April 23, 2025 • 49 mins
This week on Locatora Radio, Diosa and Mala sit down with voice actor, Kathleen Herles. At just seven-years-old, Kathleen voiced Nickelodeon's "Dora The Explorer" and became a cultural phenomenon. In this intimate interview, Kathleen reflects on why she had to let go of the charachter, Dora, why she's ready to reconnect with the character, and her role as "Mami" in the 2024 revival.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/locatora_productions
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Are your ears bored?
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (00:05):
Are you looking for a new podcast that will make
you laugh, learn, and say get.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Yeah, then tune in to Look at tho O Radio
Season ten Today.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Okay, look at Our Radio is a radiophonic novella, which
is just an extra way of saying a podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Season ten of Look At thought Our Radio is totally nostalgic.
We're diving in with a four part series about the
Latinos who shaped pop culture in the early two thousands.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
But that's not all.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Season ten is also launching in the wake of LA
wildfires and a new Trump presidency. As always, we're leaning
into community by conducting critical interviews with people leading the
efforts to rebuild LA and fight back against oppression.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Tune in to Look at Our Radio Season ten. Now
that's what I call a podcast. Love with every listen right.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
At your fingertips.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Loga O LAO La Loka Motes. Welcome to season ten
of Loka to a Radio. I'm diosa and I'm Mala
Loka Dora Radio is a podcast dedicated to archiving our
present and shifting the culture forward. You're tuning in to
Capitulo Doscientos Nio two twenty eight.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Last time on Loca to our radio, we brought you
our coverage from the Fighting Oligarchy rally here in Los Angeles.
Go ahead, listen to that Gopitolo, leave us a review
and share with a friend.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Today we are bringing back our mini series Totally Nostalgic,
a series about the Latinos who shaped pop culture in
the early two thousands.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
We started off our Totally Nostalgic series with an interview
with Maria Garcia, who talked to us about Selena Quintania's
impact on the Latin wave, the Latin boom that we
are floring here in our Totally Nostalgic series in the
early two thousands. We firmly believe that it wouldn't have
been possible that Latin boom without Selena's impact. She created
(02:10):
a blueprint of sorts and opened a door. And our
interview with Maria Garcia explores that.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
We sat down with Kathleen or Less. You might remember
her voice as the iconic voice of Dora the Explorer.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
The original the original voice of Dora the Explorer from
the beginning, from the very very first season, very first
episode from the pilot of Dora the Explorer.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Yeah, and just a recap in case you forgot what
Dora the Explorer is. Okay. The first episode of Dora
aired on August fourteenth, in the year two thousand. Dora
the Explorer features the adventures of young Dora, her monkey,
her best friend, Boots, Backpack, and other animated friends. In
(02:55):
each episode, viewers joined Dora on an adventure in an
animated world set inside a computer. Dora the Explorer was
also the first Nickelodeon show to feature a Latino character
as a protagonist.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
When Dora was released on Nickelodeon, this is a show
for young children, we had already aged out of the
target audience. However, Dora was and remains an iconic figure
in children's media, in media in general, in Latino media,
and in animation. The interview is beautiful. It's emotional, honestly
(03:29):
because of the profound nostalgia and the staying power of
this little Latina character.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Hi everyone, I'm Kathleen Harles. You may recognize my voice
when I sound like this. Hi out Dora the Explorer.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Obsessed, obsessed, and there's just so much to talk about,
and we're so grateful that you're here. You know, Dora
obviously was such an iconic show and still is. And
there's a revitalization, right, there's a new problem with the
same title, and you're also a part of that. So
let's talk about that as well. But before we dive
(04:07):
into present day Dora project, let's take it back to
the beginning and tell us about how you started voicing
Dora at age seven and how you got involved in
the show.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
So, Yeah, my mom put me in modeling and pageants
when I was really young, probably like around four or five,
and I kind of just grew to learn how to
perform and kind of like, you know, listen to choreography
or you know, to teachers on how to like do
certain things. So I was I feel like I was
(04:40):
maybe just like taught from a really young age. Like
if someone tells me to do something, like to do it,
and I you know, listened, and like I executed pretty well.
So I did well in modeling and pageants and all
of those things. And through modeling, I found a manager
at a convention in New York City, which I oddly
(05:01):
enough I think still exists. It's at the Walda Frestoria.
But I was discovered there by my manager, and then
my manager found me an agent that started sending me
out to auditions, and Dora was one of the first
big auditions that I went on. At that point, I
was probably maybe was I said already probably? I think
(05:26):
I was already seven, And you know, it was for
the pilot, so we weren't sure if it was, you know,
going to be picked up or if it was going
to be a thing. So but we knew it was
for Nickelodeon, so we were like, oh, that's so cool,
that's so big. And later that week I found out
that I got the role, and my life forever changed
(05:49):
since then, and it's been such a crazy adventure and
I'm sure we'll get into like all of that, but
that's kind of how it all started. And I remember
the audition. It was with a bunch of people were
in the room and one of the people that I'll
never forget was one of the creators, Chris Gifford, And
after the audition, he asked to speak to my a
(06:11):
parent that was with me, and I was like, oh, yeah,
my mom is here, and he was like, yeah, I
want to speak with her. And I was like okay.
And you know, like being from a Hispanic household, if
someone's asking to speak to your parents. I'm like, oh
my goodness, I did something wrong. I'm going to get
in trouble. So I go outside and I tell my mom.
I'm like, she's like, how did go I'm like, I
(06:31):
think all while I was like, they want to talk
to you. She's like, why, what did you do? What happened?
And I'm like, no, I didn't do anything. I don't know.
So she spoke to him, and he just kind of
wanted to get a sense of you know, my parents
are kind of like, you know, my home life. I
guess they're just more personal information just to kind of
get like a vibe. And I guess it went well
(06:51):
because then we I got it. So yeah, it was pretty.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Cool, incredible. So you remember auditioning, Oh yeah, oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
I remember remember being in the room standing. There was
a table and everyone was behind the table. I remember
just I don't even know if I looked up from
the script because I was just like reading from the script.
There was like a few pages, and if my memory
is correct, there was definitely about something about like a
farm with different animals. And I was a pretty good
(07:22):
reader too when I was younger, so that also helped
a lot because I was able to pronounce and kind
of read pretty well out love.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Do you remember being nervous as a child and going
on this audition.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Maybe a little, only because it was Nickelodeon, and you know,
it's intimidating when you walk in. I even remember the
floor they had like risers, and there was a bunch
of kids and different families and we were all sitting,
you know, auditioning for the same role. So it's kind
of weird. But like I said, like I was so
used to you know, being in front of adults by
(07:59):
myself and sering questions and preparing you know, answers and
things like that. So I was already customed to like
that type of environment, so I was I don't think
I was like too nervous. I kind of just went
and did what I had to do and then.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
You know, run out, don't go anywhere, lokomotives.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
We'll be right back, and we're back with more of
our episode.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Amazing. And this is a really niche question, but you
know you're Peeduana and I'm also Peruvian, and yeah, and
so I wanted to ask you about like the Spanish,
like speaking Spanish, right, And Dora has this kind of
neutral quote unquote neutral Spanish. She doesn't sound like she's
(08:46):
from a particular place from Latin America. And obviously if
you're from Biddu or any Spanish speaking country, right there's
its own dialect or it's its own inflection. So was
that something that you had to work through to make
it sound quote unquote neutral or what was that process?
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Like this is a great question because I feel like
I don't get this question often, and I think it's
something that should be discussed a little more. And in
my case, it's very weird and very different. So in general,
I don't really have an accent. Even growing up and
living in New York, I don't really have a New
York accent. I lived in Long Island for probably over
(09:26):
ten years now, I don't have a Long Island accent,
and I don't know if that's just the way I
was wired. But even as a kid, I had a
very neutral accent, which worked in a lot of different
ways within the industry, because a lot of times, you know,
they wanted neutral accents and for well, for well, I'll
(09:48):
get into Dora in a second. But so my parents
are both immigrants from Peru. Like you had mentioned, they
were probably living in the States at that time for
maybe like ten years or so. They were fluent in English,
obviously with accents. I have an older brother, four years older,
(10:09):
and when he was born, they only spoke to him
in Spanish. And when he started going to school, he
had a lot of issues and comprehension issues, just you know,
with English and kind of learning, and it kind of like,
you know, just hindered him a little bit at school.
So when I was born, they didn't want that to
happen to me. So my parents only started talking to
(10:30):
me in English, and I only spoke Spanish with my grandparents,
specifically my mom's mom, my grandmother, because she would watch
us and take care of us most of the time
here in the States. So that's kind of where my
Spanish learning began. It wasn't perfect. I understood it completely,
(10:51):
but I wasn't one hundred percent fluent. So with the
audition there were some Spanish words, but I'm sure from
watching the show, you guys can tell it's not, you know,
not teaching how to like be fluent Intosh. It's kind
of like little words to pick up on and kind
of open those doors of learning a new culture, learning
a new language and trying to instill that at a
(11:14):
young age so that you know, when you grow up
you want to explore that more. No pun intended there,
but so like it's it's it's tough because now as
an adult right and living in the United States, like
English was just my first language. I spoke English a
lot of the times. My grandma ended up moving to Connecticut,
(11:36):
I wasn't really around her as much anymore. I only
spoke to my parents in English, even if they, you know,
talk to me in Spanish. So my Spanish was never fluent.
