Tag Archives: dora

Two of the leading researchers involved with preschool television program Dora the Explorer, Head of Education Research Mariana Díaz-Wionczek and Creative/Cultural Advisor Carlos Cortés,  describe how the show evolved from merely featuring a Latina character to intentionally teaching Spanish, highlighting dual language capabilities, and promoting Latino culture. It was the early 2000s when Carlos Cortés, professor (now emeritus) at UC Riverside, and Mariana Díaz Wionczek, researcher, joined the production team of the fledgling series Dora the Explorer. At that time,…