In The Community
Fed up with the sweltering summer heat in her sister’s East Los Angeles dress factory, 18-year-old Ana Garcia, played by actress America Ferrera, takes off her shirt. Ana’s mother, Carmen, played by Lupe Ontiveros, quickly moves to cover her daughter’s body.
“Look at you; you look awful,” Carmen says, referring to Ana’s weight.
“How dare anyone try to tell me what I should look like, or who I should be, when there’s so much more to me than just my weight,” Ana says during the exchange.
Ana’s sister and another woman working in the factory come to her defense. To Carmen’s horror, the women each start to remove their clothes to compare their perceived body flaws. By the end, they are laughing, sewing dresses in their underwear and vibing to music in a powerful display of pride in their body fat, their stretch marks and their different sizes.
Lupe Ontiveros (as Carmen Garcia) and America Ferrera (as Ana Garcia) in Real Women Have Curves (2002) directed by Patricia Cardoso (HBO)
Patricia Cardoso, director of “Real Women Have Curves,” knew it was an important story to tell. At the time, few other films had centered the stories of Latina girls and teens in the United States, she told The 19th. “Real Women Have Curves” offered a glimpse into a world that was relatable to so many: the financial considerations for a working-class family, a complicated mother-daughter relationship, a first-generation Mexican-American teen with dreams of going to college in New York City.
In the 21 years since its release, the number of Latina coming-of-age stories has increased — and so has the representation within them. There are more actresses being cast and a wider variety of viewpoints being told that reflect the complexity and humanity of a diverse population that has historically been reduced to harmful stereotypes. But both in front and behind the camera, disparities remain, Latina women in the film and television industry told The 19th.
“There’s still a lot more needed because there’s not enough representation,” Cardoso said. “I teach at the University of California, Riverside, now, and the majority of my students are first-generation college students. They have only seen themselves reflected on screen a few times growing up, and it’s usually not realistically and not dealing with the issues they face.”
One 2021 study by researchers at the University of Southern California analyzed 1,300 top-grossing films between 2007 and 2019 and found that 3.5 percent, or 45 of the movies, had Latinx leads or co-leads. Of those 45 films, 24 of them had Latina leads.
Across the 100 top-grossing films in 2019, 35 had no Latinx characters at all and 59 had no Latina characters. Ninety-five of the films had no Latinx characters with disabilities, and 98 had no LGBTQ+ Latinx characters.
The study shows both existing challenges for Latinx representation, and how the numbers have improved somewhat over the years.
Like Cardoso, for filmmaker Aurora Guerrero it was difficult to think of many movies or television shows 25 or 30 years ago that depicted the adolescence of U.S. Latinas. Mainly, there was “Selena,” the 1997 movie starring Jennifer Lopez about the life and rising fame of Mexican-American singer Selena Quintanilla.
The year 2002 brought “Real Women Have Curves” and the Disney Channel original movie “Gotta Kick It Up!,” both starring America Ferrera. The latter tells the story of a dance team at an under-resourced middle school in Southern California. The movie has received some criticism for the absence or Afro-Latinas and for repeating a common White savior narrative in Hollywood, with a non-Latinx teacher stepping in to save the school dance team.
Still, “Gotta Kick It Up!” remains a treasured nostalgic re-watch for many Latina millennials. In different ways, “Real Women Have Curves” and “Gotta Kick It Up!” showed layers to the Latina teen experience. There were nerdy bookworm characters in addition to the rebellious cool girl. Some faced high expectations from their families or experienced anxieties navigating a White-dominated society.
For years, Latina characters have been hypersexualized, portrayed as loud and vain or as very strict and religious, without much nuance. Those portrayals can affect how the world treats Latinas and how Latina girls see themselves. Research indicates that seeing negative stereotypes or portrayals of women and girl characters in entertainment has harmful effects on mental health and body image.
Seeing more varied examples of Latinas as children and adults can help young Latinas understand they are not alone in their experiences, said Rosa Parra, a film critic who writes for The Daily Chela, a Chicano and Hispanic news website. Certain characters can also help young girls envision what their lives could be like in a particular career or at a particular college, Parra said.
