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Abelardo
1972 and 1978 designs
PERFORMER Justo Martinez
DEBUT 1972

Abelardo is an orange and yellow full-bodied Muppet who served as Big Bird's equivalent on Plaza Sésamo, the Mexican co-production of Sesame Street.

Abelardo made his debut in 1972 and, along with Paco, was active on the show until 1981. Two designs of both puppets were used, the first one from 1972 and the second design after 1978.

The character had a soft, gentle voice and a very particular way of talking, making pauses after every sentence. His favorite treats were pumpkin seeds or "semillas de calabaza" which in Mexico are a very popular snack, also known as "Pepitas".

In 1981, both characters were replaced by new Muppets: a full-body bird named Montoya (later renamed "Abelardo Montoya"), and a brown Grouch named Bodoque. The character made a reappearance at the 1995 grand opening of Parque Plaza Sésamo.

Species

Abelardo possesses features consistent with reptilian animals: skin composed of scales, a long tail, and extended snout. His actual species has been referred to with some inconsistency over the years with news articles from his debut in 1972 calling him both "an ingenuous giant alligator"[1] and a "Latinate Crocodile",[2] while 40 Years of Life on the Street calls him an alligator[3] and a 2019 tweet from Sésamo described him as a dragon.[4]

Gallery

Sources

  1. the December 18, 1972 edition of Baltimore, Maryland's The Evening Sun
  2. the December 23, 1972 edition of Camden, New Jersey's Courier-Post
  3. caption on page 253
  4. Twitter March 1, 2019
    "¿Sabías que...?, Abelardo el Dragón fue la primer versión del primo de Big bird en 1972 era un alto Dragón de escala naranja y amarillo y sus golosinas favoritas eran las pepitas."
    translated:
    "Did you know that...?, Abelardo the Dragon was the first version of the cousin of Big Bird in 1972 was a high dragon of scale orange and yellow and his favorite treats were the Nuggets."
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