El Nombre

Setting

El Nombre is set in the fictional town of Santa Flamingo, originally known as Santo Flamingo. The town is home to Little Juan, his Mama, Pedro Gonzales, Juanita Conchita, Maria Consuela Tequila Chiquita, Little Pepita Consuela Tequila Chiquita, Tanto the tarantula, Señor Gelato the ice-cream seller, Leonardo de Sombrero the pizza delivery boy, Señor Calculo the bank manager, Señor Manuel the greengrocer, Miss Constanza Bonanza the school teacher, Señora Fedora the balloon seller and mayor, Señor Loco the steam engine driver, Señor Chipito the carpenter, and the local bandit Don Fandango (not named until the fifth series of Numbertime in January 1998).

El Nombre would appear unexpectedly to solve the townspeople's simple mathematical problems, usually speaking in rhyme. His character parodies Zorro, wearing a black cowl mask and a huge sombrero, and swinging on a bullwhip, though he was often inept. When El Nombre first appeared on Numbertime in 1993, his purpose was to write numbers in desert sand and demonstrate correct formation while a mariachi band played The Mexican Hat Dance; he was shot from overhead, largely hidden by his sombrero.

His popularity led to expanded roles from the second series in 1995, with two sketches per episode. Over time, the stories moved from solving mathematical equations to fighting petty crime.

DVD release

In October 2005, all twenty-six episodes were released on DVD by Maverick Entertainment. The first ten episodes had previously been released on a VHS titled El Nombre to the Rescue by BBC Worldwide in 2001, which also included an exclusive short, Learn Your Numbers With Little Juan, edited from the original first series of Numbertime sketches. Some El Nombre sketches from the revised first, second, fifth, and fourth series of Numbertime were released by BBC Active in 2009 on three DVDs titled Fun with Numbers, each accompanied by books and subtitled Counting 1 to 10, Shapes and Time, and Adding and Taking Away.