Addressing stereotypes is a balancing act because some stereotypes develop from a seed of truth, she added.
“Do I have a tia or cousins who are very religious? Absolutely. And yes, I know people who can be loud and obnoxious sometimes. But it’s about showing a range of personalities and lives,” she said. “We’re such a diverse group of people. We have different shapes, sizes, skin tones, hairstyles, cultures and languages. It is unfair to just paint all of us as a monolith.”
More exploitative Latinx depictions often flatten a character into a single trope without adding more depth, Guerrero said. She worked on the set of “Real Women Have Curves” as an assistant to Cardoso while working on her own groundbreaking feature film.
Ten years after “Real Women Have Curves,” Guerrero’s “Mosquita y Mari” premiered. The 2012 film follows two Chicana teens in Los Angeles as they deal with school and family, in addition to their romantic feelings for each other.
Guerrero builds the connection between the two teen girls through subtle glances and touches that capture the butterflies, the confusion and the fear that many LGBTQ+ teens experience with a same-sex crush. Guerrero said she was tired and angry about the continued lack of queer Latinx stories in film and television.
“I wasn’t afraid to do it. I felt it was necessary, and I was empowered to do it,” Guerrero said. “The only thing that scared me was the question of whether I was going to be able to get funding for it.”
Initially, that fear was a reality as Guerrero struggled to get the money she needed. Ultimately, her team crowdfunded an $80,000 production budget, and “Mosquita y Mari” was released to critical acclaim.
Venecia Troncoso and Fenessa Pineda in “Mosquita y Mari” (2012) directed by Aurora Guerrero (THE FILM COLLABORATIVE)
Today both “Real Women Have Curves” and “Mosquita y Mari” are celebrated for breaking barriers of Latina storytelling in film; however, Cardoso’s and Guerrero’s struggles did not end after these successes. Following their respective films, they both faced years of rejection and struggled to find other opportunities as directors and filmmakers. Cardoso said she couldn’t get work as a director for 15 years after 2002. For Guerrero, she continued to face hurdles nearly three years after 2012.
In both cases, Black filmmaker Ava DuVernay offered a lifeline, by bringing them on to direct episodes of her Oprah Winfrey-backed show “Queen Sugar.” The support from DuVernay helped them to maintain steady work in television, they said, but it also highlights an ongoing problem for Latinx storytellers. “Not a lot of people have that ability. Not a lot of people have Ava to be their bridge. You know, she can’t hire everybody,” Guerrero said.
Over the past couple of decades, new projects have emerged elevating different Latinx perspectives, including the shows “Gentefied” and the reboot of “One Day at a Time,” and movies like Marvel’s Spider-Verse series and DC Universe’s “Blue Beetle,” which both focus on male characters. Blockbuster movies focused on young Latinas are still harder to find, with 2019’s “Dora and the Lost City of Gold” and this year’s “Spy Kids: Armageddon” as notable exceptions.
Creating more pathways for a larger variety of Latinx people to have a role in film and television creation will allow more authentic storytelling and coming-of-age films that young people can relate to.
“So many women of color, so many Latina women get passed over for an opportunity to direct,” Guerrero said. “So there are these barriers that are very difficult to get past when people don’t take the time to really see you, to really consider you and let you compete with your talent.”
What Is the Modern Book Ban?
Book banning is the act of removing books from reading lists, libraries, or bookstores based on content disagreements. Often done under the pretense of safeguarding children, most of these challenges come from parents and library patrons. However, elected officials, school boards, and even librarians can also be champions of imposed ignorance. After all, they know knowledge is power.
In March 2024, the American Library Association (ALA) reported that “the number of titles targeted for censorship at public libraries increased by 92% [in 2023] over the previous year.” This is alarming for multiple reasons:
- Censorship: Book banning is fundamentally a form of censorship. Although the First Amendment protects against government censorship, private individuals or organizations face limited restraint. This makes book banning a primary example of legal censorship in the U.S.
- Democracy at Risk: At the core of democracy is the free exchange of ideas. By constraining this, we challenge the principles on which the U.S. was built. Censorship often paves the way to tyranny, allowing a small group to dominate the narrative.
