Luis Santeiro is a Cuban-American television screenwriter and playwright born in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, in 1947.

Biography

Santeiro left the island with his family at the age of twelve for Miami, Florida. He later obtained a degree in sociology from

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

. Santeiro first worked as a television writer for ''Carrascolendas'', a bilingual children's television show that debuted in 1970 on the Austin, Texas, KLRN public television station. In 1976 he became head writer of the bilingual sitcom '' ¿Qué Pasa, USA?'', produced by Miami's public television station WPBT. ''¿Qué Pasa, USA?'' was a half-hour bilingual sitcom set in Miami's Cuban exile community that traced the lives of three generations of Cubans trying to make it in their new homeland. Running for five years, the show received six regional Emmys and nine special awards from the Association of Critics and Commentators on the Arts for its producers, directors, writers, and cast. Santeiro wrote a total of thirty-three scripts for the show, including the pilot episode. In 1979 he joined the writing team of the children's television program ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

''. Santeiro also contributed scripts and song lyrics to other children's programs, such as ''3-2-1 Contact'', ''Big Bag'', ''Oye, Willie'', and ''Little Bill''. For his writing for children's television programs, Santeiro has been nominated for 20 Daytime Emmy Awards and has won 14, 12 of these during his 29-year career with ''Sesame Street''. Santeiro is also recognized for his work as a playwright. Among his most notable plays are ''Our Lady of the Tortilla'' (1987), ''The Lady from Havana'' (1990), and ''The Rooster and the Egg'' (1994). For his musical ''Barrio Babies'', Santeiro received the Edward Kleban and Richard Rodgers Award, and in 1995 was honored with the National Hispanic Academy of Media Arts and Sciences Award for his play ''A Royal Affair''. Santeiro has also been recognized for his contributions to Latino arts and culture with honors such as the Hispanic Achievement Award (1991) and the Hispanic Heritage Award (1993). He picked up the Leone in Memoriam award given to

Tomas Milian Tomas Milian (born Tomás Quintín Rodríguez-Varona Milián Salinas de la Fé y Álvarez de la Campa; 3 March 1933 – 22 March 2017) was a Cuban-born actor and singer with American and Italian citizenship, known for the emotional intensity and ...

at the 7º Almería Western Film Festival on October 11, 2017.

Works or publications

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Notes and references

External links

* * Th
Luis Santeiro papers
are available at th
Cuban Heritage CollectionUniversity of Miami Libraries
This archival collection includes television scripts for the bilingual sitcom ''¿Qué Pasa, USA?'' and other files related to the show, such as contracts and reviews. The papers also consist of scripts and other documents related to his plays (such as programs and production files) and documents regarding ''Carrascolendas''. * Creator page fo
Luis Santeiro
in th
Cuban Theater Digital Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santeiro, Luis Hispanic and Latino American dramatists and playwrights Cuban exiles Cuban dramatists and playwrights Cuban male writers American male dramatists and playwrights American dramatists and playwrights Living people 1947 births