¿Qué pasa, U.S.A.?

I do not speak Spanish but I enjoyed watching this show about a close knit family living in Miami. The great thing, for me at least, is that half the language spoken here was English and Half Spanish. This meant a wider viewing audience, but it also was a lesson in learning. The young latin kids (who were born in America) who wanted to speak English. Their Parents had to speak both languages and their elders who only knew (and wanted to only speak) Spanish. Just by watching (with your eyes) and listening (with your head), you could understand what was going on, even if you could not understand what was being said.

The storylines were interesting and funny. The whole cast was great, especially the one who played the Grandmother! I was happy to see that Steven Bauer made it big time. I wish I could see these shows again. I use to watch them on the Public Television station from Orlando, back in the '70's. If TV could be as good as this now a days!

Like most things, the show tarnished a bit with age, but what I remember most was that this show could be watched by people who only spoke one or the other of English and Spanish, and still be enjoyed and understood.

I was in high school when this show was on PBS in the NYC area, and my father's mother was living with us. My grandmother and I were watching the show and laughing till we choked, some slapstick scene with the grandmother and the dishwasher is all I remember now, 30 yrs later. What I remember most vividly is my father walking into the TV room to find his youngest kid and his mother laughing themselves sick, over a Spanish language TV show when neither of us spoke or understood Spanish. He talked about it for days, told everyone he knew at work about it. All we could tell him was, "it was FUNNY!"

Actually, this show was intended to help newly-arrived Cubans learn how to speak English. The show was in Englsih and Spanish musch like Cuban-American households. The children on the show spoke mostly English and the parents mostly Spanish. The older characters spoke as much Enmglish as they could and _wanted_ to learn English, but as we all know it is easier to learn a language when you are younger than when you are older. The fun of the show was in the way the older characters tried to deal with the younger characters in a new land and everyone's attempts at becoming American while remaining Cuban.

"¿Qué Pasa, U.S.A.?" is much more than a TV sitcom. It is a veritable documentary of life in 1970's Miami, before Mariel, drug wars and the information age. It provides glimpses into the many cultures that make up our city, from the obvious transplanted Cubans to the blacks to the Jews, upper and middle class (we have no lower class in Miami ;-),old and young, every character represents a familiar relative, neighbor or acquaintance. At that time, most Cubans had been in Miami for less than 20 years, and the hope of a return to a free Cuba still burned in our hearts. In a bittersweet way, that explains the strong resistance of the first generation to assimilate into the culture and the amusing conflicts between them and the second generation. With its universal themes and unique local flavor, it is a definite "must see", especially now that the entire series has been released on DVD.

Que Pasa USA one of the best shows I've ever seen. This show has been my favorite show since i was 7. I started to watched this show since i was like 6 or 7. No other show compares to this show. If they only put this show back on air man thats the best thing television people could do. If they were to put this show back on air i would watch it every day. I can only wish this show can come back on it would be the best thing that ever happened in my life. Another reason why i would like the show to come back is because of the cast. They were one of the best cast i have ever seen in television man. I think all of the cast from Que Pasa USA should come back and do one show for the old times. In conclusion i would like to add that if you guys would come back on air i would be so thank full with who ever would be responsible for putting you guys back on air. oh yeah don't forget I'm your guys number one fan