Mala Suerte

Mala Suerte

October 11, 2004 TV Episode Maya & Miguel

Studio
Scholastic Inc.
Distributor
PBS

Synopsis

When the usually meticulous Rosa scorches the family breakfast, Maya thinks that the apartment is cursed with bad luck. Using Maggie's grandmother's Guide to Feng Shui (which they don't really have time to read thoroughly), Maya, Miguel and the gang redecorate the entire place in an effort to restore positive energy before Santiago brings home an important supplier for dinner that evening. But at dinner that night, the kids' freshly painted walls, makeshift Asian fountains and rearranged furniture cause a lot more harm than good.

Characters

Maya Santos, Miguel Santos, Maggie Lee, Theo, Tito, Chrissy, Paco the Parrot, Andy, Abuela Elena, Mailman Senor Felipe, Rosa Santos, Santiago Santos, Esperanza

Credits

Producing

Producer
Helen Kalafatic, Machi Tantillo
Executive Producer
Deborah Forte

Voices

Voice
Candi Milo (Maya Santos, Tito), Nika Futterman Nika Frost (Miguel Santos), Lucy Liu (Maggie Lee), Jerod Mixon (Theo), Beth Payne (Chrissy), Carlos Alazraqui (Paco the Parrot), Jeannie Elias (Andy), Lupe Ontiveros (Abuela Elena), Erik Estrada (Mailman Senor Felipe), Elizabeth Pea (Rosa Santos), Carlos Ponce (Santiago Santos), GiGi Erneta (Esperanza), Lombardo Boyar

Music

Music
David Ricard

Art Department

Storyboard Artist
Dave Cunningham

Editing

Editor
Ian B. Wile

Production Management

Post-Production Manager
Eric Black

Companies and other credits

  • Funding: Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Production notes

Related Activity: Feng Shui Fun.

The series is planned to run for 65 episodes.

The Maya & Miguel television show supports English language acquisition in a variety of ways. The program shows its characters using natural, conversational language, and then reinforces the meaning of the dialogue with images and animation. Presenting new vocabulary to English language learners is also an important feature of the series. Each episode focuses on at least three vocabulary words, which are repeated throughout an episode. In addition, Maya & Miguel shows children that knowing and learning more than one language can be positive.

Maya and Miguel, both bilingual, very often alternate between English and Spanish when they speak. This is called "code-switching," and is common among both bilingual individuals, like Maya and Miguel, as well as English language learners, like their cousin Tito. One of the goals of Maya & Miguel is to encourage a positive attitude toward knowing and learning more than one language. Maya & Miguel shows the way in which languages other than English can be a natural part of people's everyday communication.