movies

Colman Domingo's Historic Oscar Nomination: A Win for Underrepresented Afro-Latinos

Graphic design combining a photograph of Colman Domingo with a golden Oscar award statue

On January 23, 2024, Colman Domingo made history by becoming the first Afro-Latino to be nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars. This comes after his powerhouse performance in the biopic “Rustin,” based on the life of Bayard Rustin, a dedicated activist for racial equality, worldwide democracy, and human rights. Rustin played a key role in organizing the 1960 Washington March with Martin Luther King Jr. Still, that role was greatly overlooked because he was marginalized for being an openly gay Black man.

Domingo also became the second openly gay man to be nominated for playing an openly gay character. In addition to his Oscar nomination, he was also nominated for Best Actor at the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), Golden Globes Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, African-American Film Critics Association Awards, and Satellite Awards.

As an Afro-Latino of Belizean and Guatemalan heritage, Domingo’s nomination is a huge win for the Afro-Latino community. Especially in Hollywood. Afro-Latinos around the world are underrepresented and deeply misunderstood. This is clearly reflected in the entertainment industry, where most of the Latin stars most people know are racially white, white-passing, or lighter shades of brown. Names like Sofia Vergara, Salma Hayek, Pedro Pascal, and Oscar Isaac come to mind.

This is the work of the industry’s gatekeepers, who perpetuate a very specific, stereotyped, and narrow image of what Latinos look like. Afro-Latinos don’t fit that mold, so they’re consistently left out. When they are cast, they’re stripped of their Afro-Latinidad. Rather than playing Latino or Afro-Latino characters, they end up playing Black or mixed-race characters.

A woman with headphones, absorbed in her own world, disregarding the surrounding distractions.

This has led to the erasure of Afro-Latino stories and representation in the entertainment industry. A study on Hispanic/Latino Representation in Film from the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative sheds light on this very issue. The study looked into 1,600 top-grossing films from 2007 to 2022, and it found that Latino representation hasn’t improved.

When Latinos are given prominent roles, they’re stereotyped as low-income immigrants, criminals, angry and temperamental people, and they’re also sexualized. The study also shows that Afro-Latinos are particularly ignored. It was found that among the top 100 movies of 2022, only one role was portrayed by an Afro-Latina. From 2007 to 2022, only 8 Afro-Latino actors had leading or co-leading roles. So, in 16 years, only 1% of roles went to Afro-Latinos.

A film crew recording an man on a movie set.

The lack of stories that center on Latinos is staggering, and the lack of stories that center on Afro-Latinos is abysmal. This is not due to a lack of available Afro-Latino talent, but rather to a reluctance from the powers that be to invest in developing those stories or to allow the representation of Afro-Latinidad. This begs a change, and while that’s easier said than done, progress is being made.

A big part of that progress is creating consciousness and clarity around Afro-Latinidad in the industry. The pan-label “Latino” isn’t a race. The label attempts to encompass a wide range of races, ethnicities, and cultures and Afro-Latinos are a significant part of the Latino community. As this continues to be more widely understood, Afro-Latino actors and actresses continue to encourage this awareness and clarity by having important conversations about their identity and their experience in the industry.

While there’s still a lot of work to be done, the wave of Afro-Latino talent is rising, not just in television, but also in film. Afro-Latinos have always been there, making contributions to the industry. The issue is that they haven’t been allowed to claim those contributions, but the tides are changing. As such, the fact that the Afro-Latino community is finally showing up in the entertainment industry is worth celebrating.

Supporting and raising awareness for projects that represent Afro-Latino stories is just as important as supporting and celebrating Afro-Latino actors and actresses, even if their roles don’t exactly showcase Afro-Latinidad just yet. Stars like Colman Domingo, Zoe Saldaña, Gina Torres, MJ Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Rosario Dawson, and Alfred Enoch, among others, deserve to hold space in the industry.

