¿Qué Pasa, USA?

Prior to the Seventies, Cubans and Cuban Americans were a rarity on American television. Perhaps the only Cuban character of any importance on a television show was Ricky Ricardo, played by Desi Arnaz, on the classic sitcom I Love Lucy. That would change in 1977 with the debut of ¿Qué Pasa, USA? on PBS. ¿Qué Pasa, USA? was a sitcom centred on the Peña family, a family of Cuban Americans living in Little Havana in Miami. T Pepe Peña (Manolo Villaverde) was the father and male head of the family. Juana (Ana Margarita Martínez-Casado) was the mother and female head of the family. Antonio (Luis Oquendo) was Juana's father, who spoke primarily Spanish and spoke English very poorly, so he often had to rely on Pepe and Juana as a translators. Adela (Velia Martinez), was Juana's mother, who was also primarily fluent in Spanish and had to rely on her children as translators. Joe (Steven Bauer) was Pepe and Juana's son. Carmen (Ana Margo) was Pepe and Juana's daughter. The primary followed the Peñas as they were torn between traditional Cuban values and the pressures of living in a primarily Anglo-American society. ¿Qué Pasa, USA? was not only historic as the first American sitcom based around a Cuban American family, but also as the first bilingual sitcom. Given the grandparents did not speak English, it was not unusual for episodes of the show to switch between Spanish and English. It was also the first sitcom produced exclusively for PBS.

The origins of ¿Qué Pasa, USA? go back to the Emergency School Aid Act of 1972, which essentially a Federal incentive program to encourage schools to desegregate. It was Senator Walter Mondale who introduced legislation that would create a program under the Emergency School Aid Act that would create educational television programming that would help children of diverse racial backgrounds connect with each other. The program came to be called ESAA-TV.  It was ESAA-TV that would lead Manny Mendoza, a professor at Miami-Dade Community College, to create a show centred around a Cuban American family. Professor Mendoza had conducted studies for the Community Action and Research Group in Miami that indicated Cuban American teenagers were often isolated. He thought that an educational program that was also entertaining could alleviate this problem.

Professor Mendoza and his partner Julio Avello, along with Miami PBS station WPBT-2, then co-wrote a proposal for what would become ¿Qué Pasa, USA?. Professor Mendoza and WPBT-2 then secured Federal funding under ESAA-TV to go forward with the show. He approached Jose Bahamonde to serve as executive producer on the show. The budget for ¿Qué Pasa, USA? was miniscule compared to that of broadcast network sitcoms of the time. The first two seasons, with about ten episodes each, were budgeted at only $250,000 apiece. According to Jose Bahamonde, because of the low budget, he actually decorated the set with his own personal items and things he had bought at thrift stores. The limited budget would also have another impact on ¿Qué Pasa, USA?. At a time when shows on the commercial networks produced around 24 episodes per season, ¿Qué Pasa, USA? produced around 10 episodes per season.

Produced in Miami on a low budget, ¿Qué Pasa, USA? did not have access to actors well-known in the United States at the time. Velia Martinez, who played Abuela Adela, had a career going back to the Forties, having appeared in such Mexican films as El capitán Malacara (1945) and Loco y vagabundo (1946), and American films such as The Big Boodle (1957). Like Velia Martinez, Luis G. Oquendo, who played Abuelo Antonio, had appeared in Mexican films. Perhaps the member of the cast best known today is Steven Bauer, who played Joe. For the show he was billed under the name "Rocky Echevarria," and it was under that name that he guest stared on a 1978 episode of The Rockford Files. Steven Bauer left the show after its third season to pursue a Hollywood career. Joe was written off the show as having left to attend Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Steven Bauer would go onto star in the final season of Wiseguy and would he would have recurring roles on such shows as Hacienda Heights, Ray Donovan, and Queen of the South.

¿Qué Pasa, USA? was created to be broadcast on local stations in the Miami and Tampa areas. In the end, the show proved to be popular, so that it would be broadcast on 70 PBS stations throughout the United States. It ultimately reached 20 million viewers. Not only did audiences love ¿Qué Pasa, USA?, but it was also well received by critics. Despite its popularity, ¿Qué Pasa, USA? ended after four seasons and 39 episodes when its funding ran out.

¿Qué Pasa, USA? was not gone, however, as it has continued to be rerun to this day. In 2018 the continued popularity of the show would result in a stage  production titled ¿Qué Pasa, USA? Today...40 Years Older, which reunited some of the original cast members.

¿Qué Pasa, USA? would have a lasting impact beyond having launched Steven Bauer's career. It has never left the air and it is currently available on both YouTube and Vix. ¿Qué Pasa, USA? was the first real exposure Cuban Americans had on American television, and in the years since Cuban Americans have been more visible on American television. At a time when Cuban Americans were invisible on American television, ¿Qué Pasa, USA? broke down barriers.