I was never one hundred percent fluent. Even now, I
do desire to learn and to perfect it because I
feel like a lot of times when I'm expressing my emotions,
(11:56):
I can't get there fast enough with Spanish, and I
want to get there and I want to learn and
I want to be better, but it's not one hundred percent,
and I feel like looking back and when I think about,
you know, my Dora days, for a little bit, I
think I didn't think I was like Latina enough to
(12:18):
play like this iconic character and be like, you know,
the face of this girl who wasn't a hundred percent
fluent in Spanish, and I remember even too sometimes because
I was getting a lot of press once the show
came out. A lot of people wanted to like talk
to me and learn more about me and the show,
which was rare for you know, animation and voiceover actors.
(12:42):
And I remember there were a few networks. I don't
remember which ones, but I remember there were a few
Hispanic networks that didn't want to interview me because I
wasn't one hundred percent fluent. And at the time, I
think I kind of understand, but now as an adult,
I'm kind of like, oh, that's kind of sad, because
I mean, I get it too, but I don't know
(13:03):
if the reason was just because they didn't think maybe
I was like worthy enough, you know, and that kind
of like is something that I had to work through,
and it's just a big topic of conversation nowadays, which
absolutely I try to.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
Yeah, be a part of Don't go Anywhere, Look Amotives.
We'll be right.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Back, and we're back with more of our episode.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
I love hearing that backstory so much because I wonder if,
even subconsciously, that was why Dora resonated so much. Because
a lot of us born Latinos lose that connection to Spanish,
especially if there's some type of family history where there
was an experience like your brothers, right, and then the
parents decide, Okay, we're going to do English only. And
(13:54):
that's something that we've covered on the show actually, and
we've had a lot of listeners shared very similar experience
and says so to hear that backstory just it makes
that I think so much. It gives it gives a
lot of depth, I think to you portraying this iconic character.
And did you know at the time the cultural impact
(14:15):
that the show was having or can you reflect back
now and like see like, wow, we really did something.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Yeah, for sure, I mean you know as you can.
I was a kid. I was seven years old. The
show aired when I was ten, and I think it
started to really ramp up maybe like when I was
like twelve or thirteen, maybe like a year after or so.
And like I said, like with voiceover and voice acting,
(14:45):
it wasn't like a big thing for it to like
blow up in a way where like everyone wants to
like know who's behind it, who's doing the voices, like
who created it, like all of these like different things,
even without social media back then, so like add that
in now and like now it's even bigger. I feel like,
but I don't think I really understood the impact the
(15:08):
show was having and that I was having. I remember
being told and I have been blessed to be like
nominated for all of these different awards and you know,
to be recognized at certain events, Latino events, But there
was always like a question, I feel like in the
back of my mind, like really like why, like you know,
(15:29):
I don't think I really fully understood. And it wasn't
until about two years ago I started doing conventions like
Comic Con and all of these different things, and I
started to meet people who grew up with the show,
who grew up with Dora, And there were so many
people that I have talked to who have heard stories
(15:51):
of like how much Dora means to them, how much
it helped them connect and resonate with, you know, their families,
with their backgrounds. There's people who lived grew up in
Mexico or were born in Mexico, lived there for a
few years. We're watching Dora the dubdor in Spanish, teaching English,
and then they would move to the States and then
(16:13):
they would watch it in English. Teaching Spanish to help
them learn English, and I was like, this is so cool,
like all of these different things that I had no
idea was going on behind the scenes because I'm on
the other side and I had no way of like
talking to people. And it's just so beautiful to see
(16:34):
how impactful my voice is and was, and when I
do the voice and like people start crying. It's just
it's so overwhelming and it's such an amazing feeling. But
it does bring back so many memories from your childhood,
and you don't you don't know what someone can connect
that voice and the show too, and it can it
(16:57):
can I don't know, it can change people's lives. I
don't know. It's just amazing.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
It really is amazing. And I am stuck on what
you shared earlier that you filmed you recorded at age seven,
but then the show came out when you were ten,
and so that's it takes a long time for something
to get made, and then once it's made for something
to actually get out there, it doesn't always happen. And
(17:23):
what was going on between seven and ten? Did you
you know you did the pilot? Did you forget about it?
Was it a surprise years later when it finally came out, Like,
what was that process between seven years old making the
thing and then ten years old it's out in the world.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Yeah, from what I remember, it didn't get picked up
the first time, so my ma, I remember my mom
telling me that they had asked, like do we want
to keep working on it? They want to try and
pitch it again, so they were going to make some
tweaks and do some things, and we were like, yeah,
(18:00):
of course, Like what else are we doing, Like, you know,
we want to work on this, And I remember there
were a lot of like late nights in the studio.
I remember being with the voice of Boots too and
us recording and doing all of these things. And I
even think they were like changing things on the fly
and like, so there was a lot of work that
(18:20):
was done between those years. I can't remember like right
before it aired, I'm sure like things were ramping up,
but yeah, we recorded a lot. I mean, we had music.
There was a bunch of revisions all the time. So
(18:41):
I do remember like being in the studio pretty often
before the show aired, and there were there were longer
episodes than they are now, so there was a lot
more dialogue in things. But also aside from that, you know,
I think I was just being a kid. I think
(19:02):
I was like doing other auditions and kind of going
to school. I don't remember too much, And I know
for sure with school, I was recording when I had
to record like full days. I had a tutor on
set also, and I can't remember if that was before
the show aired or after.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
And all of this in New York.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
In New York, Yeah, the whole cast was pretty much
in New York. Wow, So the one of the first
sessions with all the kids. I remember two times being
with the whole cast. The first time was when we
were all meeting each other for the first time and
they were going to talk to us about our characters.
They started showing us images of our characters and kind
(19:47):
of like what we looked like, which was pretty cool.
And then the next time was when we I think
we were recording the theme song and we were all
together and it was chaos. I remember, just all the
kids like running around. There were snacks everywhere. We were
just like all over the place, and I think that
was the last time we were all together. I don't know,
(20:07):
because it was just like craziness. But yeah, we were.
I think most of us were kids, except for Map,
the voice of the Map and the voice of Swiper,
Mark Weener. He did both of those voices. He was
an adult. So and then maybe some other like characters,
but the main, other main characters were all kids.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
So had you been had you been voicing Dora without
having an image of Dora?
Speaker 2 (20:34):
I auditioned without having her image, so it was just
kind of like my voice. And then fun fact that
my mom reminded me recently, which I don't think I've
spoken about at all, So this is this is an
exclusive and exclusive. Yeah. So they had originally drawn Dora
(20:56):
with green eyes. No, yes, and uh there was someone
on the team who we got really close to. Her
name was Dolly, and she was like, no, you can't
have you have to change it to brown. And they
changed it to brown. And I always like try to
(21:18):
think about that, like how one why and then like
two because of course there's people you know in South
American countries or in Latin countries that you know people
who have green eyes. It's not like there is it,
but because you're trying to create a character that resonates
with the majority, right, absolutely think brown was the right
(21:39):
right way to go for sure.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
Oh yeah, I mean, and do you remember when you
first saw the image of Dora and like what your
thoughts were, did you feel connected to her or what
were your.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
Thoughts her head? It was just like so.
Speaker 4 (21:57):
I always remember like I always had that bell. I
was like, oh, her head is like pretty big. And
then what made it worse too? Like I always used
to get so many comments.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Of like, oh my gosh, she looks so much like Dora,
and I'm like what, But yeah, I thought she was
the cutest. I mean those first animations of Dora, like
especially in season one. I look back and I'm just like,
she's so cute, and I love her little belly that
(22:32):
shows between her shorts and her shirt and her little belly.
I was definitely like more as a kid. I was
definitely a little chubbier, and I owe that always happened
to me. My shirt always like wrote up a little bit,
so I thought that was like really cute. She doesn't
have that now, which is fine, I get it, but
(22:52):
I do miss the little like belly pop there. Those
are definitely the two things I remember noticing.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
And I love that it was your mom who reminded
you about the character originally having green eyes. What do
your parents say now, like as they also look back
on this huge cultural impact that you had, what are
their thoughts on this character and your involvement.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
I forget sometimes that my mom has all of the information.
So every time like I forget something or I call
her and I ask and she starts telling me all
these things. I'm like, oh, like, how do you remember
like all of this stuff? But she should definitely do
an interview with all the stuff that she knows. But
my mom has She's like, she is my best friend,
(23:36):
and uh, you know, she was the one who I
hung out with the most, and she was one taking
me to pageants, some mudeling, to auditions and really kind
of just being a protector and a guide in every way,
you know. Within with this industry, it's really hard to
(23:59):
kind of like navigate everything, especially not knowing anything and
my mom being an immigrant being here for only like
a handful of years. Kind of throw a young mom too.
She was twenty when she had me, No, twenty four,
so she was probably like thirty thirty one when I
started all of this, and you know, she did. In
(24:22):
my mind, she did well, thankfully, there was people that
were in her corner that were able to kind of
guide her and teach her like certain things about the
business that you wouldn't know otherwise, which is also something
like so crazy. I feel like a lot of times
there is no book right to teach you about the business,
and you're kind of learning and doing these things, and
(24:42):
a lot of times you can kind of get caught in,
you know, things that aren't true and things that you
think that you can't do or can't say, when in
reality you can. So there was definitely a lot of
growth that we did together, and I really am so
thankful that my mom was there to protect me and
(25:03):
to help me navigate the industry the way that she did.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Did your friends at school know that you were a
child actor and that you were doing TV shows and
auditioning and pageants? Was that just your work life and
you left it at work and then when you were
at school you were just in school, yes and no.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Growing up, I grew up in Queens and I was
going to a private school. It was a Greek Orthodox school,
so I had I think I went there from the
beginning since kindergarten and I was there till sixth grade.
