When one mom saw a gap in children’s edutainment, she decided to do something about it. The now-Emmy nominated bilingual series, Canticos on Nickelodeon, is the brainchild of mom Susan Jaramillo. This is a show your tot totally needs.
With brightly-colored bilingual animals that sing traditional Spanish-language lullabies, Canticos is something that didn’t exist in the children’s programming arena prior to Jaramillo. The cute characters first appeared in a set of bilingual board books, published by Jaramillo, her friend Nuria Santamaria-Wolfe and Santamaria-Wolfe’s husband Steven Wolfe-Pereira. Soon after, the trio used Jaramillo’s connections as a top marketing exec to pitch and eventually seal a deal with Nickelodeon.
Jaramillo told NBC News, “Nuria and I shared a frustration over the lack of available bilingual books and media available for children. It really became a shared passion and mission.” The mama, marketing maven and entrepreneur also added, “We wanted to bring all these wonderful stories and songs that were so popular throughout the Spanish-speaking world to new audiences, so Americans would also appreciate all these wonderful songs.”
Canticos debuted on Nick Jr.’s digital platforms in 2018. Your kiddo can meet the lovable bilingual animated animals on NickJr.com, Nick’s YouTube channel, the NOGGIN app and Nickelodeon’s paid subscription app. Nickelodeon is also reportedly working on a consumer products line featuring the Canticos characters for infants and toddlers, set to launch later this year.
—Erica Loop
Photos: Courtesy of Nickelodeon
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