The popular children’s entertainment show “CoComelon” is releasing a new bilingual series called “Nina’s Familia.” The series is based on a Latinx family and focuses on bringing educational content to bilingual and Spanish-speaking households.
The new series that launches Sept. 29 will follow Nina Reyes and her Mexican American family, who first made their appearance in the “CoComelon” show in 2019. “Nina’s Familia” will follow the show’s traditional style with three-minute songs and different nursery rhymes.
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CoComelon is a global preschool entertainment franchise that brings educational songs and shows to children. They aim to produce positive content that children will be able to easily understand and relate to.
Anthony Falcón, the creative lead for the new series, helped bring the show to life. When Falcón joined Moonbug, the entertainment company that produces “CoComelon,” there was already a team with a vision for “Nina’s Familia.”
Falcón grew up in the Bay Area in a Mexican American household. His love for entertainment started when he was a boy and now he gets to combine his passions with the work he does.
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“‘Nina’s Familia’ is the kind of series I’ve always wanted to be a part of but is so rarely seen. It’s one where an intelligent, caring, adventurous Mexican American girl can do anything and be anything all while being surrounded and supported by a strong Latinx family,” Falcón said.
As creative lead, Falcón oversaw every department to ensure that the vision and goals for the series were being met. He said that one challenge the team faced was deciding what cultural aspects to include.
“Our goal when using Spanish is to engage more with the Latinx audience in a way that they’re used to,” Falcón said. “We’ve worked carefully to provide visual context and clear storytelling cues for our young audience, for both those who are familiar with Spanish and those who may be exposed to Spanish words and phrases for the first time.”
Some of the nursery rhymes that will be featured in the new series include “¡Dale, Dale, Dale!,” “La Araña Pequeñita” and “Pin Pon es un Muñeco.”
Falcón said that popular holidays that are celebrated in Latinx culture were also something they wanted to include. Some of the holidays and stories that children will learn about are Día de los Muertos and Noche Buena Christmas.
The team worked to make sure every detail in the series was representative of the Latinx community. They gave Nina a wavy hairstyle, added traditional “huipil” embroidery to her clothes and made sure the characters had a variety of skin tones and body types.
This new series is a big step for “CoComelon” and Falcón said it is an important one. The show not only touches on important learning lessons for children but is also a form of representation for bilingual and Spanish-speaking households.
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“I think that what this really does is it helps little kids everywhere, especially ones that grow up in different households, to feel like there is something that is unique and authentic that represents them,” Falcón said. “I think that’s what we need right now.”
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