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¡Punto Final!

Changing the Face of Educational Children Television – Carmen Osbahr

Have you ever wondered who is behind the charming character Rosita on Sesame Street or Lily on Johnny and the Sprites. Meet Carmen Osbahr, a Latina leading the world of children’s television.

She may have been recently recognized as the first Latina television puppeteer in the United States by the National Association of Latina Leaders, but Osbahr has been bringing smiles to the faces of children with her cuddly Muppet friends for well over a decade. Appearing on leading educational television shows like Sesame Street, Between the Lions, Bear in the Big Blue House, and Disney Channel’s newest playhouse series, Johnny and the Sprites, Osbahr wouldn’t trade her puppets for any profession in the world. At age 45, this veteran puppeteer has accomplished more than she could have imagined and has yet to grow tired of her Muppet counterparts.

Born in Mexico City, Osbahr’s puppeteer calling would come unannounced. “I was focused on other things and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life,” she says. “I wanted to see the world and explore, just explore.” For Osbahr, that would all change when The Jim Henson Company came to Mexico City in 1972 in search of young talented individuals for its co-production, Plaza Sésamo, the Spanish language version of Sesame Street. At that time, Osbahr was in her last year at the Ibero-American University in Mexico City, but her desire to explore more things in life led her to attend one of the puppetry workshops. “I took the puppetry workshop and after two weeks, I fell in love with it,” she says. “There it hit me. I wanted to perform with puppets.”

Shortly after attending the Sesame Workshops, Osbahr began working for two of the most popular television shows for Televisa in Mexico City. She appeared on Xe-Tu, featuring Mexican stars like Gabriela Rivero and Siempre En Domingo, which was hosted by the late Raúl Velasco. She also appeared on The Treasure of Knowledge and worked on The Songs of Cri-Cri, starring Placido Domingo. Osbahr recalls her first time performing, “I remember feeling sick to my stomach but what I enjoyed most when I was done was hearing the crowd cheer and clap. Then I said O.K, I can do this.”
In 1989, Osbahr officially became a Muppet performer on Sesame Street, working closely with Jim Henson, the legendary American puppeteer and creator of The Muppets. Osbahr still can’t forget how she was hired. “I was fortunate enough to meet him,” she says. “I was able to observe him for two years working at the studio in New York City while still traveling back to Mexico. On one of my visits he was on the set with Kermit and Elmo and during the break he told me, ‘Well Carmen do you want to be a part of my family?’ That is how it’s been ever since.”

Officially working on Sesame Street, Carmen began training others on how to maneuver the Muppets, which according to Osbahr, seems easy to do but is rather complicated. “It’s very physical and extremely uncomfortable at times,” she says. “Your hands are up in the air and have to be proportionate to the camera. We move around on rolly carts and at the same time we have to say our lines from the monitor, sing and interact with the Muppets and the rest of the cast in a limited amount of space.”

As if stage-managing the Muppets is not enough, Carmen has had to overcome many challenges to be where she stands. Despite the hurdles she had to face, Osbahr knew she had to break down barriers and she did, one of the many include language differences. “It was very scary when I came to the United States,” she explains. “I didn’t speak any English and I was away from my family, country and my culture.” On a more positive note, Carmen was able to add aspects of her own culture and characteristics of herself when crafting the vision for many of the characters she plays. As a result, Rosita, La Monstrua de las Cuevas, a fuzzy fruit bat from Mexico who likes to play the guitar, was created and introduced to the series in 1993 during season 23, becoming the first regular bilingual Muppet on Sesame Street. “Jim Henson had in mind the idea to create a bilingual character,” she says. “I was also bringing my culture with me.”

According to Osbahr, it is unfortunate that there is a misconception that puppeteers are not serious about their work, but as a professional puppeteer she thinks otherwise. “People think that it’s just for kids and that you are just being silly,” she says. “But I have incredible experiences with a child, a puppet, or an adult. They should really open their minds because puppeteering is a wonderful world.” In fact characters like Kiki Flores, which Osbahr played on the PBS hit series, The Puzzle Place in 1995, shed light on issues that school-aged children experience every day like acceptance, cultural awareness, and confidence.

Not only is she a successful puppeteer, but is also a wife and mother of a 6-year-old boy, Alexander. Juggling two full-time jobs, Sesame Street and Johnny and the Sprites, Osbahr’s day begins at 5:30 in the morning. Osbahr manages her time to commit to her job, husband and son who she takes to school before heading for work at the New York City studio. When she isn’t working, Osbahr enjoys just being a mother. “I like to be a mommy when I get the chance,” she says. “I take him to his tae kwon do class, to the library and when the weather is nice, we like to go to the beach. He is a busy bee.”
In January of 2007, Carmen was given another opportunity to change the face of educational television by playing the bilingual free-spirited water sprite Lily in Disney’s newest Playhouse production, Johnny and the Sprites. The series’ starring actor John Tartaglia, who began his career at the age of 16 on Sesame Street has garnered great success. “It’s been an honor to work on this show because it is an amazing series that is opening the doors to so many incredible opportunities,” she says.

With educational children shows like Johnny and the Sprites, Handy Mandy, and Sesame Street, American educational television programs are becoming bilingual, creating opportunities for Hispanics in the United States. “It’s a good time to try puppeteering for Latinos, especially now, with children’s shows opening the doors for bilingual education.”
For many, Osbahr’s journey towards success may come across as sheer intention, but for Osbahr, it’s been the exact opposite. She takes great pride in embracing her role as a leader in today’s educational children programming. “It’s amazing because I feel like I was just having fun doing something I love,” she says. “Now I have more responsibility because I am opening the doors for other Latinas who want to become puppeteers. What I love most is that I found something that I love and I am doing it. It’s really amazing.”
When thinking about Carmen Osbahr’s accomplishments, one may wonder what’s next for this passionate puppeteer. One thing is certain: slowing down isn’t an option. “I can see myself performing with puppets until my body allows me,” she says. “I would like to continue working on Johnny and the Sprites, Sesame Street, and maybe doing one more thing, like performing live with puppets or teaching children puppeetering. I would love to do this for the rest of my life.”

By Sierra Freeman