Vila Sésamo: A Classic Show Returns in Vibrant Tones
If you had to take a guess about what you would use to clean a Sesame Street Muppet, you probably wouldn’t suggest vodka. But that’s exactly what Sesame Workshop and TV Cultura use to clean all 5,000 dyed ostrich feathers in the Brazilian bird Garibaldo’s costume.
While we’re not sure how the production teams hit on vodka as the perfect cleaning agent, we do know that cleaning Garibaldo is only one of the obstacles they faced when they decided to embark on a new version of Vila Sésamo, the classic local Brazilian production of Sesame Street. The larger question was this: How do you bring a revered black-and-white show from the 1970s into the 21st century and not sacrifice any of the elements people love about the original?
When Vila Sésamo first aired on Brazilian television from 1972 until 1977, it developed a large and faithful audience. Now with children of their own, these original viewers were curious to see what the show would look like this time around.
TV Cultura displayed an intense interest in bringing Vila Sesamo back to Brazilian television, and their enthusiasm and hard work yielded a much more robust and joyful extension of the 1970s production. Taking all the best parts of the original production and bringing them to life through color, TV Cultura and Sesame Workshop worked carefully to appeal to the show’s original audience, who felt very nostalgic toward the program, and to a new generation of children.
| Garibaldo (Vila Sésamo) |
Much of the nostalgia for the original Vila Sésamo is due to Garibaldo, a pale blue bird similar in appearance to Big Bird. Sesame Workshop and TV Cultura together decided to re-introduce this beloved character along with some other elements that were the “best parts of the original production,” according to Sesame Workshop producer Mary Tai. She describes Garibaldo as “the link between the old and the new,” and says the bird is the bridge between the two versions of the show.
To achieve this feat of re-introducing a major character from the 1970s, Garibaldo’s look had to change to bring him into modern times. When Vila Sésamo first aired in the 1970s, he was a muted blue color that worked well on black-and-white televisions. But when the producers saw this pale blue on a color monitor, it looked drab and unappealing – so they decided to make the bird’s feathers a shocking yellow. The vivid color – which works far better on a color television than the drab blue -- represents the bird’s vibrant, dynamic personality, and also matches the energy and warmth so central to Brazilian culture.
Casting a new puppeteer in an iconic role
As part of their efforts to bring Garibaldo back to the forefront of Brazilian culture, Sesame Workshop and TV Cultura joined forces in their quest for the perfect puppeteer to play the beloved bird. Kevin Clash, the man behind the beloved red monster Elmo and also a senior creative advisor for Sesame Workshop, traveled to Brazil to participate in the puppeteer auditions. Clash and the rest of the team selected puppeteer Fernando Gomes to take Garibaldo’s role, an experience Gomes describes as “fulfilling a lifelong dream.”
Gomes had been working with puppets for 21 years before joining the cast, and says that his entire career is a result of the fact that he used to watch Vila Sésamo in 1972.
“I was completely passionate about puppets, and although I wasn’t aware of it at the time, I especially liked the style of puppeteering that Jim Henson and Frank Oz established,” Gomes says.
Gomes says that he never thought he would have the opportunity to meet anyone involved in Sesame Workshop’s productions, and “especially never ever would have imagined” that he would have the opportunity to be Garibaldo.
Gomes remembers being overjoyed and emotional when he found out he had been cast in Vila Sésamo. He remembers that when Clash announced the decisions, the atmosphere was “like a huge party. “I couldn’t wait to tell my wife that I was part of the Sesame family,” Gomes recalls.
Casting a new best friend for Garibaldo
Puppeteer Magda Crudelli was also auditioning on the day Gomes was cast. Crudelli was trying out for the role of Bel, a furry pink monster who is Garibaldo’s energetic and impetuous best friend, and the puppeteer recalls that the auditions were surprisingly calm.
“Competing and being evaluated makes me nervous, but the atmosphere amongst the actors was comfortable and relaxed,” says Crudelli.
| Bel (Vila Sésamo) |
When she found out she had landed the part of Bel, she cried with joy and hugged Gomes.
“To be on a show like Vila and act along side Fernando is a privilege. I even joked, ‘After this, I can retire,’ but of course we have lots of work in front of us, which is even better.”
Crudelli explains that Vila Sésamo had a major impact on her own education, saying that after all this time she still remembers Ernie, Bert, Garibaldo, and the rest of the Vila family.
“I appreciated everything that I saw, and we know that when a child is interested in something and likes it a lot, we can count on their attention to contribute to the teaching,” says Crudelli.
Tai says that the response to the new Vila Sésamo and the new Garibaldo has been overwhelming.
“You sometimes don’t realize how much they missed a character, or a person, until they come back. People just went crazy for Garibaldo when they saw him again. It was like he had never left.”
Broadcasters
TV Cultura
Ra Tim Bum
