Dora Márquez, commonly known as Dora the Explorer, is the title character and

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

of the American children's

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and

multimedia franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or ...

of the same name. She is portrayed as a heroic Latina girl who embarks on countless adventures in order to find something or help somebody in need.

Depiction

Dora was originally created to help teach Spanish in grade schools. As time went on, she was depicted on live shows in

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

s, and halls, originally as a bunny that lived in the woods, but later in production as a pan- Latina (any ambiguous race of Latina) girl. As a child 7-8 years old in ''Dora the Explorer'' (2000), she is portrayed as a

multilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all ...

educator who likes

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

, family, exploring the world, and her friends Boots,

Backpack A backpack—also called knapsack, schoolbag, rucksack, rucksac, pack, sackpack, booksack, bookbag or backsack—is, in its simplest frameless form, a fabric sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders ...

, Map,

Isa Isa or ISA may refer to: Places * Isa, Amur Oblast, Russia * Isa, Kagoshima, Japan * Isa, Nigeria * Isa District, Kagoshima, former district in Japan * Isa Town, middle class town located in Bahrain * Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia * Mount ...

, Benny and Tico. As a teenager 10 years old in '' Dora and Friends: Into the City!'' (2014), she is portrayed as a compassionate leader and role model, who has multiple dynamic peer relationships. In '' Dora and the Lost City of Gold'' (2019), she is a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

teen, 16 years old, portrayed as a

naïve Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may ...

fish-out-of-water weirdo to the people around her. Her parents need to remind her that she is an explorer (a positive designation), not a treasure hunter (a negative designation). In this adaptation, she is described as a " Latino

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

" by executive producer and actor Eugenio Derbez.

References

Dora the Explorer Animated characters introduced in 2000 Television characters introduced in 2000 Animated human characters Female characters in animated series Fictional characters who break the fourth wall Fictional explorers Fictional Hispanic and Latino American people {{Tv-char-stub