As a child, Sonia Manzano would turn on the television and flip through the channels — not just for entertainment, but as an escape from the realities of life in her South Bronx home. She loved watching shows and movies, but never saw people like herself reflected on the screen.
“[It] made me wonder what I was gonna contribute to a society that didn’t see me,” she told WLRN.
At the time, Manzano had no idea that she would one day become exactly what she wanted to see.
The Nuyorican actress and writer — best known for her portrayal of Maria on Sesame Street — is the subject of a new documentary STREET SMART: Lessons from a TV Icon. The film follows Manzano’s journey from her childhood in the Bronx to Carnegie Mellon University and eventually to becoming an Emmy Award-winning actress and writer.
The film will have its Florida premiere at the Miami Film Festival this year. Manzano will also receive the festival’s Impact Award, which recognizes artists and filmmakers for their contributions to cinema, society and the industry.
The film is director Ernie Bustamante’s debut, inspired by Manzano’s memoir Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx.
READ MORE: After four decades on 'Sesame Street," Sonia Manzano launches her own children's show
“ I’m a TV writer, so when I read Sonia’s book, I could immediately envision adapting it into a scripted series … we just couldn’t get the green light to get it produced … I pivoted to create a documentary,” said Bustamante.
In the film, Bustamante pays tribute to children’s television formats, mixing animation, recreation and interviews to tell Manzano’s story.
“ I thought that people who are interested in a documentary about Sonia Manzano — Maria from Sesame Street — are gonna be people who watched her growing up.” he said. “So, I thought I wanted to liken the style to what if you could watch Sonia Manzano on television now giving adult lessons.”
Throughout the years-long process of developing a TV series and later pivoting to a documentary, Bustamante and Manzano built a relationship of trust with one another. The director says Manzano was very hands-off in the process.
Her only request for Bustamante was to make it funny.
“ I loved being on Sesame Street ‘cause it was so funny all the time and I loved doing gags and I loved Lucille Ball and I was always attracted to that humor … And still, people think if you have a tough life, you can’t find humor in it,” she said. “Humor is the way to get a kid to learn the alphabet and humor is the way to reach people’s hearts in any endeavor.”
In the film, Manzano touches on the abuse her mother faced by her father and how their relationship affected her and her family. The actress also talks about how her childhood informs what she does today and her interest in children.
“I always tell people that want to write for children, remember your childhood…because kids don’t change. The world around them changes and what we expect of them changes,” she said.
“It has really informed me…these troubles that people have in their lives. It’s never gonna leave you…But you can’t be creative or be in a relationship if you constantly have this baggage with you. It’s never gonna leave you ’cause it forms you. It made you. But you can put it down every once in a while.”
Manzano has won 15 Emmy Awards for her role on Sesame Street. She’s the first Latina to hold a regular role on American television, after playing Maria on the show for 44 years.
Since her departure from the program, she has written several children’s books, a memoir, and created the PBS Kids show Alma’s Way, which is in its third season.
“ Sonia Manzano is the ultimate protagonist. There’s conflict, and she pushes through. She conquers. She overcomes … I think the one thing that I took away [from the documentary], and I hope that audiences do too, is perseverance.” said Bustamante.
Street Smart: Lessons from a TV Icon will be screened at noon Saturday at the Coral Gables Art Cinema.
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