And most and it were small classes. I think my
class the biggest it got was like twenty people in
the whole grade, so very small school. So I think
(25:51):
they kind of knew and like knew the whole process.
But because I knew them all from before and throughout
the whole thing, we had built friendships and relationships where
it wasn't like, you know, it was cool, and I
would invite and take some of them to like little
movie premieres that they would have at the Nickelodeon offices
and things, but it was never like how my experience
(26:16):
was in middle school, which I'll get to that in
a second, Okay, But so I think the beginning years
was kind of like easier to navigate. And before we
moved to Long Island, I had went to public school
for maybe like half a year, and that was kind
of weird because I feel like I was still being
(26:36):
taken out of school or not really in school at
the time. I was doing like half days in the
studio or like half weeks in the studio, and then
half the other week I was in school, So it's
kind of weird. So people kind of knew and then
I got made fun of a little bit I guess,
because you know, Dora was seen as like a kid
show and I was already like in like fifth grade
(26:57):
at that point. But at whatever, then I left. I
went to Long Island, and I remember telling my mom,
I don't want anyone to know. I just want to
go start fresh, and I don't want that to be
like a topic of discussion at least in the beginning,
you know. And then I would tell people when I
was ready. So my mom made sure to tell the
(27:22):
guidance counselor this is what she wants, because obviously she
had to tell them because I would be taken out
early and things like that. So she's like, fine, no problem.
She takes me to my homeroom class, my guidance counselor.
She's telling my homeroom teacher who I am, and a
student comes up at the same time, and I'm like no.
(27:47):
I remember just being like stunned there. And this was
sixth grade and this school was huge in comparison to
what I was used to. And she went back and
told everyone in the class and then it was kind
of like lost from there, and I'm like, well, what
was my secret and.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
What was their reaction? I mean, middle school is rough.
I would never want to go back to middle school ever.
Speaker 2 (28:12):
Again.
Speaker 3 (28:13):
You couldn't pay me so.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Horrible.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
So what was the reaction?
Speaker 2 (28:21):
There was a mix. Some thought it was really cool.
Some was like some people were like, oh, that's cool,
but like who cares, Like let's get to know you,
which was really cool too. Some people thought I was
lying my best friend, well I'm still friends with now.
She thought I was lying the whole time.
Speaker 4 (28:42):
Oh wow, she's my best friend now, so that's fine.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
And and then some people just would make fun of
me about it. I think I don't I think too,
like without social media and really understanding what voice acting was.
You know, I wasn't online the set of like, you know,
a show where you could see my face, so people
I don't think people really understood like what I was doing.
(29:11):
So I think maybe it just came from that, and maybe,
you know, maybe jealousy because I was leaving school early,
and maybe I was like being I, you know, people
excuse me for more things and things like that. So
it's just kind of hard, especially like you said, middle school,
it was just such a weird time. Everyone's changing, people
are changing faster than other people. I'm trying to figure
(29:34):
out like who I am, and you were working a
lot and you were a working actor. I was a
working actor. Yeah, and we did a lot. I mean
at the time at that time, Dora was like, we
were doing games. We were doing all of these online games,
we were doing toys. It was just it was a lot.
(29:55):
It was definitely a lot. And at the same time,
not that this is related or anything, I was struggling
a lot with my weight at the time, so I
was really like insecure and self conscious about my body
and things like that. So it's just kind of hard
to navigate all of that, all of that stuff.
Speaker 3 (30:10):
I'm thinking for bringing that up, because I think that that's,
you know, one of the parts of being like a
I don't know, a unique, not a unique, not quite
the opposite of unique, a universal experience for girls right
growing up in whether they're an elementary school, middle school,
high school, growing up, there's these body image issues, especially
(30:32):
if you're a girl of a young girl of color, right,
maybe you have a larger body than your peers. And
so how was that for you as you were also
voicing one of the biggest characters at that time, but also,
like you said, like I was just in middle school.
I was just a girl. What was that like?
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Navigating it was hard because I was getting pulled from school,
so I really I couldn't do like extracurriculars or anything
like that, at least in middle school. In high school
I was able to participate in like the musicals and things,
but that was also hard to But especially in middle school,
(31:12):
I couldn't really like participate in a lot of things.
And making friends was definitely hard because especially because I
wasn't there, there wasn't a lot of times for me
to like really connect with people in a deep way.
I mean I did eventually, you know, find those few
people that I did connect with, but it was definitely
hard and kind of balance all of it school work, traveling,
(31:37):
then like my home, and then at home too, like
you know, I have a brother and things, and you know,
just like trying to balance it all. I think it
was really difficult for me at the time, and especially
with my weight, you know, being mostly a voice actor
at the time because as a kid and not having
so much time to give, like you know, my priority
(31:58):
was Dora and the show and with Nickelodeon and so
and a lot of times I was recording by myself
at that time, and you know, so being by myself
but also like being overweight, and you know, I felt
comfortable in the booth because I was by myself. No
one's looking at me, and my body doesn't matter, it's
(32:18):
just my voice. So I do feel a sense of
comfort every time I'm in the booth, which is really
weird but also really amazing, and every time I would
and then when I started auditioning again and being in person,
I just felt very self conscious because I, you know,
I was bigger than everyone else, and a lot of
times I was being castid for things that I don't
(32:42):
know where I didn't know why I was being castered,
or maybe it was just kind of like I don't know,
I just looking at everyone else and then kind of
looking at me. I was just like, oh, I don't
really know if I'm supposed to be here. And I
definitely felt pressure for my mom too, which is like
a whole other thing. And I started doing like these
(33:05):
these weight I don't know if you guys remember herbal life,
but I started doing it like these shakes in school
in middle school. And I remember like my homeroom, my home,
mech I think it was homech it's called like with cooking,
and you learn cooking. She would let me like leave
my shakes like in the fridge. So when I started
to do that, and like I started to lose weight
(33:26):
and things. And it's so crazy because I remember at
the time being in middle school and all of those
things and doing all of that. I remember like really
thinking like, oh, like this is like this is great.
Like I'm making the decision, like I think this is
the right path for me to do. And I'm like
looking back and I'm like that was horrible for me
(33:47):
to do, like you know, but I did. It did
help me like lose weight and things like that, but
it doesn't ever give you the confidence that you need
to be in your own body. And that's just like
a whole another conversation, right which you have to feel
feel comfortable in your writing no matter how much you weigh,
(34:07):
how high it is, how low, whatever it is. As
if you're not comfortable in it, that's something else that
we need to work on. And I'm doing that work.
I'm still doing that work now with like a therapist
and really trying to understand kind of like my relationship
with food, especially you know, being Latina, being Hispanic growing
up like you just have to eat clean plate club
(34:29):
like that was like the thing.
Speaker 3 (34:31):
Right, yeah, and being proving like Papa's heros. You know
it's the best in the world.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
But yeah, and then then yes, yes, right exactly, you see, yes,
And it's just kind of hard to like break out
of that, and you don't realize, like as a kid,
you all of these things that we learn, it's kind
of hard to like unlearn them as we get older,
(34:56):
and kind of like bringing it back to Dora, I
really do see how impactful it is. How even the
littlest things of teaching like words in Spanish or like
teaching how to explore just being a leader and being
somebody that looks like us, even though it may be subtle,
(35:20):
it was so impactful and so meaningful. And I understand
that so much now, and uh, I feel like it's
really pushing me to want to be better.
Speaker 1 (35:31):
Absolutely. I'm fascinated too by how you seem so well adjusted.
I mean, correct me if I'm wrong. You seem very
sane and well adjusted. And I only bring that up
because you are a former child actor, and I think
the industry notoriously like traumatizes child actors who then grow
(35:56):
up to be like very dysfunctional adults. And I think
since the beginning of the cinema, we have so many
examples of child actors who were mistreated or who were overworked,
who didn't get to be kids, didn't get what they needed,
their parents didn't protect them.
Speaker 4 (36:11):
What have you?
Speaker 1 (36:12):
Why do you think that you having voiced this huge
character and it sounds like over the course of many years,
like your entire adolescence, why do you think that you
have turned out the way that you have maybe compared
to some of the other child actors from the same
time period and from the same network.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
Even Yeah, it's hard to answer that question, right, because
you don't know exactly everyone. You only see what you
see on social media, right, But there's always things that
are happening or things that will never know what's going
on behind the scenes at home or at school or
things like that. But for me, because everything, at least
(36:51):
in my opinion, because of everything was happening in New York,
I was living in New York, I was recording in
New York. Most of my work was in New York.
I wasn't really a part of like kind of like
that La Hollywood and like surrounded by all of these
other actors and child actors. If anything, I was the opposite.
(37:11):
I feel like I was alienated. I didn't have like
other kids aside from like the kids in my cast,
to kind of like talk to about, you know, the
work that we're doing, or to find someone who can
like mentor me and like voice acting or in acting
in general. Like I just felt like a lone wolf
really and for a very long time until like recently,
(37:39):
So maybe that was part of it. I feel like
because I just wasn't surrounded by all of that. I
was kind of like, you know, in a bubble here.
And I mean I, like I said, like my mom
was just very involved. She was always there for me.
I had a really great support system at least at home.
