{{Use mdy dates, date=March 2025 Teatrimundo was a

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...

broadcast by

WKAQ-TV WKAQ-TV (channel 2) is a television station in San Juan, Puerto Rico, serving as the U.S. territory's dual Telemundo and NBC outlet. It is owned and operated by the Telemundo Station Group subsidiary of NBCUniversal. WKAQ-TV's studios are loc ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

from 1987-1991 in the form of

edutainment Educational entertainment, also referred to by the portmanteau edutainment, is media designed to education, educate through entertainment. The term has been used as early as 1933. Most often it includes content intended to teach but has inciden ...

. It was loosely inspired by ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a variety sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and starring the Muppets. It is presented as a variety show, featuring recurring sketches and musical numbers interspersed with ongoing plot-lines with ru ...

''. Translated in English to "Small Theater World", the Spanish title is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of ''teatro'' (theater) and ''

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...

'' (at the time, WKAQ-TV's

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; : ''cognomina''; from ''co-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditar ...

Overview

For several years, after the legendary '' Tío Nobel'' had retired, and moved to

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, there was an empty space in children's programming at the station. David Murphy (RIP), the president of Telemundo Puerto Rico in 1987, created a fusion between

Sandra Zaiter Sandra Zaiter (November 21, 1943 – September 25, 2022) was a Dominican-born Puerto Rican actress, children's television show host, singer, composer and athlete. Early life and career Zaiter was born in the Dominican Republic to Maronite Chri ...

, who had been producing and hosting her own children's show, broadcast by Rikavisión, &

Lou Briel Lou Briel (born October 19 Santurce, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican singer, composer, comedian, record producer, pianist, and host, among other things. Musical career Early years with Anexo 3 Lou Briel started his career at a very young age as ...

and Dagmar, who were hosts at

Paquito Cordero Paquito Cordero (October 16, 1932 – June 30, 2009) was a Puerto Rican comedian and music and television producer. He is considered a pioneer of Puerto Rican television. Early years Cordero (birth name: Francisco Cordero Baez) was born to ...

's El Show de las 12, in the

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

, ''En Broma y en Serio'', broadcast then by Telemundo Puerto Rico. Zaiter moved to Telemundo and produced, starred, and wrote alongside Briel, this new concept in children's serials. The other members of the cast were Dagmar, as ''Dagmarita'', a mischievous but sweet and sentimental girl, Leticia Rossy as ''Pollito Yito'', a tall and inquisitive yellow chicken (''loosely inspired by

Big Bird Big Bird is a Muppet character designed by Jim Henson and built by Kermit Love for the children's television show ''Sesame Street''. An bright yellow anthropomorphic bird, he can roller skate, ice skate, dance, swim, sing, write poetry, d ...

''), who believed he was Zaiter's son, and Francisco Torres,

puppeteering A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object called a puppet to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the ...

''Plumorosa'', a flamboyant diva goose in pursuit of stardom, and ''Don Pepe'', the administrator of the theater. Sandra Zaiter portrayed herself as ''Titi Sandra'', the owner of the theater, that was also her home, and Lou Briel portrayed ''Lubrielito'', an innocent kid whose puppy love was ''Dagmarita'', although she only considered him as her pal. The show aired every Saturday and Sunday at 8:00 A.M. Zaiter and Briel sought to create a new concept that could be enjoyed by young and old alike. The series skyrocketed to the 7th and 8th places in the ratings for a while. Never before, in the history of Puerto Rican television, a children's show had achieved this, competing with prime time shows. It was divided in various segments portrayed as a

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

, based on well written scripts, with an

intrinsic In science and engineering, an intrinsic property is a property of a specified subject that exists itself or within the subject. An extrinsic property is not essential or inherent to the subject that is being characterized. For example, mass i ...

message and the essence of a good ending. It was written selectively by Zaiter, Rossy, and Briel. The story alternated with cartoons that were called ''Teatrilladas''. Zaiter also wrote the theme song of the series, in the

rap Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

. The latter was acknowledged as the first rap song ever composed in Puerto Rico for a children's show. One of the highlights was that each show featured a guest star. After the show became popular with audiences, many major celebrities were eager to perform in Teatrimundo.

Lissette Lissette Álvarez Chorens, commonly known as Lissette, (born March 10, 1947) is a singer, songwriter, and record producer from Cuba. She is best known for recording a Spanish language-version of Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" in 19 ...

Nydia Caro Nydia Caro (born June 7, 1948) is a Puerto Rican-American singer and actress. Early years Caro was born in New York City to parents from Rincón, Puerto Rico, and initiated her career in the arts at a very young age while living in New York. She ...

Lunna Lunna (born June 30, 1955; born María Socorro García de la NocedaGarcia de la Noceda is her paternal surname) is a Puerto Rican singer of popular music and jazz who was the director of the television show '' Objetivo Fama'', the Latin versio ...

Fernando Allende Luis Fernando Allende Arenas (born November 10, 1952) is a Mexican artist and entertainer who has also worked in various production roles during his career. Filmography Telenovelas * '' Muchacha italiana viene a casarse'' (2014-2015) - Sergio ...

, Valeria Lynch,

Ednita Nazario Edna María Nazario Figueroa (born April 11, 1955) is a Puerto Rican Latin pop singer who has achieved stardom both at home and abroad. She has been in the music business from a young age and has released twenty-three studio albums, seven live ...

, Wilkins, Menudo (when

Ricky Martin Enrique Martin Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography incorporati ...

was a member as a kid), Luis Raúl,

Raymond Arrieta Ramón Emilio "Raymond" Arrieta Vázquez (born March 26, 1965), is a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican actor, comedian, host and philanthropist. Starting his career as a comedian in various local shows, Arrieta gained popularity in the 1990s when ...

Willy Chirino Willy Chirino (born April 5, 1947, in Consolación del Sur, Pinar del Río, Cuba) is a Cuban-American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Early life Following the communist revolution in Cuba, Chirino came to the United States ...

, and

Carmita Jiménez Carmita Jiménez (August 3, 1939 – August 10, 2003) was a Puerto Rican singer who was considered a diva in Puerto Rico. She was born in San Lorenzo. Carmita Jiménez started her singing career at the young age of six, on the radio show nam ...

were some of the diverse roster of guest stars that were included in the series. The program aired locally on Telemundo, until 1991. Later, Zaiter produced a different and cultural children's show called ''Telecómicas'', also broadcast by WKAQ for several years. 1987 American television series debuts 1991 American television series endings 1980s American children's television series 1990s American children's television series American children's education television series American television shows featuring puppetry Puerto Rican television series 1990s Puerto Rican television series 1980s Puerto Rican television series