Destinos

Destinos: An Introduction to Spanish, also known as simply Destinos, is a television program created by Bill VanPatten, who was, at the time, Professor of Spanish and Second Language Acquisition at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. The show, designed to introduce viewers to the basics of Spanish, had two seasons, beginning in 1992. Its 52 episodes are often used for educational purposes in schools and are still broadcast regularly on many PBS stations, as well as many local channels.

Destinos was produced by WGBH Boston and funded by the Annenberg/CPB Project, with additional funding by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

Format

Destinos uses the telenovela (Spanish soap opera) format to teach Spanish-language communication and comprehension skills. Early episodes have English-language narration in addition to the Spanish-language dialogue, but the English language content decreases continually, eventually disappearing entirely. The viewer is introduced to various accents and dialects and the cultures of various Spanish-speaking countries.