QuePasaOurSeniors – Did You Know?

QuePasaOurSeniors - Did You Know

Here is some great news! Starting with the Fall Edition of OurSeniors.Net Magazine, we will begin to publish a bilingual-English and Spanish edition. At first, this innovation will be available in only the South Florida Edition, but we intend to expand this format to all our coverage areas.

OurSeniors.Net has always understood the importance of Spanish-speaking seniors to the state of Florida, and the U.S. We now cover all of Florida, but our roots go way back to south Florida and its Hispanic population. It is natural for us to want to be the number one senior living resource magazine for both English and Spanish-speaking seniors.

This bilingual edition will serve the needs of readers and advertisers alike. It’s a great idea, a way to reach a much wider audience, but it is not new. 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 sympathetically related to their struggles in trying to adapt to their new home, America. This show appealed to a wide audience, but especially to America’s Cuban American population. Que Pasa, USA accurately reflected the experience of many Cuban families.

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. It was a great show, so try to find some episodes on YouTube or another source.

Here is some more great news- OurSeniors.Net is adding a second identity. We call it QuePasaOurSeniors.Net, and it will enlarge our reach to include the hundreds of thousands of Floridians who prefer to be addressed in Spanish. Like “Que Pasa, USA,” it will serve a big need. In this case, we are striving to serve the needs of Spanish-speaking seniors. We are really excited about this new project. It allows OurSeniors.Net to reach hundreds of thousands of new readers and viewers. Our bilingual staff is already up and running, eager to jump into this venture.

Now, 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 points at you and asks, “Are you Carmen from Que Pasa, USA?” Exactly that happened to Ana Margo (Ana Margarita Menéndez), one of the cast members, and it happened years and years after the show had ended. That’s how beloved the show was. Viewers recalled it for years.

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. Born in Cuba, she began her theatre career at a young age but left Cuba soon after the Communist Revolution.

 

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