El Chavo may very well be one of the most well known Spanish-speaking characters (alongside Mafalda) in Latin America, Spain and the Caribbean.  In the U.S. he is equally as popular among immigrant communities and children of immigrants like myself.

To be honest I haven’t seen the show since I was kid, but receiving these toys in the mail brought back many memories.  My three year old was thrilled to put the little “títeres” (or puppets) on her fingers and pretend the characters of El Chavo, Popis, Don Ramon, Quico, and Ñoño were all talking with one another.

I think what made reviewing this product extra special was that these characters are unique to Mexico, where my parents are from. In other words, many of the books or characters that my daughter is exposed to are literal translations or interpretations of English-speaking (British or U.S.) stories. The characters and stories of El Chavo del 8 come from a community I identify with and one that helps make me (& my family) bicultural.

I think the creators of El Chavo Toys are very aware of their bilingual and bicultural audience in North America. I hope you enjoy interacting with the characters from El Chavo along with passing on their stories with the next generation: our bilingual children.

The Giveaway!

We’re giving away one grand prize pack to one winner (1 plush, 1 hat, 1 figure, 1 finger puppet, 1 talking Chavo) and one smaller prize pack (1 plush & 1 hat) to TWO winners. All you have to do is leave us a comment sharing your fondest memory of El Chavo or share your favorite ‘El Chavo’ saying with us! Then, enter the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I can’t believe our first press tour is done and our Bilingual is Better launch party is over! Ana and I had such a packed schedule last week that it all felt a bit like a blur… until Thursday when the day of the fiesta arrived and we were beyond excited to be able to share our book with so many wonderful people, including a few celebrities and a lot of chiquititos! As well as a ton of media!

The party, beautifully put together by Zikei Events, had two major sponsors and today we’re bringing you highlights from one of them: Fisher-Price. But first let me start by telling you that the venue for the party was, simply put, perfecto! I’m sure those of you who live in South Florida have heard of Cool de Sac because I know that, as a mom of two little ones, if I had something similar near me, I would have a lifetime membership.

If you’ve never been, I think I should just let the photos explain what this awesome space is all about. Suffice it to say that there was not one kid in that place who wasn’t having a blast — especially with the awesome bilingual toys brought by Fisher-Price, which included those from their Laugh & Learn line, as well as the Potty Baby Dora and the Fantastic Gymnastics Dora.

The party was a huge success! We loved seeing so much support from so many people we love and meeting a bunch of news ones who, like us, believe that Bilingual is Better!

We have tons of photos from the event, but we figured the best way for all of you to enjoy them would be with a slideshow. So click away and enjoy!

[Show as slideshow]