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nspired by her childhood growing up in the Bronx and her decades of experience playing “Maria” on Sesame Street —15-time Emmy Award winner Sonia Manzano has created Alma’s Way, a vibrant new animated series that gives children the
power to find answers to their problems, express their feelings and respect the unique perspectives of others.
Alma Rivera, a proud and confident Bronx-born, Puerto Rican girl inspired by Manzano, is determined to figure things out for herself. In every episode, the 6-year-old reaches a point where she’s not sure what to do next and must stop, think and process in her signature “Think Throughs.” Manzano’s biggest hope as she introduces Alma and her community to the next generation is “that they see themselves in our society in a way that, as a child, I never could.” “If you don’t see yourself reflected in society, you start to think you don’t exist. That’s what I used to think, but I couldn’t articulate it. I used to wonder why I never saw anybody who looked like me or lived in a place like me.” Manzano says it’s important to her for Alma’s Way to “be funny with sincere characters” — something she took away from her 44 years on Sesame Street.
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