Dora the Explorer meets Thelonious Monk

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've enjoyed discovering the delights of NPR (National Public Radio), which has the immeasurable benefit of reminding me that there are a lot of intelligent, enlightened, informed and thoughtful people in America - which usefully counteracts things like the subject of yesterday's post.

I consume most of my NPR intake via podcast - while walking the dog, doing the washing up, etc. One of the podcasts I subscribe to is called 'Pop Culture', and the most recent edition featured an extraordinary interview with a 12-year old girl called Caitlin Sanchez, who is the new voice of Dora the Explorer, the wildly popular kids' TV show (certainly wildly popular with both my 5-year old niece in Calgary, Canada, and my 6-year old niece in Yorkshire, UK). I didn't realise before that this programme is essentially bilingual, with many of the 'catchphrases' delivered in Spanish, which has resulted in a noticeable craze for learning Spanish among many English-speaking children in the US, Canada, the UK and beyond.

Caitlin is, as the interviewer rightly tells her at the end, a very impressive young woman. I urge you to listen to her yourself. She is bright, articulate, intelligent, confident and engaging - but at the same time, she's not precocious, precious or pretentious - she's just a 12-year old kid. As well as being a fine actress, she also plays the piano and particularly likes jazz. In the interview, she discusses her love for the music of Thelonious Monk (not the most obvious or straightforward of musicians to appreciate) with hardly less perception and subtlety than I've usually heard from most music academics. Anyone who feels depressed about current standards of education among children should listen to Caitlin express herself.

The really interesting thing for me is that Caitlin lives in Bergen, New Jersey, where I'm going to be examining a number of piano students in about two weeks' time. I looked on my list of candidates, but unfortunately she's not there. I was disappointed - I was looking forward to a brush with stardom!