“Día soleado, manteniendo las nubes de distancia.” That is: “Sunny day, keeping the clouds away.”
If you know that tune, you surely know Sonia Manzano, otherwise known as Maria on the enduring public television show “Sesame Street.”
Manzano will be the keynote speaker at the YWCA Clark County’s annual luncheon, set for 11:30 a.m. Sept. 10 at the Hilton Vancouver Washington, 301 W. Sixth St. She’ll discuss “Building Resilient Children, the ‘Sesame Street’ Way.” Tickets are $50 each and available at http://ywcaclarkcounty.com.
Manzano, a first-generation American of Puerto Rican descent who grew up in the South Bronx of New York, was just 21 years old when cast as Maria on “Sesame Street” in 1971. She has gone on to win 15 Emmy awards for her writing for “Sesame Street,” as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Arts and Sciences. Still a member of the “Sesame Street” cast, she has also performed on stage and written several books for children and young adults, including 2012’s celebrated “The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano.”