(37:59):
I need to give a lot of credit to God,
where you know, I grew up in a faith based household,
and I do think he protected me my whole life
and throughout many situations. But I say that to say
there was like there were struggles, so like I said
(38:21):
about like my weight and things like that, and there
were a lot of things that I had to fight
and grow and and understand as I got older, and thankfully,
I think just like the pieces just fell right for me.
I mean after the show when they recasted, I was
(38:41):
graduating from high school going into college and I wasn't
even I was kind of upset, but not really upset.
I was like, I need to leave Dora behind. I
don't know who I am. I need to find out
who I am without Dora. And I was going to
school for communications. I wasn't dorming, but I was like
working at the mall. I was like doing like so
(39:02):
many different things, but I kind of just wanted to
explore a different part of me and my life and
who I'm going to be for the rest of my life.
I didn't know. And throughout that whole time, it wasn't perfect.
I wasn't perfect, but somehow I found my way, and
(39:22):
you know, I learned a lot about myself and I'm
you know, I'm growing and I'm getting better and I
feel like I don't know, just so a lot of
things have happened, but thankfully I'm still here to kind
of like be better and work on myself. And that's
all you can try to do, right And thankfully I have,
you know, a pretty good sound mind. I think to
(39:44):
kind of make good decisions and kind of like evaluate
some things. My husband may tell you otherwise, you know.
I Yeah, you just try it one day at a time, right,
That's all you can do.
Speaker 3 (39:57):
Yeah, thank you so much for sharing that. And I
want to go back to the piece about you finding
out you were recast, Right, so how many years were
you did you voice Dora? And now you're taking on
this new role. So I want to hear like from
there to now what that was, what that's been like.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
Yeah, it's been pretty cool. So if you count the
pilot years also, so from seven and then when I
knew I was getting recasted, I was eighteen, but I
was still doing there was still some overlap between me
and the next Dora, so maybe like a little more
(40:38):
so like eleven maybe eleven to twelve years, like in total, which,
like you said, it was basically my whole childhood. It
feels like like one life, right and then like now
I'm living like a second life. And so after college
and things like that, I ended up leaving the industry
for a little bit and I was working in interior design.
(41:01):
Loved my job. I did project management. I was having
a great time COVID hit. Lost my job and I
found out people were auditioning from home. So I was like, oh,
let me do that, because you never know, you can
book something, money, pay pay the bills and things like that.
So I started to do that. I contacted my old
manager and they were like, yeah, sure, we'll start sending
(41:24):
you out, no, no problem. So I was like great.
I think like a year later, I found a job.
I was working again, but I was still auditioning from
home because it was just easy to do. And I
got this, Well, so this is another exclusive I haven't
I don't know. I don't think I've mentioned this before.
I got an audition for Issa the Iguana, and I
(41:48):
was like, I don't know, like Esa, so I did it.
I don't think I even submitted for it. I was like, no,
I'm going to pass on this one. And then a
little later I got the audition for Mommy and I
was like, oh, that's kind of cool. And then also
at that time it clicked right like, oh, like their reboot.
(42:10):
They're gonna do a reboot of the show. There's so
many other reboots, and I was like, oh, reboot. I
was like, this isn't this just happen like not too
long ago. But then I'm like thinking about it, it's
been like you know, it's been ten years already, and
I'm like, okay, wow, that's okay sure. And then I
was like, all right, I'm going to audition for this,
and I was like this is this would be so cool,
(42:30):
like to come back, and because I don't think I
ever wanted to be Dora again. Like I said, I
think that was like my time, so to be part
of it in this way, to kind of play her mom,
my own mom in a sense, was kind of cool
and full circle. So I auditioned for it, and I
didn't expect anything, but it was something that I was
(42:51):
curious to see if I would get. So I remember
like emailing my manager like Hi, did you hear back?
Did you hear back, which like you normally don't do
because it just kind of like you never know. But
then three months later I got a call. I remember
I was sitting at work in my cubicle and they
called me and I went into a phone booth and
(43:13):
he told me that I got it. I was like,
no way. He's like, yeah, they want you to play mommy,
And like I started getting so emotion on this phone booth.
I was like, this is so crazy, Like I know,
like that call that you get, like so many people
like work so hard to get and for me to
get it for a show twice in a sense like
(43:34):
I was just so like overwhelmed and so thankful to
be a part of it again. And I knew it
changed my life one time, and it's still here and
hopefully it can, like you know, change my life in
other ways too. But it's also like really fulfilling in
a real full circle to kind of be able to
look at my past and see it in a different
(43:57):
way and then channel all of that to bring it
back into this character as as the mom you know
as Dora's Mom.
Speaker 1 (44:07):
Our series that we are like including in this tenth
season of our show, and one of the reasons why
we wanted to talk to you. We have the series
called Totally Nostalgic, and we are feeling nostalgic, and we're
thinking about our childhoods and our adolescents and the late
nineties and the early two thousands, and I'm wondering if
(44:29):
you feel ever a sense of nostalgia for that time
in your life, as it pertains to the show, even
with you know, the journey you've gone on and leaving
the child Dora in the past and figuring out who
you are. Do you ever feel a sense of nostalgia
about that time period?
Speaker 2 (44:49):
For sure, Like with the show. It's kind of sad too,
because I feel like I've pushed it away from me
for so long. Like I said, like after college, and
I didn't really talk about it. I kind of didn't
like when people brought it up, or like I didn't
like using it as like my fun fact when I
got a new job or things like that. My husband does,
(45:11):
but I don't. But I don't know. That's still something
I'm like thinking about, like why I was doing that
for so long, and when I knew I was going
to be voicing Mommy and then I was, you know,
I got the same opportunity to do like a bunch
of conventions at once with this one company. They were
(45:34):
kind of like, Okay, what's your social media presence. I'm like, no,
I have one, Like it's kind of like just for
me and I post like my my outfits and like
my you know whatever, and they're like, do you post
about Dora. I'm like no, And They're like why, and
I'm like, I don't know, you know, I don't know.
I don't I don't know if it's because I didn't
want the attention or I didn't want to talk about it,
or I didn't think it was like cool because it
(45:56):
wasn't cool. I don't know. It was so many different things,
and they were like, well, post about it, because you know,
people need to know, like if you're gonna be at
you know, this city or that city, and you need
a way to connect with them. So I was like okay.
So then I started posting about it on TikTok and Instagram,
and it kind of like blew up in a way
like where I didn't think people cared about me or
(46:19):
the show or or you know, all of that. And
when I got hit with all of these stories and
the songs that we used to sing and all of
these different things, like it kind of like all like
flooded back. And even now, like every time I talk
about it, I get like so overwhelmed because it it's
(46:39):
such a big part of me, and it's it's like
I look at my all of these things and I'm like,
that's that's like me, Like I grew up with her,
Like every time I look at her, I feel that nossage,
I feel all of those different things, and it's so
beautiful because I feel like I kept it in like
a box and now it's kind of open and I'm
(47:01):
able like to tap into that and really like and
feel all of those feelings that I feel like I
was kind of like shoving off for a long time
and I just yeah, I'm like embracing it now and
it's it's overwhelming because I probably haven't done that in
so long, but it is kind of beautiful. Like I
love doing the voice now, I love singing the songs
(47:23):
and going back and watching like you know, the episodes,
especially that first the first the theme song for the
first season with the computer that like, every time I
watch that, I'm just like it's just like grin ear
to ear, Like it's just so cool. That part is
always going to be nostalgic for me.
Speaker 3 (47:44):
Yeah, well, thank you so much. I do want to
just like a couple of final wrap up questions. Can
you tell us about when the show is launching, because
I know it's launching launching soon.
Speaker 2 (47:52):
Yeah, it actually aired, Yes, it aired April twelfth of
last year, so it's almost a one year anniversary. It
is a vail to watch on Paramount. Plus the first
two seasons are on there, and this past September it
is now like on cable and on other on Nickelodeon now,
so you can watch it there. And yes, hopefully we'll
(48:13):
hear some more good news in the future for that.
Oh and they have. I don't know if people are aware.
There's podcasts too that the show is doing. There's like
a Dora's Recipe for Adventure, which is really cool, the
podcast for kids, but they make different recipes throughout each
episode and it's pretty cool. There's great music. Mommy's there,
(48:36):
Poppy's there, Auila's there, so it's actually really fun.
Speaker 3 (48:39):
That conversation with Kathleen was so touching, so beautiful, so profound.
It went places I didn't think it was going to go.
But I'm so glad we got her for this series
because talk about nostalgia, talk about cultural impact and staying power,
and a Latina behind the voice, which I feel like
at that time was not very important to network executives,
(49:03):
but it was the exception here at Nickelodeon. So I'm
really grateful that we got to interview her.
Speaker 1 (49:07):
She shared really personal stories and details about growing up
and what the show has meant to her and the
places it's taken her, which I really appreciate. So I
hope you guys like this interview.
Speaker 3 (49:20):
Thank you for listening to another episode of Loka Radio.
We'll catch you next time, Bestsos. Loka to A Radio
is executive produced by Viosa Fem and Mala Munios.
Speaker 1 (49:31):
Stephanie Franco is our producer.
Speaker 3 (49:33):
Story editing by Me viosa.
Speaker 1 (49:36):
Creative direction by me Mala.
Speaker 3 (49:38):
Look At Radio is a part of iHeartRadio's Michael Dura
podcast Network.
Speaker 1 (49:42):
You can listen to lok At Radio on the iHeartRadio
app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 3 (49:47):
Leave us a review and share with your prima or
share with your homegirl.