- Stagnation: Book bans impede societal progression by avoiding challenges to prevailing beliefs. To quote English writer George Orwell from his eerily prescient dystopian novel “1984”: “The best books are those that tell you what you know already.” Do we aspire to a society that shuns diverse thought? Book bans lead fully in that direction.
- Marginalization: Such bans further alienate underrepresented communities. With Latinos already underrepresented in literature, these bans exacerbate the problem.
Latino Representation: The Understated Crisis
Images shared by projectpulso on Instagram
Images shared by projectpulso on Instagram
Even beyond Latino literature, there's a broader attack against critical theory. This crusade aims to stifle discussions on racism, sexism, and systemic inequality. In a single school year, 1,477 books faced bans, according to PEN America. A startling number of these pertained to LGBTQ themes, protagonists of color, race, and racism.
A Spotlight on Banned Latina Authors
Amidst the unsettling rise in book bans across the U.S., Latina authors have found themselves at the epicenter of this censorship storm. These authors not only highlight the complexities of Latino heritage but also bridge gaps in understanding, creating stories that resonate across boundaries. Many invaluable works by Latina authors have been banned, including:
- “The House of the Spirits” by Isabel Allende: Spanning generations, this saga chronicles the lives of the Trueba family in Chile, accentuating the mystical powers of its female characters. Challenges against it cite reasons like its "pornographic" nature and alleged attacks on Catholicism.
- “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros: Through vignettes, this novel paints the life of Esperanza Cordero, a young Chicana in Chicago. Bans have been enforced based on claims that it instigates skepticism against "American values."
- “Out of Darkness” by Ashley Hope Pérez: Set against the backdrop of 1930s Texas, this novel delves into the love between a Mexican American girl and a Black teen. Challenged for its graphic nature, it's deemed "sexually explicit" and has earned a place on the Top 10 Most Banned Books list.
- “The Poet X” by Elizabeth Acevedo: The narrative revolves around 15-year-old Xiomara, who channels familial tension into her poetry. Accusations against it range from being "anti-Christian" to violating religious safeguards.
- “How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents” by Julia Alvarez: This novel charts the journey of the Garcia sisters, uprooted from their Dominican heritage, as they grapple with a starkly contrasting life in New York, touching on themes of identity, family, and culture.
- “Like Water for Chocolate” by Laura Esquivel: This enchanting novel narrates the intriguing history of the De La Garza family in Mexico, where love, tradition, and magic blend seamlessly. It delves deep into themes of forbidden love, family obligations, and the transformative power of food.
- “Bless Me, Ultima” by Rudolf Anaya: Set in New Mexico; this narrative introduces us to Antonio Marez and Ultima, a healer. As Antonio steps into manhood, Ultima becomes his guiding light, illuminating his path through childhood bigotry, familial crises, and the mysteries of spirituality.
The increasing trend of book banning, especially of Latino literature, is a pressing concern. Not only does it threaten our democratic principles and societal growth, but it also amplifies the marginalization of already underrepresented communities. Our society's richness lies in its diversity, and by stifling these voices, we risk losing an integral part of our narrative. It's time to reassess and recognize the value of all stories, regardless of their origin.
Elena Rodríguez aka Yo-Yo or Slingshot
Character of Marvel
Elena Rodríguez, also known as Yo-Yo or Slingshot, is one of Marvel’s superheroes. She appeared for the first time in 2008 in the comic “The Mighty Avengers” and then she was interpreted by Natalia Cordova-Buckley in the show “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” This character is of Colombian descent and she’s kind of a reluctant hero because she’s much more interested in helping her community than the world at large. However, she has a compelling journey where she becomes one of the best S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Inspiring, especially for Latina girls!
Yolanda Montez aka Wildcat
Character of DC Comics
Yolanda Montez, also known as Wildcat, was part of DC’s attempt to diversify its lineup of superheroes in the 80s. In the comics, she’s a legacy superhero and took up the mantle of Wildcat after the death of Ted Grant. However, there was no consistent place for the character in the comics, and she was eventually killed off. Wildcat was brought back for DC’s “Stargirl,” a 2022 show where an unlikely group of young superheroes come together to defeat a villain. Montez’s character battles with Catholic guilt and gets caught between her Mexican culture and her friends’ culture; a struggle that many young Latinas in the U.S. can relate to.
