Alma's Way is an animated educational children's television series created and executive produced by former Sesame Street actress Sonia Manzano for Fred Rogers Productions and animated by Canadian animation studio Pipeline Studios. It premiered on PBS and PBS Kids on October 4, 2021.
| Alma's Way | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Animation |
| Created by | Sonia Manzano |
| Voices of | Summer Rose Castillo |
| Theme music composer |
|
| Opening theme | "It's Alma's Way!", performed by Flaco Navaja and Summer Rose Castillo |
| Ending theme | "It's Alma's Way!" (instrumental) |
| Composers |
|
| Country of origin | Canada United States |
| Original languages | English Spanish |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Sonia Manazano Ellen Dorherty |
| Production companies | Fred Rogers Productions Pipeline Studios |
| Original release | |
| Network | PBS Kids |
| Release | October 4, 2021 – present |
The show is set in The Bronx, New York and revolves around Alma, a six-year-old Puerto Rican girl, as she ventures out into her Latino neighborhood to demonstrate decision making and social awareness skills.[1][2][3] The title's meaning refers to Alma's ability of thinking things through, to help her solve problems within each episode.[4]
Starting from the show's premiere, television airings are followed up by Jelly, Ben and Pogo, which are shorts that focuses on Filipino culture.
Plot
Alma Rivera is a six-year old young girl who lives in the Bronx with her family and friends. She faces lots of problems every day, and always stops, listens, looks, and thinks and explain to help her solve everyday problems.
Cast and characters
The Rivera family
- Summer Rose Castillo as Alma Rivera, a curious 6-year-old girl who likes solving problems. Her favorite baseball team is the Sweat Sox. She has brown eyes, light-brown-skin, and possesses brown hair in a curly ponytail, wears two golden earrings, a blue jean vest over a pink t-shirt, lavender leggings under a dark-blue skirt, and light-brown boots.
- Neo Vela as Junior Rivera, Alma's younger brother who loves to dance. His favorite singer is Elyssa B, and his favorite baseball team is the City Seagulls. He has short brown hair light-brown skin, and wears a blue and yellow t-shirt, grey pants, and orange sneakers.
- Annie Henk as Lulú Rivera, Alma and Junior's mother, and Ruben's wife. She is a great cook, but isn't good at making mofongo. Her favorite singer is Elyssa B.
- Jesús E. Martinez as Ruben Rivera, Alma and Junior's father, and Lulú's husband. He is a veterinarian, and hosts his own show called Ruben to the Rescue. His favorite baseball team is the City Seagulls.
- Danny Bolero as Abuelo
- Marco Antonio Rodriguez as Uncle Nestor
Supporting cast
- Niason DaCosta as André King
- Jacob Crespo as Eddie Mambo
- Sharon Montero as Tía Gloria
- Naysa Nishash Shokeen as Rafia Huda
- Julian Lerner as Lucas Reed
- Emily Isabel as Becka
Jelly, Ben and Pogo
- Vanille Velasquez as Jelly, an optimistic Filipino-American girl. She seems to role as the leader of the group.
- Jalysa Leva as Ben, Jelly's little brother who serves as the smallest and youngest of the trio.
- Christina Sivrich as Pogo, a green quadrupedal Loch-Ness Monster-like sea creature.