Speaker 1 (49:50):
And thank you to our loc a morees to our
listeners for tuning in each and every week.
Speaker 3 (49:54):
Besitos
Are your ears bored?
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (00:05):
Are you looking for a new podcast that will make
you laugh, learn, and say get.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Yeah, then tune in to Look at tho O Radio
Season ten Today.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Okay, look at Our Radio is a radiophonic novella, which
is just an extra way of saying a podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Season ten of Look At thought Our Radio is totally nostalgic.
We're diving in with a four part series about the
Latinos who shaped pop culture in the early two thousands.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
But that's not all.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Season ten is also launching in the wake of LA
wildfires and a new Trump presidency. As always, we're leaning
into community by conducting critical interviews with people leading the
efforts to rebuild LA and fight back against oppression.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Tune in to Look at Our Radio Season ten. Now
that's what I call a podcast. Love with every listen right.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
At your fingertips.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Loga O LAO La Loka Motes. Welcome to season ten
of Loka to a Radio. I'm diosa and I'm Mala
Loka Dora Radio is a podcast dedicated to archiving our
present and shifting the culture forward. You're tuning in to
Capitulo Doscientos Nio two twenty eight.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Last time on Loca to our radio, we brought you
our coverage from the Fighting Oligarchy rally here in Los Angeles.
Go ahead, listen to that Gopitolo, leave us a review
and share with a friend.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Today we are bringing back our mini series Totally Nostalgic,
a series about the Latinos who shaped pop culture in
the early two thousands.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
We started off our Totally Nostalgic series with an interview
with Maria Garcia, who talked to us about Selena Quintania's
impact on the Latin wave, the Latin boom that we
are floring here in our Totally Nostalgic series in the
early two thousands. We firmly believe that it wouldn't have
been possible that Latin boom without Selena's impact. She created
(02:10):
a blueprint of sorts and opened a door. And our
interview with Maria Garcia explores that.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
We sat down with Kathleen or Less. You might remember
her voice as the iconic voice of Dora the Explorer.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
The original the original voice of Dora the Explorer from
the beginning, from the very very first season, very first
episode from the pilot of Dora the Explorer.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Yeah, and just a recap in case you forgot what
Dora the Explorer is. Okay. The first episode of Dora
aired on August fourteenth, in the year two thousand. Dora
the Explorer features the adventures of young Dora, her monkey,
her best friend, Boots, Backpack, and other animated friends. In
(02:55):
each episode, viewers joined Dora on an adventure in an
animated world set inside a computer. Dora the Explorer was
also the first Nickelodeon show to feature a Latino character
as a protagonist.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
When Dora was released on Nickelodeon, this is a show
for young children, we had already aged out of the
target audience. However, Dora was and remains an iconic figure
in children's media, in media in general, in Latino media,
and in animation. The interview is beautiful. It's emotional, honestly
(03:29):
because of the profound nostalgia and the staying power of
this little Latina character.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Hi everyone, I'm Kathleen Harles. You may recognize my voice
when I sound like this. Hi out Dora the Explorer.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Obsessed, obsessed, and there's just so much to talk about,
and we're so grateful that you're here. You know, Dora
obviously was such an iconic show and still is. And
there's a revitalization, right, there's a new problem with the
same title, and you're also a part of that. So
let's talk about that as well. But before we dive
(04:07):
into present day Dora project, let's take it back to
the beginning and tell us about how you started voicing
Dora at age seven and how you got involved in
the show.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
So, Yeah, my mom put me in modeling and pageants
when I was really young, probably like around four or five,
and I kind of just grew to learn how to
perform and kind of like, you know, listen to choreography
or you know, to teachers on how to like do
certain things. So I was I feel like I was
(04:40):
maybe just like taught from a really young age. Like
if someone tells me to do something, like to do it,
and I you know, listened, and like I executed pretty well.
So I did well in modeling and pageants and all
of those things. And through modeling, I found a manager
at a convention in New York City, which I oddly
(05:01):
enough I think still exists. It's at the Walda Frestoria.
But I was discovered there by my manager, and then
my manager found me an agent that started sending me
out to auditions, and Dora was one of the first
big auditions that I went on. At that point, I
was probably maybe was I said already probably? I think
(05:26):
I was already seven, And you know, it was for
the pilot, so we weren't sure if it was, you know,
going to be picked up or if it was going
to be a thing. So but we knew it was
for Nickelodeon, so we were like, oh, that's so cool,
that's so big. And later that week I found out
that I got the role, and my life forever changed
(05:49):
since then, and it's been such a crazy adventure and
I'm sure we'll get into like all of that, but
that's kind of how it all started. And I remember
the audition. It was with a bunch of people were
in the room and one of the people that I'll
never forget was one of the creators, Chris Gifford, And
after the audition, he asked to speak to my a
(06:11):
parent that was with me, and I was like, oh, yeah,
my mom is here, and he was like, yeah, I
want to speak with her. And I was like okay.
And you know, like being from a Hispanic household, if
someone's asking to speak to your parents. I'm like, oh
my goodness, I did something wrong. I'm going to get
in trouble. So I go outside and I tell my mom.
I'm like, she's like, how did go I'm like, I
(06:31):
think all while I was like, they want to talk
to you. She's like, why, what did you do? What happened?
And I'm like, no, I didn't do anything. I don't know.
So she spoke to him, and he just kind of
wanted to get a sense of you know, my parents
are kind of like, you know, my home life. I
guess they're just more personal information just to kind of
get like a vibe. And I guess it went well
(06:51):
because then we I got it. So yeah, it was pretty.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Cool, incredible. So you remember auditioning, Oh yeah, oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
I remember remember being in the room standing. There was
a table and everyone was behind the table. I remember
just I don't even know if I looked up from
the script because I was just like reading from the script.
There was like a few pages, and if my memory
is correct, there was definitely about something about like a
farm with different animals. And I was a pretty good
(07:22):
reader too when I was younger, so that also helped
a lot because I was able to pronounce and kind
of read pretty well out love.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Do you remember being nervous as a child and going
on this audition.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Maybe a little, only because it was Nickelodeon, and you know,
it's intimidating when you walk in. I even remember the
floor they had like risers, and there was a bunch
of kids and different families and we were all sitting,
you know, auditioning for the same role. So it's kind
of weird. But like I said, like I was so
used to you know, being in front of adults by
(07:59):
myself and sering questions and preparing you know, answers and
things like that. So I was already customed to like
that type of environment, so I was I don't think
I was like too nervous. I kind of just went
and did what I had to do and then.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
You know, run out, don't go anywhere, lokomotives.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
We'll be right back, and we're back with more of
our episode.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Amazing. And this is a really niche question, but you
know you're Peeduana and I'm also Peruvian, and yeah, and
so I wanted to ask you about like the Spanish,
like speaking Spanish, right, And Dora has this kind of
neutral quote unquote neutral Spanish. She doesn't sound like she's
(08:46):
from a particular place from Latin America. And obviously if
you're from Biddu or any Spanish speaking country, right there's
its own dialect or it's its own inflection. So was
that something that you had to work through to make
it sound quote unquote neutral or what was that process?
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Like this is a great question because I feel like
I don't get this question often, and I think it's
something that should be discussed a little more. And in
my case, it's very weird and very different. So in general,
I don't really have an accent. Even growing up and
living in New York, I don't really have a New
York accent. I lived in Long Island for probably over
(09:26):
ten years now, I don't have a Long Island accent,
and I don't know if that's just the way I
was wired. But even as a kid, I had a
very neutral accent, which worked in a lot of different
ways within the industry, because a lot of times, you know,
they wanted neutral accents and for well, for well, I'll
(09:48):
get into Dora in a second. But so my parents
are both immigrants from Peru. Like you had mentioned, they
were probably living in the States at that time for
maybe like ten years or so. They were fluent in English,
obviously with accents. I have an older brother, four years older,
(10:09):
and when he was born, they only spoke to him
in Spanish. And when he started going to school, he
had a lot of issues and comprehension issues, just you know,
with English and kind of learning, and it kind of like,
you know, just hindered him a little bit at school.
So when I was born, they didn't want that to
happen to me. So my parents only started talking to
(10:30):
me in English, and I only spoke Spanish with my grandparents,
specifically my mom's mom, my grandmother, because she would watch
us and take care of us most of the time
here in the States. So that's kind of where my
Spanish learning began. It wasn't perfect. I understood it completely,
(10:51):
but I wasn't one hundred percent fluent. So with the
audition there were some Spanish words, but I'm sure from
watching the show, you guys can tell it's not, you know,
not teaching how to like be fluent Intosh. It's kind
of like little words to pick up on and kind
of open those doors of learning a new culture, learning
a new language and trying to instill that at a
(11:14):
young age so that you know, when you grow up
you want to explore that more. No pun intended there,
but so like it's it's it's tough because now as
an adult right and living in the United States, like
English was just my first language. I spoke English a
lot of the times. My grandma ended up moving to Connecticut,
(11:36):
I wasn't really around her as much anymore. I only
spoke to my parents in English, even if they, you know,
talk to me in Spanish. So my Spanish was never fluent.
