isa traverso-burger

There are things I can’t understand.
For example, why is it so expensive ($15K+) to adopt a child? You want to give love, food, education to a young kid who may lack that opportunity, and because the paperwork and fees are so high up, you can’t. So that kid that was supposed to be saved, will not be saved by you, no matter if you really wanted to.

I can’t understand either why a company like American Girl exists. It puts so much pressure on little ones and their parents. Sure, some can afford it, but there is a large amount of people who can’t. I’m sure there are a bunch of girls feeling miserable because they don’t own an American Doll. Poor souls! Talk about consumerism. The American Girls have everything for sale, so it’s more pressure to keep buying stuff for a….DOLL. The American Girl Doll does consumerism the American way…. With excess and useless artifacts and stuff. I want to boycott them as much as the producers of Dora the Explorer (although my son loves her).

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1 Comment | In: i blog | tags: adoption, american girl, children, dolls, dora the explorer, excess, international adoption, kids. | #

TV producers  of shows like DORA the Explorer, Diego, Handy Manny, and others, have to be conscious about their jobs. It’s negligent, irresponsible, and simply mediocre to hire NON-LATINOS to perform the voices for characters that are, supposedly, Latin.

Sure, the average American won’t notice the difference. They won’t know if the character Mayor Rosa is speaking Spanish or Portuguese. But the rest of us, Latinos, the largest minority group in the States, can hear the voice over say HERAMIENTAS, without the characteristic rolling of the R’s; it’s HERRAMIENTAS!

It’s such an easy task, find people that speak Spanish as their first language. Even Wilmer Valderrama who plays the voice of MANNY sometimes lacks the correct pronunciation; and he’s Venezuelan! But, he was raised in the USA, so from time to time you can sense his struggle.

Honestly, dear producers, please allow me to help. Please cast the right people and STOP thinking the average child is ignorant. MY son is 18-months old and when he copies, or imitates, what the cartoon characters he so much loves are saying, I expect him to say it right. I don’t want to hear him saying it wrong and it’s what will happen, eventually, if you teach him wrong. Have mercy!

No Comments | In: i blog | tags: cartoon, children shows, diego, disney channel, dora the explorer, handy manny, hispanic voice, latino voice over, mayor rosa, nick jr, wilmer valderrama. | #

If you are anything like me, before you gave birth you swore: “no tv for my baby”. And then, the Baby Einstein Collection appeared out of nowhere to soothe a lot of moments intensified by tears.
Yes, it worked for me. 30 minutes a day before bedtime calmed the little one down. Now at 14-months old, he still likes Baby Einstein from time to time, but he is addicted to Dora The Explorer and her cousin Diego -although I hate for him to watch it.

My concern with Dora and Diego is that their pronunciation of words in Spanish is not the best one. Also, they are loud and repetitive; but most of all, the voice over (dubbing) is terrible because they all seem to have the same person impersonating… You get it? I never know when is the map or the backpack talking, or Boots… the two shows have the same people doing the dubbing and I believe that HAS to be confusing for children.

The same thing happens when I watch other shows with him. I find Syd The Science Kid is great, although not for his age, but again the dubbing is not realistic. In my opinion, Franklin has the best voice over talent, they sound like…well, real kids. Plus the stories are interesting and fun.

Blues Clues seems to be educating as well, and Jack’s Big Music Show used to be his favorite at 9-months old. Sesame Street is a classic, nothing wrong with that. And he shows a huge smile with Ni Hao Kailan every time. I am a fan of Olivia the pig myself but he’s not too much into it yet, even when her brother is called Ian like him.

Well, maybe my son is not like every other baby, but maybe this will help mommies who gave in into having their kids watch TV. I promise that he never watches more than 1 hour a day, and there are days when he doesn’t even want the TV. But, he has started developing a love for trains ‘tren’, and cars ‘cacos’… So Thomas the Train is perfect for the routine after his bath…he stays still for once. And he can watch F1 with his dad too.

I’ll keep you posted with TV news for babies, but listen to the dubbing (voice overs) and tell me I’m not right. Hopefully, my sister will get a job doing just that and then kids will be able to differentiate characters by listening to their voices only. I know I can’t.

No Comments | In: i blog | tags: babies, baby einstein, diego, dora the explorer, dubbing, franklin, kids tv, ni hao kailan, olivia the pig, spanish voiceover, tv cartoons. | #