Ana Margarita Menendez

Ana Margarita Menendez

Ana Margarita Menéndez has lived a wonderful life. In many ways, it has been the “American Dream” with a Cuban accent. It has also been an adventure, a journey that led Ana from her family’s former home in Cuba to a new life here in the United States. Along the way she has been involved in almost every part of the entertainment industry.

Today, Ana is a public relations specialist, working for a health care organization in south Florida. As a young woman, she was an important cast member in the pioneering TV show, “Que Pasa, USA?” If you grew up in Miami in the 1970s (as many of OurSeniors did), you may very well recall this highly original and still very funny sitcom. In the late 1970s, Miami television station WPBT came up with a great innovation- a bilingual sitcom. The show was titled “Que Pasa, USA?,” and it quickly became a big hit in Miami and national syndication.

It won sponsorship from the National Council for the Arts, and for five seasons, the show told the story of the Pena family. It is sympathetically related to their struggles in trying to adapt to their new home, America. It appealed to a wide audience, but especially to America’s Hispanic and Cuban American population. Que Pasa, USA? accurately reflected the experience of many Cuban families, telling the story of three generations of a Cuban-American family living in 1970s Miami.

Ana played the part of Carmen Pena, the young daughter of the Pena family. She still recalls the show, its cast, crew, and writers with great affection. Playing Carmen Pena was a natural part for that young Ana Margo because she had lived the story. Besides, the theatre was in her blood. Born in Cuba, she left soon after the Communist Revolution. Her father and mother had both been active in Cuban entertainment and TV before the revolution.

Young Cuban Americans had little or no remembrance of life in Cuba. They had very different ideas and social behaviors, leading to inevitable conflicts with parents and grandparents. These situations also supplied opportunities for a lot of laughs as the Pena family transitioned to American life. “Que Pasa” treated these situations with humor and sensitivity, never making fun of, or demeaning any group.

In an interview with the OurSeniors.Net staff, Ana shared her memories of the show’s history. It ran for five seasons and a total of 39 episodes, all filmed before a live audience in WPBT’s studio. Ana remembers the high quality of the scripts and the sensitivity shown to the very real challenges faced by newly immigrated Cubans. The location was authentic, the “Calle Ocho” or “Little Havana” area of Miami. It was ahead of its time, a bilingual show that could be understood by both English and Spanish speakers.

The young actress was a natural for playing the part of Carmen, the somewhat Americanized young daughter of the Pena family. Carmen Pena was sometimes a little sassy, but she always exhibited the affection and respect that is common to Cuban families. All the show’s characters are well remembered. Imagine this-
You are hiking in the mountains of North Carolina when you pass a family you have never met. As they pass, one of the party turns, points to you, and asks, “Are you Carmen Pena from Que Pasa, USA?” Exactly that happened to Ana Margo, and it happened decades after the show had ended. That’s how beloved the show was. Viewers recalled it for years. People Magazine called Pepe and Juana, Carmen’s parents, the Latin versions of “Ozzie and Harriot.” Four decades later, in 2018, the cast reunited for a brief theatrical performance of “Que Pasa, USA TODAY.” It played to sold-out audiences in the Adrienne Arsht Center, Miami’s home for the performing arts.

Ana was eager to share her memories of this ground-breaking show, but also to express her love for her adopted home, the United States of America. OurSeniors.Net salutes Ana and the entire cast and crew of “Que Pasa, USA.” It is an important part of the history of south Florida and our Hispanic community. You can still find complete episodes of the series on the show’s official website. Watch a few and relive the Miami of the 1970s and 80s. Thank you, Ana! They are still great shows.

OurSeniors.Net works hard to be the best senior living resource magazine online and in print. To help us continue this, we are taking a page from the “Que Pasa, USA?” playbook. Starting with the Fall Edition of OurSeniors.Net Magazine, we will publish a bilingual edition. At first, this will be available only in south Florida, but we plan to expand it in the future.

Again, thank you Ana, the cast and crew of “Que Pasa, USA?” and to the readers and viewers of OurSeniors.Net!

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