I was never one hundred percent fluent. Even now, I
do desire to learn and to perfect it because I
feel like a lot of times when I'm expressing my emotions,
(11:56):
I can't get there fast enough with Spanish, and I
want to get there and I want to learn and
I want to be better, but it's not one hundred percent,
and I feel like looking back and when I think about,
you know, my Dora days, for a little bit, I
think I didn't think I was like Latina enough to
(12:18):
play like this iconic character and be like, you know,
the face of this girl who wasn't a hundred percent
fluent in Spanish, and I remember even too sometimes because
I was getting a lot of press once the show
came out. A lot of people wanted to like talk
to me and learn more about me and the show,
which was rare for you know, animation and voiceover actors.
(12:42):
And I remember there were a few networks. I don't
remember which ones, but I remember there were a few
Hispanic networks that didn't want to interview me because I
wasn't one hundred percent fluent. And at the time, I
think I kind of understand, but now as an adult,
I'm kind of like, oh, that's kind of sad, because
I mean, I get it too, but I don't know
(13:03):
if the reason was just because they didn't think maybe
I was like worthy enough, you know, and that kind
of like is something that I had to work through,
and it's just a big topic of conversation nowadays, which
absolutely I try to.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
Yeah, be a part of Don't go Anywhere, Look Amotives.
We'll be right.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Back, and we're back with more of our episode.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
I love hearing that backstory so much because I wonder if,
even subconsciously, that was why Dora resonated so much. Because
a lot of us born Latinos lose that connection to Spanish,
especially if there's some type of family history where there
was an experience like your brothers, right, and then the
parents decide, Okay, we're going to do English only. And
(13:54):
that's something that we've covered on the show actually, and
we've had a lot of listeners shared very similar experience
and says so to hear that backstory just it makes
that I think so much. It gives it gives a
lot of depth, I think to you portraying this iconic character.
And did you know at the time the cultural impact
(14:15):
that the show was having or can you reflect back
now and like see like, wow, we really did something.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Yeah, for sure, I mean you know as you can.
I was a kid. I was seven years old. The
show aired when I was ten, and I think it
started to really ramp up maybe like when I was
like twelve or thirteen, maybe like a year after or so.
And like I said, like with voiceover and voice acting,
(14:45):
it wasn't like a big thing for it to like
blow up in a way where like everyone wants to
like know who's behind it, who's doing the voices, like
who created it, like all of these like different things,
even without social media back then, so like add that
in now and like now it's even bigger. I feel like,
but I don't think I really understood the impact the
(15:08):
show was having and that I was having. I remember
being told and I have been blessed to be like
nominated for all of these different awards and you know,
to be recognized at certain events, Latino events, But there
was always like a question, I feel like in the
back of my mind, like really like why, like you know,
(15:29):
I don't think I really fully understood. And it wasn't
until about two years ago I started doing conventions like
Comic Con and all of these different things, and I
started to meet people who grew up with the show,
who grew up with Dora, And there were so many
people that I have talked to who have heard stories
(15:51):
of like how much Dora means to them, how much
it helped them connect and resonate with, you know, their families,
with their backgrounds. There's people who lived grew up in
Mexico or were born in Mexico, lived there for a
few years. We're watching Dora the dubdor in Spanish, teaching English,
and then they would move to the States and then
(16:13):
they would watch it in English. Teaching Spanish to help
them learn English, and I was like, this is so cool,
like all of these different things that I had no
idea was going on behind the scenes because I'm on
the other side and I had no way of like
talking to people. And it's just so beautiful to see
(16:34):
how impactful my voice is and was, and when I
do the voice and like people start crying. It's just
it's so overwhelming and it's such an amazing feeling. But
it does bring back so many memories from your childhood,
and you don't you don't know what someone can connect
that voice and the show too, and it can it
(16:57):
can I don't know, it can change people's lives. I
don't know. It's just amazing.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
It really is amazing. And I am stuck on what
you shared earlier that you filmed you recorded at age seven,
but then the show came out when you were ten,
and so that's it takes a long time for something
to get made, and then once it's made for something
to actually get out there, it doesn't always happen. And
(17:23):
what was going on between seven and ten? Did you
you know you did the pilot? Did you forget about it?
Was it a surprise years later when it finally came out, Like,
what was that process between seven years old making the
thing and then ten years old it's out in the world.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Yeah, from what I remember, it didn't get picked up
the first time, so my ma, I remember my mom
telling me that they had asked, like do we want
to keep working on it? They want to try and
pitch it again, so they were going to make some
tweaks and do some things, and we were like, yeah,
(18:00):
of course, Like what else are we doing, Like, you know,
we want to work on this, And I remember there
were a lot of like late nights in the studio.
I remember being with the voice of Boots too and
us recording and doing all of these things. And I
even think they were like changing things on the fly
and like, so there was a lot of work that
(18:20):
was done between those years. I can't remember like right
before it aired, I'm sure like things were ramping up,
but yeah, we recorded a lot. I mean, we had music.
There was a bunch of revisions all the time. So
(18:41):
I do remember like being in the studio pretty often
before the show aired, and there were there were longer
episodes than they are now, so there was a lot
more dialogue in things. But also aside from that, you know,
I think I was just being a kid. I think
(19:02):
I was like doing other auditions and kind of going
to school. I don't remember too much, And I know
for sure with school, I was recording when I had
to record like full days. I had a tutor on
set also, and I can't remember if that was before
the show aired or after.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
And all of this in New York.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
In New York, Yeah, the whole cast was pretty much
in New York. Wow, So the one of the first
sessions with all the kids. I remember two times being
with the whole cast. The first time was when we
were all meeting each other for the first time and
they were going to talk to us about our characters.
They started showing us images of our characters and kind
(19:47):
of like what we looked like, which was pretty cool.
And then the next time was when we I think
we were recording the theme song and we were all
together and it was chaos. I remember, just all the
kids like running around. There were snacks everywhere. We were
just like all over the place, and I think that
was the last time we were all together. I don't know,
(20:07):
because it was just like craziness. But yeah, we were.
I think most of us were kids, except for Map,
the voice of the Map and the voice of Swiper,
Mark Weener. He did both of those voices. He was
an adult. So and then maybe some other like characters,
but the main, other main characters were all kids.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
So had you been had you been voicing Dora without
having an image of Dora?
Speaker 2 (20:34):
I auditioned without having her image, so it was just
kind of like my voice. And then fun fact that
my mom reminded me recently, which I don't think I've
spoken about at all, So this is this is an
exclusive and exclusive. Yeah. So they had originally drawn Dora
(20:56):
with green eyes. No, yes, and uh there was someone
on the team who we got really close to. Her
name was Dolly, and she was like, no, you can't
have you have to change it to brown. And they
changed it to brown. And I always like try to
(21:18):
think about that, like how one why and then like
two because of course there's people you know in South
American countries or in Latin countries that you know people
who have green eyes. It's not like there is it,
but because you're trying to create a character that resonates
with the majority, right, absolutely think brown was the right
(21:39):
right way to go for sure.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
Oh yeah, I mean, and do you remember when you
first saw the image of Dora and like what your
thoughts were, did you feel connected to her or what
were your.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
Thoughts her head? It was just like so.
Speaker 4 (21:57):
I always remember like I always had that bell. I
was like, oh, her head is like pretty big. And
then what made it worse too? Like I always used
to get so many comments.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Of like, oh my gosh, she looks so much like Dora,
and I'm like what, But yeah, I thought she was
the cutest. I mean those first animations of Dora, like
especially in season one. I look back and I'm just like,
she's so cute, and I love her little belly that
(22:32):
shows between her shorts and her shirt and her little belly.
I was definitely like more as a kid. I was
definitely a little chubbier, and I owe that always happened
to me. My shirt always like wrote up a little bit,
so I thought that was like really cute. She doesn't
have that now, which is fine, I get it, but
(22:52):
I do miss the little like belly pop there. Those
are definitely the two things I remember noticing.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
And I love that it was your mom who reminded
you about the character originally having green eyes. What do
your parents say now, like as they also look back
on this huge cultural impact that you had, what are
their thoughts on this character and your involvement.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
I forget sometimes that my mom has all of the information.
So every time like I forget something or I call
her and I ask and she starts telling me all
these things. I'm like, oh, like, how do you remember
like all of this stuff? But she should definitely do
an interview with all the stuff that she knows. But
my mom has She's like, she is my best friend,
(23:36):
and uh, you know, she was the one who I
hung out with the most, and she was one taking
me to pageants, some mudeling, to auditions and really kind
of just being a protector and a guide in every way,
you know. Within with this industry, it's really hard to
(23:59):
kind of like navigate everything, especially not knowing anything and
my mom being an immigrant being here for only like
a handful of years. Kind of throw a young mom too.
She was twenty when she had me, No, twenty four,
so she was probably like thirty thirty one when I
started all of this, and you know, she did. In
(24:22):
my mind, she did well, thankfully, there was people that
were in her corner that were able to kind of
guide her and teach her like certain things about the
business that you wouldn't know otherwise, which is also something
like so crazy. I feel like a lot of times
there is no book right to teach you about the business,
and you're kind of learning and doing these things, and
(24:42):
a lot of times you can kind of get caught in,
you know, things that aren't true and things that you
think that you can't do or can't say, when in
reality you can. So there was definitely a lot of
growth that we did together, and I really am so
thankful that my mom was there to protect me and
(25:03):
to help me navigate the industry the way that she did.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Did your friends at school know that you were a
child actor and that you were doing TV shows and
auditioning and pageants? Was that just your work life and
you left it at work and then when you were
at school you were just in school, yes and no.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Growing up, I grew up in Queens and I was
going to a private school. It was a Greek Orthodox school,
so I had I think I went there from the
beginning since kindergarten and I was there till sixth grade.
