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Here are the Filipino celebrities who visited ‘Sesame Street’

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Stephanie Rose Manhit

<p><em>Sesame Street </em>is an educational show that has been around for half a century now. In that period of time, it has also opened its doors to countless celebrities. Actors, singers, bands, and the like gamely spent an episode or two hanging out with the residents of <em>Sesame Street</em>. They would share stories, sing songs, and even teach. </p><p>The show is all about educating young children. Aside from letters and numbers, it also talks about universal values and celebrating various cultures.</p><p>A recent milestone is the introduction of TJ to the show. While he isn’t the only Asian character, he is the first ever Filipino muppet in the show. </p><div><a href="https://push.abs-cbn.com/2023/5/9/tj-the-first-filipino-muppet-joins-the-cast-of-sesame-street-521"><strong>READ: TJ, the first Filipino muppet, joins the Sesame Street cast</strong></a></div><p>This actually wasn’t the first time that <em>Sesame Street </em>recognized the uniqueness of the Filipino culture. </p><p>In one episode, the show featured the folk dance tinikling and even showed snippets of a friend’s visit to the Philippines. Elmo also visited the country in 2017 as part of the <em>Spread Kindness </em>campaign. </p><p>In June 2021, the show had an episode where Analyn, a Filipino-American, was teased because of the shape of her eyes. With the help of Japanese-American Mr. Muraoka, she soon realized that her eyes made her special and were part of who she was. </p><p>It may also be interesting to note that Filipino talent has been featured in the popular children’s show several times throughout the show’s run. </p><p>Fil-Am actor Lou Diamond Phillips visited <em>Sesame Street</em> in the early ‘90s. In one episode, Lou taught Snuffy to write his name. He even fell asleep in Big Bird’s nest. Lou also joined other Hollywood celebrities in the music video “Monster in the Mirror” featured in the 1993 TV film <em>Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration, </em>a special made for the show’s 25th anniversary. </p><div><iframe width="1519" height="585" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7X08yUhbeWM" title="Sesame Street - Lou Diamond Phillips teaches Snuffy to write his name" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>It was also around the same time that Lea Salonga hung out with Bird Bird and the Birdketeers. The internationally-renowned singer taught Duck how to sing through the song “A Little Bit at the Beginning”. </p><div><iframe width="1519" height="585" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mfu3umvousM" title="Sesame Street - A Little Bit at the Beginning (Lea Salonga)" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>Bruno Mars, another singer with Filipino heritage, had a similar message when he guested on the show and sang an encouraging song about not giving up. </p><div><iframe width="1519" height="585" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QElU_HYESss" title="Sesame Street: Bruno Mars: Don&#x27;t Give Up Lyric Video" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>Singer-actress Hailee Steinfeld also did a cameo on the show. To remind Elmo, Zoe, and the other monsters what to do when they come across problems and challenges, she sang the catchy song “I Wonder, What If, Let’s Try”. </p><div><iframe width="1519" height="585" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O7hBlSbh4BY" title="Sesame Street: Hailee Steinfeld Sings I Wonder, What if, Let&#x27;s Try!" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>Fil-Am actor Jacob Batalon also dropped by <em>Sesame Street</em> during the show’s celebration of Filipino American History Month. Jacob caught the eye of Filipinos everywhere when he played Ned, Spider-man’s best friend, even more so when a scene in the film <em>Spider-man: No Way Home</em> featured Ned’s lola speaking Tagalog. </p><p>In the <em>Sesame Street </em>episode, Jacob talked about the word of the day: culture. </p><p>“Culture is our beliefs and traditions, language and celebrations,” he said. </p><p>He proudly shared about his Filipino roots as he talked about tinikling. He even gave Big Bird some ube pandesal. </p><div><iframe width="1519" height="585" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hDmdsz8U8kg" title="Sesame Street: Culture with Jacob Batalon | #ComingTogether Word of the Day" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>In 2011, Filipino rock star Rico Blanco became the ambassador of Sesame Street. He was the face of the <em>Sesame Street Kid Ako</em> campaign, which encouraged laughter and learning at an early age. Part of Rico’s contributions to the show were his rock versions of classic Sesame Street songs, “<em></em>Ladybugs Picnic” and “<em></em>Lowercase N”.</p><p>“<em>Sesame Street </em>kid ako because I grew up influenced by <em>Sesame Street</em>,” he admitted. “I’ve always credited <em>Sesame Street </em>as one of my biggest early musical influences, shaping my taste in music as a kid, and the kind of music I would later gravitate to as a grownup.”</p>

Here are the Filipino celebrities who visited ‘Sesame Street’

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Here are the Filipino celebrities who visited ‘Sesame Street’

Ann Manhit

Published May 10, 2023 02:55 PM PHT

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Sesame Street

TJ

Filipino muppet

Lou Diamond Phillips

Lea Salonga

Bruno Mars

Hailee Steinfeld

Jason Batalon

Rico Blanco

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