In 1986, with a $408,000 grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and its own matching funds, the Center for Telecommunications and Video produced a series of 30 children’s television shows that taught Spanish language and culture to children in kindergarten to second grade. The programs featured a six-foot tall Spanish-speaking dog named Perro Pepe and a cafe owner who taught neighborhood children basic language and culture. The shows aired on PBS stations beginning in August 1990. Emmy award-winning director Ozzie Alfonso (Sesame Street, 3-2-1 Contact) came from Manhattan to write and direct eight segments of the series. Dr. Doris Stephens was project director. In early 1991 the Amigos stage set—a plaza area and a cafe setting—was donated to Knoxville’s West High School by CTV.
The Center for Telecommunications and Video had previously completed a similar program of French language instruction called Bonjour with its own funds. Bonjour, a program like Sesame Street, brought CTV to the attention of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.