And most and it were small classes. I think my
class the biggest it got was like twenty people in
the whole grade, so very small school. So I think
(25:51):
they kind of knew and like knew the whole process.
But because I knew them all from before and throughout
the whole thing, we had built friendships and relationships where
it wasn't like, you know, it was cool, and I
would invite and take some of them to like little
movie premieres that they would have at the Nickelodeon offices
and things, but it was never like how my experience
(26:16):
was in middle school, which I'll get to that in
a second, Okay, But so I think the beginning years
was kind of like easier to navigate. And before we
moved to Long Island, I had went to public school
for maybe like half a year, and that was kind
of weird because I feel like I was still being
(26:36):
taken out of school or not really in school at
the time. I was doing like half days in the
studio or like half weeks in the studio, and then
half the other week I was in school, So it's
kind of weird. So people kind of knew and then
I got made fun of a little bit I guess,
because you know, Dora was seen as like a kid
show and I was already like in like fifth grade
(26:57):
at that point. But at whatever, then I left. I
went to Long Island, and I remember telling my mom,
I don't want anyone to know. I just want to
go start fresh, and I don't want that to be
like a topic of discussion at least in the beginning,
you know. And then I would tell people when I
was ready. So my mom made sure to tell the
(27:22):
guidance counselor this is what she wants, because obviously she
had to tell them because I would be taken out
early and things like that. So she's like, fine, no problem.
She takes me to my homeroom class, my guidance counselor.
She's telling my homeroom teacher who I am, and a
student comes up at the same time, and I'm like no.
(27:47):
I remember just being like stunned there. And this was
sixth grade and this school was huge in comparison to
what I was used to. And she went back and
told everyone in the class and then it was kind
of like lost from there, and I'm like, well, what
was my secret and.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
What was their reaction? I mean, middle school is rough.
I would never want to go back to middle school ever.
Speaker 2 (28:12):
Again.
Speaker 3 (28:13):
You couldn't pay me so.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Horrible.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
So what was the reaction?
Speaker 2 (28:21):
There was a mix. Some thought it was really cool.
Some was like some people were like, oh, that's cool,
but like who cares, Like let's get to know you,
which was really cool too. Some people thought I was
lying my best friend, well I'm still friends with now.
She thought I was lying the whole time.
Speaker 4 (28:42):
Oh wow, she's my best friend now, so that's fine.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
And and then some people just would make fun of
me about it. I think I don't I think too,
like without social media and really understanding what voice acting was.
You know, I wasn't online the set of like, you know,
a show where you could see my face, so people
I don't think people really understood like what I was doing.
(29:11):
So I think maybe it just came from that, and maybe,
you know, maybe jealousy because I was leaving school early,
and maybe I was like being I, you know, people
excuse me for more things and things like that. So
it's just kind of hard, especially like you said, middle school,
it was just such a weird time. Everyone's changing, people
are changing faster than other people. I'm trying to figure
(29:34):
out like who I am, and you were working a
lot and you were a working actor. I was a
working actor. Yeah, and we did a lot. I mean
at the time at that time, Dora was like, we
were doing games. We were doing all of these online games,
we were doing toys. It was just it was a lot.
(29:55):
It was definitely a lot. And at the same time,
not that this is related or anything, I was struggling
a lot with my weight at the time, so I
was really like insecure and self conscious about my body
and things like that. So it's just kind of hard
to navigate all of that, all of that stuff.
Speaker 3 (30:10):
I'm thinking for bringing that up, because I think that that's,
you know, one of the parts of being like a
I don't know, a unique, not a unique, not quite
the opposite of unique, a universal experience for girls right
growing up in whether they're an elementary school, middle school,
high school, growing up, there's these body image issues, especially
(30:32):
if you're a girl of a young girl of color, right,
maybe you have a larger body than your peers. And
so how was that for you as you were also
voicing one of the biggest characters at that time, but also,
like you said, like I was just in middle school.
I was just a girl. What was that like?
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Navigating it was hard because I was getting pulled from school,
so I really I couldn't do like extracurriculars or anything
like that, at least in middle school. In high school
I was able to participate in like the musicals and things,
but that was also hard to But especially in middle school,
(31:12):
I couldn't really like participate in a lot of things.
And making friends was definitely hard because especially because I
wasn't there, there wasn't a lot of times for me
to like really connect with people in a deep way.
I mean I did eventually, you know, find those few
people that I did connect with, but it was definitely
hard and kind of balance all of it school work, traveling,
(31:37):
then like my home, and then at home too, like
you know, I have a brother and things, and you know,
just like trying to balance it all. I think it
was really difficult for me at the time, and especially
with my weight, you know, being mostly a voice actor
at the time because as a kid and not having
so much time to give, like you know, my priority
(31:58):
was Dora and the show and with Nickelodeon and so
and a lot of times I was recording by myself
at that time, and you know, so being by myself
but also like being overweight, and you know, I felt
comfortable in the booth because I was by myself. No
one's looking at me, and my body doesn't matter, it's
(32:18):
just my voice. So I do feel a sense of
comfort every time I'm in the booth, which is really
weird but also really amazing, and every time I would
and then when I started auditioning again and being in person,
I just felt very self conscious because I, you know,
I was bigger than everyone else, and a lot of
times I was being castid for things that I don't
(32:42):
know where I didn't know why I was being castered,
or maybe it was just kind of like I don't know,
I just looking at everyone else and then kind of
looking at me. I was just like, oh, I don't
really know if I'm supposed to be here. And I
definitely felt pressure for my mom too, which is like
a whole other thing. And I started doing like these
(33:05):
these weight I don't know if you guys remember herbal life,
but I started doing it like these shakes in school
in middle school. And I remember like my homeroom, my home,
mech I think it was homech it's called like with cooking,
and you learn cooking. She would let me like leave
my shakes like in the fridge. So when I started
to do that, and like I started to lose weight
(33:26):
and things. And it's so crazy because I remember at
the time being in middle school and all of those
things and doing all of that. I remember like really
thinking like, oh, like this is like this is great.
Like I'm making the decision, like I think this is
the right path for me to do. And I'm like
looking back and I'm like that was horrible for me
(33:47):
to do, like you know, but I did. It did
help me like lose weight and things like that, but
it doesn't ever give you the confidence that you need
to be in your own body. And that's just like
a whole another conversation, right which you have to feel
feel comfortable in your writing no matter how much you weigh,
(34:07):
how high it is, how low, whatever it is. As
if you're not comfortable in it, that's something else that
we need to work on. And I'm doing that work.
I'm still doing that work now with like a therapist
and really trying to understand kind of like my relationship
with food, especially you know, being Latina, being Hispanic growing
up like you just have to eat clean plate club
(34:29):
like that was like the thing.
Speaker 3 (34:31):
Right, yeah, and being proving like Papa's heros. You know
it's the best in the world.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
But yeah, and then then yes, yes, right exactly, you see, yes,
And it's just kind of hard to like break out
of that, and you don't realize, like as a kid,
you all of these things that we learn, it's kind
of hard to like unlearn them as we get older,
(34:56):
and kind of like bringing it back to Dora, I
really do see how impactful it is. How even the
littlest things of teaching like words in Spanish or like
teaching how to explore just being a leader and being
somebody that looks like us, even though it may be subtle,
(35:20):
it was so impactful and so meaningful. And I understand
that so much now, and uh, I feel like it's
really pushing me to want to be better.
Speaker 1 (35:31):
Absolutely. I'm fascinated too by how you seem so well adjusted.
I mean, correct me if I'm wrong. You seem very
sane and well adjusted. And I only bring that up
because you are a former child actor, and I think
the industry notoriously like traumatizes child actors who then grow
(35:56):
up to be like very dysfunctional adults. And I think
since the beginning of the cinema, we have so many
examples of child actors who were mistreated or who were overworked,
who didn't get to be kids, didn't get what they needed,
their parents didn't protect them.
Speaker 4 (36:11):
What have you?
Speaker 1 (36:12):
Why do you think that you having voiced this huge
character and it sounds like over the course of many years,
like your entire adolescence, why do you think that you
have turned out the way that you have maybe compared
to some of the other child actors from the same
time period and from the same network.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
Even Yeah, it's hard to answer that question, right, because
you don't know exactly everyone. You only see what you
see on social media, right, But there's always things that
are happening or things that will never know what's going
on behind the scenes at home or at school or
things like that. But for me, because everything, at least
(36:51):
in my opinion, because of everything was happening in New York,
I was living in New York, I was recording in
New York. Most of my work was in New York.
I wasn't really a part of like kind of like
that La Hollywood and like surrounded by all of these
other actors and child actors. If anything, I was the opposite.
(37:11):
I feel like I was alienated. I didn't have like
other kids aside from like the kids in my cast,
to kind of like talk to about, you know, the
work that we're doing, or to find someone who can
like mentor me and like voice acting or in acting
in general. Like I just felt like a lone wolf
really and for a very long time until like recently,
(37:39):
So maybe that was part of it. I feel like
because I just wasn't surrounded by all of that. I
was kind of like, you know, in a bubble here.
And I mean I, like I said, like my mom
was just very involved. She was always there for me.
I had a really great support system at least at home.
(37:59):
I need to give a lot of credit to God,
where you know, I grew up in a faith based household,
and I do think he protected me my whole life
and throughout many situations. But I say that to say
there was like there were struggles, so like I said
(38:21):
about like my weight and things like that, and there
were a lot of things that I had to fight
and grow and and understand as I got older, and thankfully,
I think just like the pieces just fell right for me.
