Have you ever seen Carrascolendas?

[JaniceFerSure]

Hiya.I remember in the 70s,there was a tv show called Carrascolendas.Just wondering if any of the gen-xers here at MC remember anything about it.Here is an article on it.
The Austin Chronicle Screens: Have You Ever Been to Carrascolendas?

"Have you ever been to Carrascolendas,


Carrascolendas, Carrascolendas?

If you've never been to Carrascolendas,

Come along, come along,

Come along, come along,

To Carrascolendas." -- lyrics to Carrascolendas theme song

 

[ChildActress]

I was a child actress on Carrascolendas

Hello. Did you want or need additional information on the show. I was one of the children on the show from 1972 until in went off the air in 1977-78.
Unfortunately, I missed out on the interview for Belinda Acosta's article in the Austin Chronicle. She called me, and we were to set up an interview time, but she never called me back. The next thing I know, the article is already printed. It turns out, they moved up her deadline, and she had to submit what she had already gathered. Oh well... such is life.

 

[Son of Enik]

As I stated in another thread, being half Hispanic, I never missed Carrascolendas. I'm glad to see the show is still remembered.
ChildActress, who were you on the show? I'd love to know and hear more about your time working on such a great show.

 

[ChildActress]

Carrascolendas... "remembered?"

That's an understatement! Honey, I lived it!

And, I must say, they were THE BEST days of my life.

I was just "Jackie" on the show. I didn't get any special stage name like some of the other kids. Although, I was in a good number of the shows. I was the littlest one of the bunch, and I had long dark hair. There was even a show where I played a lead part and got to do a duet with Agapito, the lion. In that one, my mom had just had a baby, and I was feeling left out. Agapito was having a series of mishaps during the day and kept being shooed away. We both ended up with our bags packed at the bus stop.

You would have only been 2-3 years old when the show was in full swing. In the beginning, there were story lines, but later the format changed to short skits and take-offs on sit-coms of the time. We had Bunny & Cher, Great Times, some commercial spoofs and one on the Perry Mason show. It lasted a good seven or eight seasons. There was also another show that aired right after Carrascolendas. It was called Sonrisas. Do you remember that one? I did that one for two years. It didn't make the third season. By that time, I was getting into my teens. Other things were calling.

So, you're a DJ? I tried to get into broadcasting, but it didn't work out. I left the industry and boycotted the station.

I found this site by accident, but I'm happy to talk about the show more, if you want to hear. You can also feel free to ask questions.

 

[sesameguy]

Thanks for your postings, ChildActress! It must have been cool to be a part of the show.

As a "Sesame Street" collector, I have to ask - are you lucky enough to have any episodes of Carrascolendas on tape? I'm not sure if they gave out "courtesy videos" of the show back then, but if you happen to have anything like that, it's obviously quite unique.

 

[ChildActress]

No courtesy tapes

Unfortunately, we did not receive any kind of momentos. I have a poster of the show in it's beginnings with all the kids, including myself in a group pose in front of the "Clubhouse." I've also researched the location of the tapes. They are (were) being kept on mag reels at a national educational archives library in NE, which has since been sold. I tried to buy some copies, but it was not going to be cheap (around $350 ea. and I was on at least 25 shows). They'd have to dub the tapes from the magnetic reels, which they said was "not cost prohibitive." Then, the mag reels contain several shows on each, none of which were titled, only numbered. That means going through each tape individually, literally hours of tape. They have no plans to release anything on DVD, nor begin re-running the shows.
I wish I were a kid again...

 

[Son of Enik]

Unfortunately, we did not receive any kind of momentos. I have a poster of the show in it's beginnings with all the kids, including myself in a group pose in front of the "Clubhouse." I've also researched the location of the tapes. They are (were) being kept on mag reels at a national educational archives library in NE, which has since been sold. I tried to buy some copies, but it was not going to be cheap (around $350 ea. and I was on at least 25 shows). They'd have to dub the tapes from the magnetic reels, which they said was "not cost prohibitive." Then, the mag reels contain several shows on each, none of which were titled, only numbered. That means going through each tape individually, literally hours of tape. They have no plans to release anything on DVD, nor begin re-running the shows.
I wish I were a kid again...

That's a shame...I would love to see those old shows again.

 

[Fragglemuppet]

So I finally decided to check this thread out out of curiosity...
No, I've never heard of the show either, but it sounds interesting! It's great that you came to comment, Child Actress! It's a shame that the shows are so inaccessible; thuespecially since it did sound so interesting.
Was it in any way afiliated with the Childrens' Television Workshop?

 

[ChildActress]

Yes, the show was sponsored by The Children's Television Workshop. However, the grant was for only five years, so by 1975, the show was over. Funny you guys mention Villa Allegre. They were our major "competitor." They filmed in NY, while we filmed in Austin. Some of the very early shows filmed in San Antonio and the Chicago areas. After Carrascolendas, there was another show called Sonrisas (Smiles). That one was granted for two years, and we got to do on-location filming around Austin and the San Antonio areas. I've heard plenty of people say they couldn't get into it, because it was too much Spanish, but I promise you, if you heard it in Spanish, another person had the same line in English. For instance, a scene might have read like this...
Jackie: No tengo dinero para dulce.
Maria: What? You have no money for candy?
This is how you learned Spanish with us...
It really was very bilingual! I'm glad so many people enjoyed it. I with others had the opportunity to see it. It really disappoints me that we can't get re-runs. When I asked, they said the show "looked" too dated. Uh, hello, that's why there's TVLAND! I guess Opie and Aunt Bee don't look dated at all! LOL!

 

[Miss Hernandez]

Miss Hernandez

Hi:

I played Miss Hernandez on Carrascolendas. If you want to watch full episodes of the shows you can see them at:http://video.klru.tv/program/1340985505/
Enjoy!