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| Paco the Mexican Grouch from PLAZA SÉSAMO. |
In this initial incarnation the Big Bird character was replaced by a large orange dragon named Abelardo; and the Oscar-type character was filled by a large and grouchy green parrot named Paco. Besides sharing Oscar's disposition, Paco was also green and had black bushy eyebrows. In 1981 PLAZA SÉSAMO was reworked and that was the end of Abelardo and Paco.
There were a number of very cool PLAZA SÉSAMO toys - the most interesting being produced by Mexican toy company Lili Ledy. I'll be talking more about them in coming posts - but two of the most desirable of their toys were the large hand puppets of Abelardo and Paco (which are both fairly hard-to-find.)
Indeed the Lili Ledy Paco the Parrot puppet is one of my "most desired" items. You can see two views of him below:
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| Two views of the Lili Ledy "Paco" puppet that I still need to find! |
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| My "bootleg" Paco the Grouch puppet. |
The closest I've come is a rather fun "bootleg" version produced by an unknown Mexican toy company. He can accommodate an adult hand and his mouth works. I am pretty sure the Lili Ledy puppet's mouth does not open and close.
This "bootleg" Paco has a rubber beak which extends back into his fur head making a sort of skull. The eyeballs are molded as part of the rubber head, too. This Paco puppet has large "googly" eyes glued onto the front of the white rubber eyeballs. I am not sure if he came this way or if he has been modified by a previous owner. Also, he has no arms. His body is just a green fake fur sleeve.
While I one day hope to find a Lily Ledy Paco puppet, I'm fairly happy with this one as he displays so nicely (see banner at top of the blog.) And as I mentioned, he is big enough for my hand. and I can play with him. He also looks a lot happier than his "legitimate" cousins pictured above!
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