I mean after the show when they recasted, I was
(38:41):
graduating from high school going into college and I wasn't
even I was kind of upset, but not really upset.
I was like, I need to leave Dora behind. I
don't know who I am. I need to find out
who I am without Dora. And I was going to
school for communications. I wasn't dorming, but I was like
working at the mall. I was like doing like so
(39:02):
many different things, but I kind of just wanted to
explore a different part of me and my life and
who I'm going to be for the rest of my life.
I didn't know. And throughout that whole time, it wasn't perfect.
I wasn't perfect, but somehow I found my way, and
(39:22):
you know, I learned a lot about myself and I'm
you know, I'm growing and I'm getting better and I
feel like I don't know, just so a lot of
things have happened, but thankfully I'm still here to kind
of like be better and work on myself. And that's
all you can try to do, right And thankfully I have,
you know, a pretty good sound mind. I think to
(39:44):
kind of make good decisions and kind of like evaluate
some things. My husband may tell you otherwise, you know.
I Yeah, you just try it one day at a time, right,
That's all you can do.
Speaker 3 (39:57):
Yeah, thank you so much for sharing that. And I
want to go back to the piece about you finding
out you were recast, Right, so how many years were
you did you voice Dora? And now you're taking on
this new role. So I want to hear like from
there to now what that was, what that's been like.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
Yeah, it's been pretty cool. So if you count the
pilot years also, so from seven and then when I
knew I was getting recasted, I was eighteen, but I
was still doing there was still some overlap between me
and the next Dora, so maybe like a little more
(40:38):
so like eleven maybe eleven to twelve years, like in total, which,
like you said, it was basically my whole childhood. It
feels like like one life, right and then like now
I'm living like a second life. And so after college
and things like that, I ended up leaving the industry
for a little bit and I was working in interior design.
(41:01):
Loved my job. I did project management. I was having
a great time COVID hit. Lost my job and I
found out people were auditioning from home. So I was like, oh,
let me do that, because you never know, you can
book something, money, pay pay the bills and things like that.
So I started to do that. I contacted my old
manager and they were like, yeah, sure, we'll start sending
(41:24):
you out, no, no problem. So I was like great.
I think like a year later, I found a job.
I was working again, but I was still auditioning from
home because it was just easy to do. And I
got this, Well, so this is another exclusive I haven't
I don't know. I don't think I've mentioned this before.
I got an audition for Issa the Iguana, and I
(41:48):
was like, I don't know, like Esa, so I did it.
I don't think I even submitted for it. I was like, no,
I'm going to pass on this one. And then a
little later I got the audition for Mommy and I
was like, oh, that's kind of cool. And then also
at that time it clicked right like, oh, like their reboot.
(42:10):
They're gonna do a reboot of the show. There's so
many other reboots, and I was like, oh, reboot. I
was like, this isn't this just happen like not too
long ago. But then I'm like thinking about it, it's
been like you know, it's been ten years already, and
I'm like, okay, wow, that's okay sure. And then I
was like, all right, I'm going to audition for this,
and I was like this is this would be so cool,
(42:30):
like to come back, and because I don't think I
ever wanted to be Dora again. Like I said, I
think that was like my time, so to be part
of it in this way, to kind of play her mom,
my own mom in a sense, was kind of cool
and full circle. So I auditioned for it, and I
didn't expect anything, but it was something that I was
(42:51):
curious to see if I would get. So I remember
like emailing my manager like Hi, did you hear back?
Did you hear back, which like you normally don't do
because it just kind of like you never know. But
then three months later I got a call. I remember
I was sitting at work in my cubicle and they
called me and I went into a phone booth and
(43:13):
he told me that I got it. I was like,
no way. He's like, yeah, they want you to play mommy,
And like I started getting so emotion on this phone booth.
I was like, this is so crazy, Like I know,
like that call that you get, like so many people
like work so hard to get and for me to
get it for a show twice in a sense like
(43:34):
I was just so like overwhelmed and so thankful to
be a part of it again. And I knew it
changed my life one time, and it's still here and
hopefully it can, like you know, change my life in
other ways too. But it's also like really fulfilling in
a real full circle to kind of be able to
look at my past and see it in a different
(43:57):
way and then channel all of that to bring it
back into this character as as the mom you know
as Dora's Mom.
Speaker 1 (44:07):
Our series that we are like including in this tenth
season of our show, and one of the reasons why
we wanted to talk to you. We have the series
called Totally Nostalgic, and we are feeling nostalgic, and we're
thinking about our childhoods and our adolescents and the late
nineties and the early two thousands, and I'm wondering if
(44:29):
you feel ever a sense of nostalgia for that time
in your life, as it pertains to the show, even
with you know, the journey you've gone on and leaving
the child Dora in the past and figuring out who
you are. Do you ever feel a sense of nostalgia
about that time period?
Speaker 2 (44:49):
For sure, Like with the show. It's kind of sad too,
because I feel like I've pushed it away from me
for so long. Like I said, like after college, and
I didn't really talk about it. I kind of didn't
like when people brought it up, or like I didn't
like using it as like my fun fact when I
got a new job or things like that. My husband does,
(45:11):
but I don't. But I don't know. That's still something
I'm like thinking about, like why I was doing that
for so long, and when I knew I was going
to be voicing Mommy and then I was, you know,
I got the same opportunity to do like a bunch
of conventions at once with this one company. They were
(45:34):
kind of like, Okay, what's your social media presence. I'm like, no,
I have one, Like it's kind of like just for
me and I post like my my outfits and like
my you know whatever, and they're like, do you post
about Dora. I'm like no, And They're like why, and
I'm like, I don't know, you know, I don't know.
I don't I don't know if it's because I didn't
want the attention or I didn't want to talk about it,
or I didn't think it was like cool because it
(45:56):
wasn't cool. I don't know. It was so many different things,
and they were like, well, post about it, because you know,
people need to know, like if you're gonna be at
you know, this city or that city, and you need
a way to connect with them. So I was like okay.
So then I started posting about it on TikTok and Instagram,
and it kind of like blew up in a way
like where I didn't think people cared about me or
(46:19):
the show or or you know, all of that. And
when I got hit with all of these stories and
the songs that we used to sing and all of
these different things, like it kind of like all like
flooded back. And even now, like every time I talk
about it, I get like so overwhelmed because it it's
(46:39):
such a big part of me, and it's it's like
I look at my all of these things and I'm like,
that's that's like me, Like I grew up with her,
Like every time I look at her, I feel that nossage,
I feel all of those different things, and it's so
beautiful because I feel like I kept it in like
a box and now it's kind of open and I'm
(47:01):
able like to tap into that and really like and
feel all of those feelings that I feel like I
was kind of like shoving off for a long time
and I just yeah, I'm like embracing it now and
it's it's overwhelming because I probably haven't done that in
so long, but it is kind of beautiful. Like I
love doing the voice now, I love singing the songs
(47:23):
and going back and watching like you know, the episodes,
especially that first the first the theme song for the
first season with the computer that like, every time I
watch that, I'm just like it's just like grin ear
to ear, Like it's just so cool. That part is
always going to be nostalgic for me.
Speaker 3 (47:44):
Yeah, well, thank you so much. I do want to
just like a couple of final wrap up questions. Can
you tell us about when the show is launching, because
I know it's launching launching soon.
Speaker 2 (47:52):
Yeah, it actually aired, Yes, it aired April twelfth of
last year, so it's almost a one year anniversary. It
is a vail to watch on Paramount. Plus the first
two seasons are on there, and this past September it
is now like on cable and on other on Nickelodeon now,
so you can watch it there. And yes, hopefully we'll
(48:13):
hear some more good news in the future for that.
Oh and they have. I don't know if people are aware.
There's podcasts too that the show is doing. There's like
a Dora's Recipe for Adventure, which is really cool, the
podcast for kids, but they make different recipes throughout each
episode and it's pretty cool. There's great music. Mommy's there,
(48:36):
Poppy's there, Auila's there, so it's actually really fun.
Speaker 3 (48:39):
That conversation with Kathleen was so touching, so beautiful, so profound.
It went places I didn't think it was going to go.
But I'm so glad we got her for this series
because talk about nostalgia, talk about cultural impact and staying power,
and a Latina behind the voice, which I feel like
at that time was not very important to network executives,
(49:03):
but it was the exception here at Nickelodeon. So I'm
really grateful that we got to interview her.
Speaker 1 (49:07):
She shared really personal stories and details about growing up
and what the show has meant to her and the
places it's taken her, which I really appreciate. So I
hope you guys like this interview.
Speaker 3 (49:20):
Thank you for listening to another episode of Loka Radio.
We'll catch you next time, Bestsos. Loka to A Radio
is executive produced by Viosa Fem and Mala Munios.
Speaker 1 (49:31):
Stephanie Franco is our producer.
Speaker 3 (49:33):
Story editing by Me viosa.
Speaker 1 (49:36):
Creative direction by me Mala.
Speaker 3 (49:38):
Look At Radio is a part of iHeartRadio's Michael Dura
podcast Network.
Speaker 1 (49:42):
You can listen to lok At Radio on the iHeartRadio
app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 3 (49:47):
Leave us a review and share with your prima or
share with your homegirl.
Speaker 1 (49:50):
And thank you to our loc a morees to our
listeners for tuning in each and every week.
Speaker 3 (49:54):
Besitos
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com