Golden statue of a human figure symbolizing excellence or awards

Colman Domingo’s historic Oscar nomination is an encouraging sign of how the Afro-Latino community is making strides toward more visibility and building a larger stage for future generations to showcase Latinidad in all its unique shades.

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Latinos Are Ready to Vote for Abortion Rights This November

hands holding up yellow protest signs that say Hands Off Our Bodies
Photo Credit: Gayatri Malhotra via Unsplash

Originally published in Common Dreams. Reprinted with permission.

The Latino electorate will prove decisive in securing reproductive freedom and abortion access through ballot measures around the country, particularly in states where Latinos are a significant portion of the electorate.

In November, abortion rights measures will appear on ballots across ten states, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, and New York, where Latinos make up a significant portion of the electorate. For decades, pundits and politicians have recycled long-held misconceptions about Latino voters and abortion access, citing our conservative and religious beliefs.

Anti-abortion extremists have long fueled these misconceptions through misinformation and disinformation campaigns targeting Latino communities with egregious lies and inflammatory rhetoric about abortion. Yet, polling, focus groups, and direct interactions with Latino communities have debunked these outdated tropes.

The Latino electorate will prove decisive in securing reproductive freedom and abortion access through ballot measures around the country, particularly in states where Latinos are a significant portion of the electorate.

For Latinos, the freedom to decide, a pillar of our American democracy, is critical. Meanwhile, Latinos are being hit directly with anti-abortion efforts that take away that freedom such as the six-week abortion ban put into effect by the Florida Supreme Court and the 1864 abortion ban upheld by the Arizona Supreme Court. In the wake of the Dobbs decision, people of color and Latinas have felt the impact of a lack of abortion access, an element of basic healthcare.

A 2023 report by the National Partnership for Women and Families estimated that nearly 6.5 million Latinas, or 42% of all Latinas of reproductive age in the country, live in a state that either had or was likely to ban abortion. Ironically, it will be abortion access and anti-choice efforts to restrict freedom of choice that will mobilize Latino voters this election.

In a poll conducted by three national reproductive justice organizations, 87% of Latinas named abortion and women’s rights as one of their top priorities as they head to the polls. Another battleground poll conducted by Somos PAC and BSP Research found that 61% of Latino registered voters expressed a more positive/favorable view of Kamala Harris after hearing that she will protect abortion rights, versus only 19% of Latinos who said they had a more negative view of Harris after hearing that.

In key states to secure the White House and both chambers, Latinos make up large chunks of the electorate: Arizona (25%), Colorado (15%), Florida (20%), Nevada (20%), and New York (12%). In the face of unprecedented attacks on basic healthcare access and targeted attempts by extremists to mislead and divide our community on this issue, this November Latinos will be key deciders on abortion access across the country.

Mari Urbina, Managing Director of Indivisible, Battleground Arizona Lead and former Harry Reid advisor.

Héctor Sánchez Barba is president and CEO of Mi Familia Vota (MFV).

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Hot Off the Press: 5 Must-Read Releases by Latina Authors

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Luz Media

If you’re looking for your next page-turner, checking out new releases is always a good option. These fresh releases from Latina authors will pull you in and give you the kind of satisfying reading experience you’re on the hunt for. Whether you’re looking for a good fiction book or want to dive deep into real-life issues to broaden your knowledge, these 5 must-read releases will deliver.

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politics

This Viral Video Game Is Changing the Face of Voter Outreach

This Viral Video Game Is Changing the Face of Voter Outreach

In 2024, voting campaigns have evolved greatly, to say the least. Creativity is now the name of the game and tongue-in-cheek humor is expertly leveraged to drive action. One example of that is Bop the Bigot, a revival of a viral game created in 2016 by Bazta Arpaio, an Arizona activist group, as part of a campaign to unseat Maricopa County’s Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Arpaio lost his re-election to Paul Penzone that year.

The game has now been updated for the current election cycle and relaunched by On Point Studios, with new features added to enable players to find out what’s on their ballot, confirm voter status, and register to vote.

