Hispanic 'Sesame Street' star to speak at IMU tonight

Sonia Monzano, who children of all ages know as Maria Rodriguez on the classic kids' show "Sesame Street," will speak at 6:30 p.m. tonight at the Indiana Memorial Union Whittenberger Auditorium.\nMonzano will be speaking about role models to kick off National Hispanic Heritage month. The program is sponsored by the Union Board and La Casa Latino Cultural Center. \nLindsy Serrano, assistant director of Lectures, said Monzano has been playing the role of Maria since she was a teenager. \n"I'm really excited for Sonia Monzano to visit IU," Serranno said. "Everybody has watched 'Sesame Street.' Everyone knows who she is. It's a chance for people to see one of their childhood icons."\nMonzano has been on the cast of "Sesame Street" since 1973, and has been a part of the Emmy-award winning writing staff since 1981.\nMonzano's "Sesame Street" character, Maria Rodriguez, is married to Luis, and has a daughter named Gabriela. Maria and Luis are bilingual, and run "The Fix-It Shop" on Sesame Street. While on the show, Maria has helped children deal with issues such as a death in the family, dealing with a family member's pregnancy, and having a parent re-marry.\nMonzano also has experience in theatre. She was in the original off-Broadway production of "Godspell" while a student at Carnegie-Mellon University. Monzano recently finished a six-week run in the award winning "Vagina Monologues."\nJunior Melvin Tejada, president of Latinos Unidos, thinks that Monzano's long-running role on the children's show will remind people that Hispanic role models aren't new.\n"Bringing in somebody from 'Sesame Street' takes a lot of people back to their childhood," he said. "It's an interesting and different kind of program. It will remind people of Latin American people who have been out there for years." \nLillian Casillas, director of La Casa, is organizing the reception for Monzano. Casillas hopes that Monzano's speech on role models will make the public more aware of famous Hispanic figures. \n"It's a wonderful way to start the year with a bang," Casillas said. "If you were to ask somebody for an African American role model, they can come up with several. But if you ask for a Hispanic role model, they come up with a blank. In the Latino world, role models tend to be more immediate, they're from the smaller community." \nA reception will be from 4 to 6 p.m. at La Casa. Casillas hopes that the reception's early time will allow local children to attend and meet "Maria." \n"As a role model, she's multi-generational, and multi-ethnic and multi-cultural," Casillas said. "Kids recognize her, grandparents recognize her, college men and women recognize her. She reaches all parts of the community. She's ideal in so many ways."\n-- Contact staff writer Kehla West at krwest@indiana.edu.