This Sunday, Miami’s PBS station was airing a marathon of a TV gem from the 70’s: Que Pasa USA?  I had to stop and watch.  According to Wikipedia, the show is the first PBS-produced sitcom. I grew up catching episodes that aired in Puerto Rico and as I tuned in again to the going ons of the Pena family, it struck me that the use of bilingualism or, more appropriately, dual language during the series is still very relevant and innovative.  The show centered a household that included grandparents from the Cuban exile, their daughter and husband and their two teens, a girl and a boy. The marathon, promoting DVD sales of the 39-episode run of the show, included commentary in Spanish airing.

For those who may not have seen the show, the characters bring you into their multigenerational world and flip languages according to the emotional/behavioral content of the dialogue or which generation is leading the conversation.  That is the way many households speak still today, except we don’t have to add the layer of helping the viewer along to fully understand the show in English or Spanish that the show had.  It originally aired from 1977-1980 and its most recognized actor is Steven Bauer of Scarface fame.

Here is a link to the favorite episode among viewers who participated in social media efforts supporting the marathon.  It deals with citizenship.  For fun, check out the Que Pasa USA.org website’s Spanglish dictionary.

Now, what do you think are some other examples of good programming portraying Latino families in the U.S.?  Drop us a line and help us build a top 5 list.