La Calabacita

La Calabacita is an animated short that aired at the end of children's programming on Cuban television. The animation was a design prize created for the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television's 1976 "Es la hora de dormir" (It's time to sleep) contest by Marta Porro, who was then pregnant in the hospital with her first daughter, and premiered on television in February 1977, with a short produced by the ICRT Film Studios. La Calabacita featured the titular character, who lived in a pumpkin, which he had a head similar to, an idea suggested by documentary filmmaker Santiago Àlvarez, and would sprinkle magic powder on animals, kids, toys et al using a pillow.

Over the years, Calabacita segments have been directed by Felix Ricardo Rodriguez and sung by the likes of Miriam Ramos, Mayra de la Vega, Monica Sierra, Maggie Carles, and Liuba María Hevia.