New Nickelodeon cartoon features a big Mexican-American family By Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff on 11.01.19 Word Count 493

Image 1. A scene from the animated series “The Casagrandes.” The show features a multigenerational Mexican-American family. Photo by: Nickelodeon via AP

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — "The Casagrandes" is a new animated TV show. The show is about an 11-year-old girl named Ronnie Anne living in a big city. The girl's family includes more than one generation. The family includes the girls' grandparents, her mother and her brother. It is the first cartoon about a big, Mexican-American family.

The first episode of the show came out on October 14. You can watch the show on the Nickelodeon channel.

The main characters are Ronnie Anne, her older brother and her mother. The three of them move from a quiet area to a big city. They move in with their large family. The apartment they all live in is above a grocery store. Ronnie Anne's grandpa owns the grocery store.

Ronnie Anne skateboards. She has to get used to the new city. In the city, there are people from many different cultures. She learns how to make new friends with people from different cultures. The show is about love, friendship and jealousy.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Director Is Mexican-American, Too

Michael Puga is a director for the show. He said the idea for the show came from another show called "The Loud House." Ronnie Anne was in that show. The writers for the show wanted to make a similar show about a family with a different background.

"Let's make them Mexican-American," Puga said to the writers. And they did.

Puga's family is Mexican. He is the first person in his family to be a citizen in the U.S. That means Puga is a first-generation Mexican-American.

As a child, he lived with a large family in one house in East Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles is a city in California. His house was always crowded with family and parties. Puga shared these memories with the people who work at Nickelodeon.

Telling Puga's story made the show feel real. The people at the Nickelodeon channel liked the idea for the show.

A Talking Parrot And A Runaway Uncle

Puga invited Lalo Alcaraz to work on the show. Alcaraz makes cartoons. He helped make the movie "Coco." Alcaraz joined "The Casagrandes" show and wrote an episode. It was about the "Day of the Dead." The Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday. Families and friends remember loved ones who have died. That episode shows how people from different backgrounds react when a loved person dies.

The show is not always serious. Other parts of the show are funny. For example, the family has a talking parrot. Sometimes the parrot gets into trouble. Other times, the uncle runs off in the night to skateboard.

Most of the time, Ronnie Anne is working to solve a problem and learn a lesson.

"We make sure there is a lot of love in these episodes," Puga said.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Quiz

1 How did Michael Puga affect "The Casagrandes"?

(A) He told stories about his own life that made the show feel real.

(B) He created the show's main character, Ronnie Anne.

(C) He wrote an episode about "Day of the Dead."

(D) He drew some of the cartoons for the show.

2 According to the section "A Talking Parrot And A Runaway Uncle," WHY did Lalo Alcaraz decide to work on "The Casagrandes"?

(A) because he is a director

(B) because he is an expert on "Day of the Dead"

(C) because Michael Puga asked him to

(D) because he worked on "The Loud House"

3 Which sentence from the article states a MAIN idea of the entire article?

(A) The show is about love, friendship and jealousy.

(B) That means Puga is a first-generation Mexican-American.

(C) He helped make the movie "Coco."

(D) The Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday.

4 Read the section "A Talking Parrot And A Runaway Uncle."

Which sentence from the section shows a MAIN idea about "The Casagrandes"?

(A) That episode shows how people from different backgrounds react when a loved person dies.

(B) Sometimes the parrot gets into trouble.

(C) Other times, the uncle runs off in the night to skateboard.

(D) Most of the time, Ronnie Anne is working to solve a problem and learn a lesson.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.