Anya Sofía Corazón aka Spider-Girl
Character of Marvel
We know that with great power comes great responsibility. Of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, Anya Sofía Corazón was the first Araña and the third Spider-Girl in the Marvel comics. As Spider-Girl, she got her powers after being caught in a fight between two mystical clans called The Spider Society and the Sisterhood of the Wasp. She was fatally wounded, but a sorcerer from The Spider Society transferred some of his powers to her, which included enhanced strength, agility, and the ability to grow a blue exoskeleton to protect herself. Anya briefly appeared as Spider-Girl in “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” and most recently, she had her first live-action appearance in the film “Madame Web,” played by Peruvian-American actress Isabela Merced. We hope to see more of her in future films.
Kendra Saunders aka Hawkgirl
Character of DC Comics
Kendra Saunders, also known as Hawkgirl, is another DC superhero and she comes from a line of reincarnations from the angel Shrra. Kendra is a Latina (rebooted as Afro-Latina in 2011) who gets her powers after she dies by suicide and becomes a vessel for the soul of Shiera Sanders Hall, the Golden Age Hawkgirl. When Kendra comes to, she has all of her memories but none of Sheira’s memories, only her powers. She was brought to life by Ciara Renée in “DC's Legends of Tomorrow,” and Isabela Merced will play her in James Gunn’s “Superman: Legacy.” It will be fun to see another Latina superhero on screen!
Molly Hernandez
Promotional image of Runaways (TV series)/Season Three
Molly Hernandez is a character in “Marvel’s Runaways,” and she’s a reimagined version of the comic book character Molly Hayes. This new version of the character makes Molly Latina, but her exact ethnicity is unknown because her parents died when she was young and then she was adopted. It’s important to acknowledge the lack of effort put into her Latinidad for “Marvels’ Runaways,” but there’s potential for development in future projects. Molly is played by Allegra Acosta and she has superhuman strength and durability. She’s as strong as the Hulk or Thor, and her story is very compelling because she joins the Runaways, a team of fugitive superheroes, after discovering her adoptive parents are villains. Because she doesn’t know anything about her origins, the theme of connecting with her Latina culture and navigating her duality is a big part of her character arc.
Marisol Ríos De La Cruz aka La Borinqueña
Character created by Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez
Marisol Rios De La Luz is a Latina superhero created by Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez. Marisol is a Columbia University undergrad student majoring in Earth and Environmental Sciences. While she takes a semester abroad at the University of Puerto Rico, she explores the caves of Puerto Rico and finds five crystals that untimely give Marisol her powers — strength, the power of flying, and control of storms. Her story is one of self-discovery as she connects with and embraces her Afro-Puerto Rican identity. As a superhero, she focuses on solving environmental issues in Puerto Rico and the people embrace her as their vigilante.
Claire Temple
Character of Marvel
Claire Temple is a character from the show “Marvel’s Daredevil” and she’s played by Rosario Dawson. She’s loosely based on Night Nurse, a character from the Marvel Comics. In the show, Claire Temple is a former night shift nurse of Cuban descent. She provides medical assistance not only to Daredevil but also to Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, other characters who also defend and protect the city. She doesn’t only provide medical attention, she’s also the moral backbone of the group, helping characters be better. She’s a kind of quiet hero and she represents all those people who work late hours to make sure we get help when we need it most.
Renee Montoya aka The Question
Character of DC Comics
Back to the DC Universe, we have Renee Montoya, one of the most interesting Latin superheroes in recent years. Her journey began on “Batman: The Animated Series” and she became so popular that she was introduced to the Batman comics as well. She’s a great detective, but there’s a dark side to her due to her destructive behavior. Following the death of a work partner, she seeks spirituality with The Question, a mystical entity. When The Question dies, he leaves the costume and name to Montoya. She provides representation for queer Latinas and is quite a complicated character in her ambiguity.
