Abelardo the Dragon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Abelardo the Dragon was the early equivalent of Big Bird in the Mexican version of Sesame Street or Plaza Sésamo that originated in 1972.

Abelardo was a tall orange-and-yellow scaled Dragon which had a soft, gentle voice and a very particular way of talking, making pauses after every sentence. His favorite treat were Pumpkin Seeds or "Semillas de Calabaza" which in Mexico are a very popular street snack, also known as "Pepitas".

In the later seasons Abelardo's Character was replaced by Serapio Montoya, an annoying big parrot like character with a strong resemblance to Big Bird, of whom he is a cousin. However, children and others continued to refer to Serapio as "Abelardo" and therefore his name was later changed to Abelardo Montoya.

The reason the dragon character was dismissed when the series was re-launched in 1982, remains unexplained, but for many who grew up in 1970s'-Mexico, he remains the true essence of Plaza Sésamo.