¿Qué pasa, U.S.A.?

"¿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.

¿Qué Pasa, USA? was and still is America's first bilingual situation comedy. The program explored the trials and tribulations faced by a Cuban family, named Peña,in Miami as they struggled to cope with a new country and a new language. The series focused on the identity crisis of the teenage members of the family as they are pulled in one direction by their elders who want to maintain Cuban values and traditions - and pulled in other directions by the pressures of living in a predominantly Anglo society. The series is bilingual, reflecting the mix of language often heard in Cuban-American neighborhoods from Spanish in the home and English at the supermarket to the inevitable combining of both into "Spanglish."

I come from a Cuban family and i can relate to this show and the comedy and highly recommend this show to anyone that enjoys a good laugh.

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!

You know there are always shows that seem to come across television with themes that we could all relate to. However, not too many programs come across so accurately as the one that began filming down here in Miami. "Que Pasa Usa?" was an original in style, presentation, material, but not in theme. It's storyline felt real because we (the Hispanic community) could relate. We all had the grandparents that could not speak English, or the exremely "macho dad" like Pepe Pena! The unbelievable truth however was that many of the viewers of QPU were in fact of American origin. Was it curiosity? Could have been---but it was also a set-up and programming style like no other, a style which went on to win the show an Emmy. This is still one of my favorite shows and I do hope generations to come appreciate talent, in every technical form, this show brought to the small screen. That and the popular, "Estas cosas no pasaban en Cuba!" I cannot think of anything that can top that phrase.

It's nice to see how the city of Miami used to be and the comedic situations an immigrant family would experience!