Jalisco
Character of Latinasuperheroes
Jalisco is one of the more creative Latina superheroes on the list because she’s a crime-fighting folklorico dancer on a mission to save her mom from the violent femicide happening in Mexico. Created by Chicana writer and Director Kayden Phoenix, Jalisco is a graphic novel that follows a young girl as she’s taken under the wings of a band of Adelitas, who prepare her to fight against Malinche, the fictional character behind the femicide. Phoenix has created an entire universe of Latina superheroes, the first of its kind, where each Latina superhero fights for a specific social justice cause. They also band together and create the “A La Brava” team. Kudos to Phoenix for bringing much-needed diversity to the space of graphic novel superheroes!
Jessica Cruz aka Green Lantern
Character of DC Comics
Jessica Cruz is half Mexican-American and half Honduran-American, and she’s one of the sworn protectors of the Earth. She's the first female representative of the Green Lantern Corps on Earth, which is pretty cool. Jessica’s story is quite compelling because she deals with intense PTSD due to a traumatic incident in her past and her character arc is all about overcoming that fear so she can do good for other people. It’s a very inspiring story in DC comics, and we hope it gets an adaptation someday.
Maya Lopez aka Echo
Character of Marvel
Maya Lopez, also known as Echo, from the Marvel Universe. She’s one of the few deaf characters and her powers are pretty cool because she can mimic any physical action, hence her name. She’s a highly adaptable character, so she can take on powerful enemies by adopting their fighting style. Her mother is Latina while her father is Cheyenne, representing Latino and Indigenous communities, as well as the deaf community. Echo will have her own series on Disney+ later this year, so keep an eye out for that.
Supergirl
Character of DC Comics
Supergirl is a DC superhero and she was introduced to the universe in 1959. Supergirl is not Latina, but one of her precursors was. In the comic Superboy #5, Superboy meets Queen Lucy, a monarch from Borgonia, a fictional South American country. She flees to Smallville to escape the control of Count Norvello. There, Superboy befriends her and one day she helps him handle some crooks, prompting people to believe there’s a Supergirl. The story takes off in the newspapers, so Superboy uses his powers to make her seem superhuman. Eventually, she goes back to Borgonia to reclaim her throne. Most recently, Supergirl was portrayed by Colombian-American actress Sasha Calle in the film “The Flash,” a refreshing break from the white blonde women who usually bring the character to life in adaptations.
America Chavez aka Miss America
Character of Marvel
Miss America, Marvel’s lesbian Latina superhero, first appeared in 2011 in a limited series titled "Vengeance." Born in a Utopian Parallel outside of time and reality, Chavez was raised by two superpowered mothers. By absorbing the energy of a being called the Demiurge, Chavez can travel in time and to different dimensions, fly, and enjoy super speed and strength. After her mothers were killed protecting Utopia from destruction, America ran away to Earth, where she was adopted by a Puerto Rican family in the Bronx. Miss America is one of the most powerful female superheroes in the Marvel Universe and she provides representation for queer Latin Americans. She was brought to life for the first time by Mexican-American actress Xochitl Gomez in the film “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” and we can’t wait to see more of her.
Lúz La Luminosa
Character created by Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez
Lúz La Luminosa is a Chinese-Dominican superhero, and she’s La Borinqueña’s best friend. Also created by Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, this character goes on solo adventures and has the power of bioluminescent energy, which allows her to create force fields. Lúz also has endometriosis, a condition that affects 1 in 10 women and is characterized by symptoms like pelvic pain, painful periods, pain during sex, and even infertility. We see Lúz managing her condition as she goes about her life and patrols the streets to protect people, making her a symbol of resilience and female empowerment. Her endometriosis is a big part of her identity, providing much-needed representation and visibility for a condition that’s often misunderstood and overlooked.
Bonita Juarez aka Firebird
Character of Marvel
Last but not least, we have Bonita Juarez, also known as Firebird. She’s one of the most notable Latina superheroes in the Marvel Universe and one of the most prominent Latina characters in the comics. Bonita is a social worker and a devoted Catholic who comes into contact with a radioactive meteorite while walking the deserts of Albuquerque, New Mexico. She survived the encounter, but the radiation altered her DNA, giving her the ability to fly and the power to generate heat and flames. Believing her powers were a gift from God, she named herself Firebird and dedicated her life to protecting people in the Southwest.