Settings
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Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code TBA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "No-Go Mofongo" "Alma vs. Eddie" | Dave Barton Thomas and Shawn Seles | Dana Chan/Jorge Aguirre | October 4, 2021 | TBA |
|
No-Go Mofongo: Alma wants to help Mami fix the mofongo, but she makes it worse! She thinks about it, and realizes she should've asked Mami for help. Alma vs. Eddie: Alma and Eddie are in a silly prank war! But when Alma takes it too far, Eddie gets mad at her! She thinks about it, and realizes that while she was having fun, Eddie wasn't.Jelly, Ben and Pogo: Room to Go: Pogo and her family are going on a trip, but she is going to miss home! How will the trio be able to bring Pogo's room to her? | |||||
| 2 | "Alma the Artist" "Bomba or Baseball?" | Dave Barton Thomas and Shawn Seles | Jorge Aguirre/Ernie Bustamante | October 4, 2021 | TBA |
|
Alma the Artist: Alma wants to make a mural for Mr. Huda's store, and she enlists the help of André. However, he keeps changing her design! She thinks about it, and realizes that she should speak up for herself. Bomba or Baseball?: Alma wants to go to a bomba dance for her Uncle Nestor, and go to the baseball game. But, they're both on the same day! She thinks about it, and realizes that she should honor her commitment to go to Uncle Nestor's bomba dance.Jelly, Ben and Pogo: Lola's Snack: The trio want to make halo-halo for Jelly and Ben's grandmother, Lola. But, Ben thinks it doesn't look right! Will Lola love her snack? | |||||
| 3 | "Alma's Movie Night" "Papi the Hero" | Dave Barton Thomas and Shawn Seles | Dana Chan/Bernice Vanderlann | October 5, 2021 | TBA |
|
Alma's Movie Night: The kids are heading to Movie Night in the park, but André is really scared! Alma decides to help him so he can see the movie, but he tells her the truth. She thinks about it, and realizes that André is scared. Papi the Hero: Alma, Eddie, and Junior think that their dad/uncle, Ruben, is a hero, and want to make a song about him! They decide to get inspiration from him saving a parrot, but she keeps getting away! Alma thinks about it, and realizes that her, Junior, and Eddie are scaring her.Jelly, Ben and Pogo: Best Lizard: Pogo has found a lizard! The trio want to make it a shelter, but what would be a good shelter for a lizard? | |||||
| 4 | "Doggone Sox" "Alma Spells It Out" | Dave Barton Thomas and Shawn Seles | Bernice Vanderlann/Ernie Bustamante | October 6, 2021 | TBA |
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Doggone Sox: Alma has a dog named Chacho, and he likes to hide things. But Abuelo's lucky sock is missing, and if Alma can't find it, Chacho can't spend the night with her! She thinks about it, and realizes that she should look close to the ground like Chacho. Alma Spells It Out: Every young kid in town is signing up for the Spelling Bee, even Alma! On the day of the Bronx Spelling Bee, she loses, and is not happy to be an alternate! She thinks about it, and realizes that she needs to practice.Jelly, Ben and Pogo: Ben's Birthday: It's Ben's birthday! But he wants a small party with his family, Jelly, and Pogo. | |||||
| 5 | "Cardboard Club" "Alma Clues In" | Dave Barton Thomas and Shawn Seles | Kris Marvin Hughes/Bernice Vanderlann | October 7, 2021 | TBA |
|
Cardboard Club: Alma, Rafia, and André find a cardboard box and want to turn it into a clubhouse. But when Eddie, Becka, and Junior join the Cardboard Club, there's even less room in the clubhouse! Alma wants everyone to play together. She thinks about it, and realizes that they can make a Cardboard Club City! Alma Clues In: Rafia and André are going to share an orange piragua, but it disappears when they get to the park! Alma has to solve the case of where the piragua went, but she doesn't know what to do! She thinks about it, and realizes she needs to look for clues.Jelly, Ben and Pogo: Pogo's Nose Rocks: Pogo loves her nose rock collection, but the rocks keep breaking! Will her, Jelly and Ben be able to keep the rocks safe? | |||||
| 6 | "Alma's Showstopper" "Ultimate Helper" | Dave Barton Thomas and Shawn Seles | Miklos Perlus/Dana Chan | October 11, 2021 | TBA |
