Fans grew up watching Christina Vidal Mitchell as a child actor, starring in her own Nickelodeon series, Taina.
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Running for 26 episodes over two seasons between 2001-2002, the Nickelodeon series followed Taina Morales, a student at the Manhattan School of the Arts who dreams of stardom, and loves music and dance. But her journey to fame and fortune isn't an easy one as she deals with love troubles, difficult auditions and pressures from her Puerto Rican family.
The series was one of the first Latinx-led shows on television, along with The Brothers Garcia. The show touched on themes of family, culture and what it’s like being a Nuyorican teen living in between two worlds. The series, created by Puerto Rican showrunner Maria Perez-Brown (Gullah Gullah Island) is seared into the memories of many who grew up watching it, because at the time it was rare to see an authentic portrayal of what it was like to be a Nuyorican teen, and has became a fond memory for a generation of teens.
In a recent interview with ET to promote her new show United We Fall, Vidal Mitchell revealed that she would love to reboot Taina and see the titular character working on her dancing and becoming a mom!
Today, Vidal Mitchell actor, who also starred in Disney's Brink! and Freaky Friday is a proud wife and mother of two. In fact, she gave birth to her daughter, Ava, just four days prior to doing the interview with ET.
As old fans get to reconnect with the actor, new fans are just discovering Vidal Mitchell's past projects thanks to a slew of streaming services.
"It's surreal, it's bizarre," she notes of now being a mom and people watching her previous shows and movies. "In a lot of ways, I still feel like that kid rollerblading and playing guitar and being on Nickelodeon. So sometimes it's a reality check, you're a grown woman!"
Taina Theme Song | Gonna Be A Star | Full Version
Vidal Mitchell credits Taina as the role that changed her life. Aside from it being her first time leading a show, she recalls having a lot of responsibility and growing up and maturing in "a very short period of time."
"It was a groundbreaking role for me. It catapulted me into a lot of other work and opened up different opportunities for me," she mentions.
She also loved seeing her Brink! cast in their recent virtual reunion. "It was so fun! I missed all of them," she says of reconnecting with Erik Von Detten, Patrick Levis and Sam Horrigan, adding that after their Mashable Zoom, they talked about a potential Brink! sequel to the Disney Channel Original Movie.
In a separate interview with IndieWire, revealed that she thought “that show was ahead of its time.” Adding “I think Maria was ahead of her time.” Vidal, who was just 20 at the time Taina aired, said it wasn’t until she reached adulthood that she understood the significance the series had on her as a performer. “I was just having fun, and doing the job, and being a kid,” she said. “It wasn’t until I got older that I realized, ‘Man, that was some important work we were doing there.'” Vidal said that Taina was really her first big opportunity to delve into the waters of the 30-minute sitcom, something she’s reprising with her latest television series.
United We Fall premieres July 15 at 8 p.m. on ABC.
More Nick:Throw Back with Taina's Christina Vidal-Mitchell | Throw Back with Nickelodeon!
Follow NickALive! on Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, via RSS, on Instagram, and/or Facebook for the latest Nickelodeon and NickRewind News and Highlights!
Running for 26 episodes over two seasons between 2001-2002, the Nickelodeon series followed Taina Morales, a student at the Manhattan School of the Arts who dreams of stardom, and loves music and dance. But her journey to fame and fortune isn't an easy one as she deals with love troubles, difficult auditions and pressures from her Puerto Rican family.
The series was one of the first Latinx-led shows on television, along with The Brothers Garcia. The show touched on themes of family, culture and what it’s like being a Nuyorican teen living in between two worlds. The series, created by Puerto Rican showrunner Maria Perez-Brown (Gullah Gullah Island) is seared into the memories of many who grew up watching it, because at the time it was rare to see an authentic portrayal of what it was like to be a Nuyorican teen, and has became a fond memory for a generation of teens.
In a recent interview with ET to promote her new show United We Fall, Vidal Mitchell revealed that she would love to reboot Taina and see the titular character working on her dancing and becoming a mom!
Today, Vidal Mitchell actor, who also starred in Disney's Brink! and Freaky Friday is a proud wife and mother of two. In fact, she gave birth to her daughter, Ava, just four days prior to doing the interview with ET.
As old fans get to reconnect with the actor, new fans are just discovering Vidal Mitchell's past projects thanks to a slew of streaming services.
"It's surreal, it's bizarre," she notes of now being a mom and people watching her previous shows and movies. "In a lot of ways, I still feel like that kid rollerblading and playing guitar and being on Nickelodeon. So sometimes it's a reality check, you're a grown woman!"
Taina Theme Song | Gonna Be A Star | Full Version
Vidal Mitchell credits Taina as the role that changed her life. Aside from it being her first time leading a show, she recalls having a lot of responsibility and growing up and maturing in "a very short period of time."
"It was a groundbreaking role for me. It catapulted me into a lot of other work and opened up different opportunities for me," she mentions.
She also loved seeing her Brink! cast in their recent virtual reunion. "It was so fun! I missed all of them," she says of reconnecting with Erik Von Detten, Patrick Levis and Sam Horrigan, adding that after their Mashable Zoom, they talked about a potential Brink! sequel to the Disney Channel Original Movie.
In a separate interview with IndieWire, revealed that she thought “that show was ahead of its time.” Adding “I think Maria was ahead of her time.” Vidal, who was just 20 at the time Taina aired, said it wasn’t until she reached adulthood that she understood the significance the series had on her as a performer. “I was just having fun, and doing the job, and being a kid,” she said. “It wasn’t until I got older that I realized, ‘Man, that was some important work we were doing there.'” Vidal said that Taina was really her first big opportunity to delve into the waters of the 30-minute sitcom, something she’s reprising with her latest television series.
United We Fall premieres July 15 at 8 p.m. on ABC.
More Nick:Throw Back with Taina's Christina Vidal-Mitchell | Throw Back with Nickelodeon!
Follow NickALive! on Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, via RSS, on Instagram, and/or Facebook for the latest Nickelodeon and NickRewind News and Highlights!