She may only be a cartoon, but she is about to make history: Dora the Explorer, a little Latina girl who changed children's television into a multicultural world, is turning 10. It was on August 14, 2000 that the first episode was aired on the children's channel Nickelodeon.
It showed a bilingual eternally seven-year-old girl with dark skin and brown eyes, who used maps, riddles and mathematical formulae to overcome hurdles interactively with her fans, mostly pre-schoolers. With only 10 years on the air, the young Dora Marquez has managed impressive achievements, such as getting over 11 billion dollars for Nickelodeon through the sale of her merchandise, from backpacks to cups, dolls, DVDs and video games.
The first Latino character to star in a major show for the youngest members of the household beat out programmes like Curious George and the popular Disney series Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Over its first year, it got an audience of 1.1 million spectators aged 2-5, while now its fans in that age group have reached 1.4 million, with 2.9 million children of all ages watching Dora.
This talented girl, who like many second-generation immigrants speaks English and Spanish perfectly, not only teaches Spanish to US children. She also teaches English to children from many countries. The show is broadcast in more than 100 countries, and it has been dubbed to many languages including Russian, Mandarin and German.
Although Dora is not the first Latino cartoon character, she is definitely the first Latino character to attain global success. Wherever one is in the world, it will not be hard to find a girl with a Dora backpack or one who had a Dora pinata at her birthday party.
Behind such success there is a production team with more than 300 people who work almost year-round to make the show, as well as sociologists, teachers and historians who assist those making the programme. "What's been innovative about the show is it wasn't conceptualised or presented as a Latino-themed show. It was an educational series for kids that happened to have a Latino girl as the lead character. That allowed it to do something that was very unique," said Chon Noriega, director of UCLA's Chicano Studies Research Centre.
Since the show was launched, Dora has also become a real role model of positive conduct for girls, which parents, educators and psychologists stand behind. That is why many are against turning this round-faced girl with a talent for soccer and music into anything else.
Last year, 10,000 people signed a petition to ask Nickelodeon and toy manufacturer Mattel to suspend the manufacturing of a doll that showed Dora as a teenager: thinner, with long hair and generally prettier, turned into what many described as "Barbie Dora." Parents and educators want to protect the image of this character who never wants to get back at anyone, not even the naughty fox Swiper, and who always favours negotiating with villains over confrontation. Dora is a generous girl who shares her knowledge with others and who feels proud of her family, her values and her traditions - a true example for teachers and school children in the United States and beyond.
Laura Shawn, director of the Oak Knoll Kinderhaus in Pasadena, California, regards Dora as having paved the way for other Latino characters like her cousin Diego and Handy Manny, Disney's bilingual handyman. "It is fascinating that Dora explores the world, teaches words, and the fact that she is a girl," Shawn notes.
According to the show's creators, the original concept of the series did not feature a Latino girl, but a rabbit. It was after Brown Johnson, the Nickelodeon executive in charge of the character, attended a conference on the lack of representation of Latinos in US media that he envisioned what has since become an icon for Hispanics.
Johnson says creators did not even think about a specific country for Dora's origins. That was not considered important. The idea was to have many people identify with her. Dora has also been used in several YouTube parodies, and in a clip to promote the film Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
And now her image has even gotten involved in the debate over Arizona's controversial new migration law. One internet video shows the girl beaten up for crossing the border illegally, while another shows her parents being deported. Valerie Walsh Valdes, who created the character, is not impressed. "Why would they drag her into this? It seemed totally inappropriate," Walsh Valdes said. "I feel very territorial about her, so when I see stuff like that, it's hard for me to laugh."
Nicole Torres, spokeswoman for Promise Arizona (PAZ), one of the most active organisations on the US-Mexican border and in protests against the Arizona law, agreed. She felt uneasy when she saw the footage. "I feel attached to the character, and I think many people identify with Dora as a girl. But at the same time this in a way highlights the crisis that is happening in this country," Torres said. The truth is that Dora shines and that 10 years after the show was first aired she is alive and well in many different settings - a clear sign that there is more yet to come.
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