plans for releasing the complete seasons on DVD, although all 65 episodes of the series are available on iTunes.