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Alma's Showstopper: Alma convinces Lucas to sing at Open Mic Monday, but Lucas has stage fright! She needs to find a way to help him. She thinks about it, and realizes that Lucas can conquer is stage fright if someone he loves can see him. Ultimate Helper: Alma's Tía Gloria loves to help people, and so does Alma! Alma wants to be an Ultimate Helper, but messes things up and doesn't feel happy when her friends help her. She realizes that the reason she didn't like it when her friends helped her was because she was being greedy.Jelly, Ben and Pogo: Tumbang Preso!: The trio is playing Tumbang preso, but Jelly is scared off being hit by the sandal! Her and her friends decide to make something for Jelly: a safe suit! | |||||
| 7 | "Coqui Quest" "Chalk the Block" | Dave Barton Thomas and Shawn Seles | Rodney Stringfellow/Paul Moncrieffe | October 12, 2021 | TBA |
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Coqui Quest: Alma and friends play a game, hoping they might find a coquí frog that only lives in Puerto Rico. But soon the game gets old. Alma thinks about it, and realizes while they may not find coquí frogs, they can use their imagination. Chalk the Block: When André's giant "Chalk the Block" masterpiece is ruined, Alma must help re-do it before everyone arrives to see it. But, how will they be able to redo it all in time? Alma thinks about it, and realizes they need more people to help.Jelly, Ben and Pogo: Tail Sock: Pogo has lost her special tail sock! When she finds it, the trio decide to find somewhere where the tail sock won't get lost again. | |||||
| 8 | "Alma on Ice" "Junior's Lost Tooth" | Dave Barton Thomas and Shawn Seles | Miklos Perlus/Jorge Aguirre | October 13, 2021 | TBA |
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Alma on Ice: When Rafia has trouble ice skating for the first time, Alma must find a way to help her without making her feel self-conscious. Becoming an ice queen is really hard! She thinks about it, and realizes that she just needs to help Rafia. Junior's Lost Tooth: When Junior loses his first tooth, he is very sad. What will cheer him up? Alma thinks about it, and realizes that Junior is sad because he can't show off his tooth, and the way to make him happy is finding it.Jelly, Ben and Pogo: Ben's Burger Stand: Jelly and Pogo have accidentally destroyed Ben's snow burger stand! Now they have to fix it, but don't have too much time. | |||||
| 9 | "Beatbox Big Time" "Super Sisters" | Dave Barton Thomas and Shawn Seles | Rodney Stringfellow/Kris Marvin Hughes | October 14, 2021 | TBA |
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Beatbox Big Time: Alma wants to beatbox, but she doesn't want to practice. When she performs out in the backyard, she does horrible. She thinks about it, and realizes the reason she didn't do well was because she didn't practice. Super Sisters: Lulú and Gloria are Super Sisters, so Alma wants to be a super sister for Junior. But during playtime, Alma causes Junior to get super mad. Alma thinks about it, and realizes that Super Sisters help their siblings, like her mom and tía.Jelly, Ben and Pogo: Visiting Lolo: It's All Souls' Day today, or Undas in Filipino. Jelly, Ben, Pogo and Lola are visiting Lola's desceased husband Lolo. Pogo also gets to learn what All Souls' Day is about. | |||||
| 10 | "Basketball Birds" "Looking for Litter[5]" | Unknown | Unknown | October 18, 2021 | TBA |
| 11 | "Socks for Sale" "Alma's Animal Show" | Unknown | Unknown | October 19, 2021 | TBA |
| 12 | "Junior's Story" "Anniversary Surprise" | Unknown | Unknown | October 25, 2021 | TBA |
| 13 | "Alma's New Kicks" "Star Ball" | Unknown | Unknown | October 26, 2021 | TBA |
References
- ^ Del Rosario, Alexandria (December 3, 2020). "'Alma's Way': PBS Kids Announces New Animated Series From Sonia Manzano & Fred Rogers Productions". Retrieved December 16, 2020.
- ^ Graeber, Laurel (4 October 2021). "In 'Alma's Way,' a Young Latina Thinks for Herself, Like Her Creator". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
- ^ Zorrilla, Monica Marie (October 6, 2021). "'Sesame Street' Alum Sonia Manzano on Animating the Bronx and Latina Representation in 'Alma's Way'". Variety. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
- ^ "Alma's way is to think things through". Twitter. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
- ^ "Alma's Way". KET. 2019-12-30. Retrieved 2021-10-14.