Her parents moved to New York from Puerto Rico. Manzano was born in New York City and was raised in South Bronx. She is best known for playing Maria on Sesame Street from 1971 until her retirement in 2015. Sonia Manzano (born June 12, 1950) is an American actress and writer. Spiced with culture, heartache, and humor, this memoir paints a lasting portrait of a girl's resilience as she grows up to become an inspiration to millions. But it is Sonia's dream of becoming an actress that keeps her afloat among the turbulence of her life and times. But-click!-when the TV goes off, Sonia is taken back to real-life-the cramped, colorful world of her neighborhood and an alcoholic father. Each day she is glued to the TV screen that blots out the painful realities of her existence and also illuminates the possibilities that lie ahead. When readers meet young Sonia, she is a child living amidst the squalor of a boisterous home that is filled with noisy relatives and nosy neighbors.
This is Sonia's own story rendered with an unforgettable narrative power. Emmy award-winning actress and writer Sonia Manzano plunges us into the daily lives of a Latino family that is loving-and troubled. Set in the 1970s in the Bronx, this is the story of a girl with a dream. Pura Belpre Honor winner for The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano and one of America's most influential Hispanics-'Maria' on Sesame Street-delivers a beautifully wrought coming-of-age memoir.
