Almost a Woman

Last updated
Almost a Woman
Written byEsmeralda Santiago
Directed by Betty Kaplan
Starring Ana Maria Lagasca
Wanda De Jesus
Míriam Colón
Cliff DeYoung
Francesco Quinn
Music by Lee Holdridge
Country of originUnited States
Original languagesEnglish
Spanish
Production
ProducersRonald Colby
Rebecca Eaton
CinematographyCarlos González
EditorLuis Colina
Production companiesALT Films, in association with Paramount Pictures for WGBH
Original release
Release2001 (2001)

Almost a Woman is a 2001 made-for-television film, directed by Betty Kaplan and based on the autobiographical book of the same name by Puerto Rican writer Esmeralda Santiago. The film is about a young woman named Esmeralda and her family who move to New York from a rural area of Puerto Rico. The transition is difficult due to the many challenges she and her family face. It was aired on PBS as part of Masterpiece Theatre's American Collection.


Related Research Articles

<i>The Hunchback of Notre-Dame</i> 1831 novel by Victor Hugo

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. The title refers to the Notre-Dame Cathedral, which features prominently throughout the novel. It focuses on the unfortunate story of Quasimodo, the Roma street dancer Esmeralda and Quasimodo's guardian the Archdeacon Claude Frollo in 15th-century Paris. All its elements—the Renaissance setting, impossible love affairs and marginalized characters—make the work a model of the literary themes of Romanticism.

<i>The Hunchback of Notre Dame</i> (1996 film) American animated musical drama film

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1996 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is loosely based on the 1831 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. The film was directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise and produced by Don Hahn, from a screenplay written by Tab Murphy, Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and the writing team of Bob Tzudiker and Noni White. Featuring the voices of Tom Hulce, Demi Moore, Tony Jay, and Kevin Kline, the film follows Quasimodo, the deformed and confined bell-ringer of Notre Dame, and his yearning to explore the outside world and be accepted by society, against the wishes of his cruel, puritanical foster father Claude Frollo, who also wants to exterminate Paris' Roma population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quasimodo</span> Character in The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

Quasimodo is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831) by Victor Hugo. Quasimodo was born with a hunchback and feared by the townspeople as a sort of monster, but he finds sanctuary in an unlikely love that is fulfilled only in death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esmeralda Santiago</span> Puerto Rican writer

Esmeralda Santiago is a Puerto Rican author known for her narrative memoirs and trans-cultural writing. Her impact extends beyond cultivating narratives as she paves the way for more coming-of-age stories about being a Latina in the United States, alongside navigating cultural dissonance through acculturation.

<i>Playback</i> (novel) Novel by Raymond Chandler

Playback is a novel by American-British writer Raymond Chandler featuring the private detective Philip Marlowe. It was first published in Britain in July 1958; the US edition followed in October that year. Chandler died the following year; Playback is his last completed novel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claude Frollo</span> Character of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

Claude Frollo is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Victor Hugo's 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. He is an alchemist and intellectual, as well as a Catholic clergyman.

The American Collection was a spinoff series of Masterpiece Theater, which ran from 2000 to 2003, for the former series' 30th anniversary. It was funded originally by Exxon Mobil ; however, funding for both series was withdrawn in 2005. It aired on PBS. This was a widely acclaimed limited run program.

<i>The Hunchback of Notre Dame II</i> 2002 film

The Hunchback of Notre Dame II is a 2002 American animated musical film directed by Bradley Raymond. It is a direct-to-video sequel to Disney's 1996 animated feature film The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The film was produced by the Japanese office of Walt Disney Animation and Walt Disney Television Animation, while it was distributed by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. Much of the actors from the original film reprise their roles, with the addition of new characters played by Jennifer Love Hewitt, Michael McKean and Haley Joel Osment. Critical reception was mostly negative.

Esmeralda (<i>The Hunchback of Notre-Dame</i>) Fictional character from Victor Hugos The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Esmeralda, born Agnès, is a fictional character in Victor Hugo's 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. She is a French Roma girl. She constantly attracts men with her seductive dances, and is rarely seen without her clever goat Djali. She is around 16 years old and has a kind and generous heart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise Bertin</span> French composer and poet

Louise-Angélique Bertin was a French composer and poet.

<i>El Zorro, la espada y la rosa</i> Television series

El Zorro, la espada y la rosa is a Spanish-language telenovela based on Johnston McCulley's characters. Telemundo aired it from February 12 to July 23, 2007. This limited-run serial shows the masked crusader as a hero torn between his fight for justice and his love for a beautiful woman. Telemundo president Don Browne called this show "without doubt the best production offered on Hispanic television in the United States today."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Captain Phoebus</span> Fictional character

CapitainePhœbus de Châteaupers is a fictional character and the secondary antagonist of Victor Hugo's 1831 novel, Notre-Dame de Paris. He is the Captain of the King Louis XI's Archers. His name comes from Phoebus, the Greek god of the sun.

<i>Esmeralda</i> (Mexican TV series) Mexican TV series or program

Esmeralda is a Mexican telenovela produced by Salvador Mejía Alejandre for Televisa in 1997. It is a remake of a famous 1970 Venezuelan telenovela of that same name Esmeralda original story by Delia Fiallo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claude Frollo (Disney character)</span> Disney villain character

Judge Claude Frollo is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Disney's 34th animated film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). He was based on Archdeacon Claude Frollo from Victor Hugo's 1831 novel.

<i>The Hunchback</i> (1997 film) 1997 television film by Peter Medak

The Hunchback is a 1997 made-for-television romantic drama film based on Victor Hugo's iconic 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, directed by Peter Medak and produced by Stephane Reichel. It stars Richard Harris as Claude Frollo, Salma Hayek as Esmeralda and Mandy Patinkin as Quasimodo, the titular hunchback of Notre Dame.

<i>When I Was Puerto Rican</i> 1993 autobiography by Esmeralda Santiago

When I Was Puerto Rican is a 1993 autobiography written by Puerto Rican native Esmeralda Santiago. It is the first of three installments, followed by Almost a Woman and The Turkish Lover. This first book begins by describing Santiago's life in Macún, a sector of Candelaria barrio in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. It details the circumstances that led to her mother bringing her and her siblings to New York. The second part of the book describes Santiago's initial adjustment to life in America. The memoir closes with Santiago's audition to New York's Performing Arts High School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deyanira África Melo</span> Mexican sculptor

Deyanira África González Melo is a Mexican sculptor who generally works in ceramics, depicting elements of the human form, especially the torso, generally with mutilations and other disturbing elements to dispute the otherwise traditional and sensual depictions of the human body. She has exhibited her work since studying at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas (ENAP) in Mexico as well as in Europe and the Caribbean. Her work has received recognition in Mexico and abroad, and is a member of the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana.

Pervertida is a Mexican drama film directed by José Díaz Morales. It was released in 1946 and starring Emilia Guiú and Amalia Aguilar. The film is inspired by the bolero of the same name composed by Agustin Lara.

<i>The Stray Cat</i> Mexican telenovela

The Stray Cat is a Mexican telenovela produced by Nathalie Lartilleux for Televisa. It is a remake of the Venezuelan telenovela La Gata, produced in 1968 and Mexican telenovela Rosa Salvaje produced in 1987.

Alma Graciela Haro Cabello, known professionally as Esmeralda, was a Mexican singer and actress. She was nicknamed La Versátil because she sang and recorded songs of various music genres, including cuplé, bolero, and tango.