Much like its former 2016 version, the game allows users to take out their political frustrations by virtually “bopping” GOP candidates in the head. It’s very similar to whack-a-mole, except the mole is replaced by former President Donald Trump, Ohio’s Senator J. D. Vance, and Kevin Roberts, President of the Heritage Foundation, which is spearheading Project 2025.

cartoon renditions of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance around a Bop the Bigot logoPromotional image provided by On Point Studios.

B. Loewe, Director of On Point Studios, came up with the concept for this game when working as the Communications Director at Bazta Arpaio in 2016, and is the executive producer of this revamped version. In the first version of the game, Bop the Bigot players used a chancla (flip flop) to “bop” the characters, tapping into Latino culture by leaning on the childhood experience of being set right by a flying chancla from a fed-up mother or grandmother.

This year, the chancla is replaced by a more current element, a green coconut, referencing Kamala Harris’ coconut tree meme. There are also side characters like “the couch,” cat ladies, and more coconuts. All references to jokes about Vice-Presidential candidate Vance, or insults Vance has made about women on the campaign trail.

Another new addition is that Harris’ laugh is immortalized as the game-over sound effect, an unexpected detail that adds even more humor and levity to the game.

cartoon renditions of Donald Trump, Kevin Roberts, and J.D. Vance around a Bop the Bigot logoPromotional image provided by On Point Studios.

Bop the Bigot, which is playable on desktop and mobile, is intended not just as a way to vent political frustrations, but also as a tool for activism and securing voter engagement.

For example, the game supports the work of Mexican Neidi Dominguez Zamorano, Founding Executive Director of the non-profit organization Organized Power in Numbers by using the “game over” screen to prompt players to donate to it and support their efforts.

Organized Power in Numbers is focused on empowering workers in the South and Southwest of the U.S. through collective action and comprehensive campaigns. Their mission is to create a large-scale movement that challenges the status quo and advocates for workers' rights, and racial and economic justice.

Currently, Dominguez Zamorano is leading worker outreach to 2 million working-class voters in the South and Southwest through doorknocking, texting, and calls with the help of local groups in North Carolina, Arizona, New Mexico, and more.

“We have been blown away by the enthusiastic reception for the video game. We knew we wanted to be part of its creative approach because our movement needs more fun and laughter. We need more ways to connect with nuestra gente so we can feel joy among all the absurdity we witness every day,” Dominguez Zamorano shared with Luz Media via email.

“Our people are gente trabajadora and we deserve to feel uplifted even in our toughest moments. We are deeply involved in the South and Southwest so we know what’s at stake in this election and we’re happy this can be a resource to mobilize, raise spirits, and get out the vote," she concluded.

Dominguez Zamorano is a committed activist for immigrants and workers' rights, known for her strategist skills and expertise. She played a key role in the campaign to win DACA and has also held roles in major campaigns, including as Deputy National States Director for Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign. In addition to her work with Organized Power in Numbers, Dominguez Zamorano is serving as a Senior Advisor to Mijente’s Fuera Trump Initiative.

Grassroots efforts like these have taken on new life in 2024, with Bop the Bigot adding to the larger, ongoing fight against political apathy and disinformation. Just as it did during the 2016 race, the video game uses humor to soften the serious task at hand—getting people to the polls.

"We want the game to be a fun and comical outlet for anyone who’s been insulted, frustrated, or harmed by Trump in the past and everyone who is ready to move forward as a country after election day," explained Loewe in a press release. "The proposals in Project 2025 and the beliefs of Trump and Vance aren’t just weird, they’re truly harmful. We wanted to give people a humorous and peaceful way to smack down their racism and sexism. We hope it makes people laugh and also feel empowered and motivated to get to the polls on or before election day."

With a mix of satire, sharp political critique, and nostalgia, the game is a call to action. The upcoming election, which is getting closer by the minute, has sparked fierce activism and creative yet grounded initiatives like these aim to ensure voters are engaged, especially young Latinos and disenfranchised groups.

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