NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Twenty-five years ago, a little girl with a bob haircut appeared on our TVs, speaking a mix of English and Spanish, with a spunky, can-do spirit. She had an adventure planned, a backpack, a monkey friend and upbeat songs.
鈥淗i, I鈥檓 Dora. What鈥檚 your name?鈥� she asked.
This was, of course, 鈥淒ora the Explorer,鈥� the first Latina to lead a major cartoon series and the girl who helped spearhead the rise of multicultural children鈥檚 programming in the U.S. on her way to becoming a cultural phenomenon.
鈥淭he show allowed Latinos to be depicted on TV as educators, teaching viewers how to speak our language, and yet at the same time, just teaching ordinary things that children need to learn,鈥� said Brenda Victoria Castillo, president and CEO of the .
Nickelodeon is celebrating Dora鈥檚 25th anniversary with the feature-length live-action movie 鈥淒ora and the Search of Sol Dorado,鈥� a third season of the rebooted animated series 鈥淒ora,鈥� the podcast Dora鈥檚 Mermaid Adventures, an album of songs and plenty of toys and apparel.
鈥淭he great thing about Dora is that, yes, she celebrates Latin culture through every aspect 鈥� language, food, dress and music,鈥� says Ramsey Naito, president of animation at Paramount and Nickelodeon. 鈥淏ut she also empowers everybody to be their true self and to be brave. She鈥檚 not exclusive. She鈥檚 inclusive.鈥�
The original voice
Kathleen Herles had a special vantage point to see Dora's influence: She was the original voice of the pint-size heroine, cast in the role when she was 7 and staying until she was 18 and off to college.
鈥淚t has been the longest journey and the greatest adventure of my life 鈥� no pun intended,鈥� said Herles, who grew up in New York City to parents of Peruvian descent.
On the convention circuit, Herles would see firsthand the power of Dora. 鈥淚 remember I would make kids cry, not intentionally,鈥� she says. 鈥淭heir mind goes to a memory, to a moment, it's just incredible. It鈥檚 so special, it鈥檚 magical.鈥�
Herles has lately been the voice actor for Dora's mom on 鈥淒ora,鈥� the reboot that started in 2024. It's a full-circle moment for the actor and singer: 鈥淚t changed my life forever, twice.鈥�
鈥淒ora the Explorer鈥� led to what Herles laughingly calls the 鈥淒ora-verse鈥� 鈥� the spinoff series 鈥淕o, Diego, Go!,鈥� a sequel series 鈥淒ora and Friends: Into the City!鈥� and the 2019 live-action feature film starring Eva Longoria and Michael Pe帽a.
鈥淒ora鈥� co-creator Chris Gifford has watched his creation age up and down and take human form. 鈥淪he has been older and she has been younger and she has a hair clip now,鈥� he says. 鈥淗er essence, her positive spirit, her I-can-do-anything-with-your-help attitude has stuck through.鈥�
Dora is firmly part of the culture, as big as her There's a reference to her in 鈥淚nside Out 2,鈥� she's been mocked on 鈥淪aturday Night Live鈥� and if you look carefully at the PBS show 鈥淎lma's Way,鈥� you can see a Dora doll in that heroine's bedroom. TikTok users have embraced the 鈥淏ackpack Song.鈥�
鈥淭hose kids coming of age now 鈥� the ones who 25 years ago were just watching it as little preschoolers 鈥� they鈥檙e out there and they鈥檙e remembering,鈥� says Valerie Walsh Valdes, co-creator of the original series and an executive producer on the new series and movie.
Creating a problem solver
Valdes and Gifford originally had the idea for a show about a little girl who was a problem solver. Like it would reward kids for figuring out answers posed by the host.
鈥淧reschoolers are the least powerful people in our world,鈥� says Gifford. 鈥淭hey're not able to button their sweater and not able to tie their shoes, but if they鈥檙e able to help Dora get to the City of Lost Toys and really feel like they helped, that鈥檚 something special.鈥�
Nickelodeon suggested the girl be Latina and the creators ran with it, making her pan-Latina so no one would feel excluded. Latin representation on TV 鈥� then and now 鈥� has been a struggle.
The Latino Donor Collaborative鈥檚 found that Latino actors made up 9.8% of the main cast in lead, co-lead and ensemble roles in scripted shows. In non-scripted television, Latino hosts made up only 5% of host roles. That鈥檚 despite Latin people making up nearly 20% of the country.
鈥淭here were few programs at the time that featured Latina protagonists with Dora鈥檚 skin tone or features, so from that perspective, the representation is valuable,鈥� says Erynn Masi de Casanova, head of the sociology department at the University of Cincinnati.
Dora was put in an animated world inside a computer, and the creators asked kids to help make the show better. They hired education consultants to tease out the skills Dora teaches, like spatial understanding and interpersonal. They brought in language and culture experts.
鈥淲e did it!鈥� became her signature song.
Bilingual heroine
The series is seen in more than 150 countries and territories and translated in 32 languages on Nickelodeon channels and Paramount+. In English-speaking countries such as the United States and Australia, Dora teaches Spanish; in other markets 鈥� including the Hispanic U.S. markets 鈥� she teaches English.
Samantha Lorraine, 18, who grew up in Miami of Cuban heritage, had the Dora T-shirts and backpack. She laughs that she once even had the Dora bob.
In July, she's starring as Dora in 鈥淒ora and the Search of Sol Dorado,鈥� which was filmed in Colombia. 鈥淚鈥檝e been doing my audition since day one,鈥� she says.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an honor to be stepping into Dora鈥檚 shoes. It鈥檚 such a huge legacy,鈥� she adds. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really nice to be able to be a part of representation where it counts. And Dora is the epitome of that.鈥�
Castillo, of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, puts Dora up there with Mickey Mouse in terms of an instantly recognized cultural character and says she's relevant more than ever.
鈥淲e need more Doras,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f people were just open to being educated in other people鈥檚 languages and cultures and beliefs and not see it as a threat, we wouldn鈥檛 be in the situation that we鈥檙e in this country and the world.鈥�
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
