Blake Allen / Daily Nexus

Artsweek’s Latina editors delve into their experiences with Hispanic media representation in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Visibility matters! 

Me and my grandmother in 2009 before my first day of kindergarten! We had pupusas the night before. (Lauren Chiou / Daily Nexus)

For the past few years, I’ve been reflecting on what it means to be Hispanic in today’s world, especially as a multiethnic individual. I’m three-fourths East Asian, which is the more evident and obvious part of my heritage. However, my grandmother was born and raised in El Salvador, making me one-fourth Hispanic.

It’s difficult to balance both sides of your ethnicity — there isn’t a step-by-step guide on how to coexist with your own multitudes. When I was younger, I didn’t think of my blood in fractions. My favorite childhood memories are of mixing masa and making pupusas with my grandmother. She would tell me stories about life in San Salvador: the family turkey, her school friends, how much she missed her home. My grandmother would always sing in Spanish, and while I had no idea what she was saying, I would always join in at the chorus. 

But over time, connecting with one-fourth of my heritage grew difficult. It wasn’t that I didn’t care about my Hispanic identity, I just didn’t know how to approach it. Living in a world full of negative stereotypes and an overall lack of visibility in my hometown, I had no idea how to be Latina.

At the time, there was also a disappointing lack of representation. There were rarely any Hispanic film or television characters, and if there were, they were always linked to a racist stereotype or joke. I remember an elementary school classmate calling me “Dora” as an insult. This always struck me as humorously and horrifyingly indicative of a lack of visibility  — there was so little representation in the media, even playground bullies have slim pickings for racist attacks! 

In recent years, major progress has been made. Artists like Bad Bunny and Rosalía have broken into the mainstream, dominating the music industry. Shows like “One Day at a Time” and “On My Block” not only exist but have received critical acclaim. And just last month, Liza Colón-Zayas won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series at the 76th Emmys, becoming the first Latina to do so.

I’ve also been able to observe the positive effects of representation at a local level. Hearing Isla Vista residents recite the lyrics to “Gasolina” while walking up and down Del Playa Drive. Watching middle school students freak out over meeting America Ferrera on the Santa Barbara International Film Festival carpet. Seeing countless people dress up as Wednesday Addams on Halloween (yes, she’s Latina!).

Visibility matters. Not only in terms of external influence but internal to the community as well. Proper representation can pave the way for individuals to embrace their culture. I feel so fortunate to live in a world where my culture is not only represented but appreciated. Seeing widespread love for my culture, free from negative stereotypes and assumptions, has taught me to embrace that part of my blood.

And the power of pop culture spans generations, especially in terms of visibility. It’s fluid, all-encompassing and a testament to the impact art has on our lives. The other day, I caught my grandma humming along to Bad Bunny’s “MONACO” on the radio. I joined in at the chorus.

Lauren Chiou, Artsweek Editor

Coming up mainstream: diversify your media 

Me and my sister at a Cinco de Mayo festival in 2011. My sister was so happy to be there, as evidenced by her face. (Kendra Martinez / Daily Nexus)

Growing up in a Mexican household with an immigrant mother meant that from a very young age I was watching “La rosa de Guadalupe” every week and listening to Enrique Iglesias on repeat. Latino representation in the media was never a prevalent issue during my childhood – my favorite cartoon was “Dora the Explorer,” and she helped me perfect my Spanish. Simultaneously, I was also watching my all-time favorite cartoon, “Curious George” and listening to Taylor Swift. One could say I was getting the best of both worlds.

To me, it didn’t really seem to matter that the Latine representation in traditional American TV shows, movies or music was severely lacking because I was already consuming Latino shows and media on a daily basis. In a weird way, I was able to compartmentalize them into different entities because they served different purposes in my life. I spent quality time with my mom while watching Spanish telenovelas and listening to her music as a byproduct of her driving me everywhere. While at school, I bonded with my friends at school over our obsessions with “Gilmore Girls.”

It wasn’t until I watched “One Day at a Time” that I realized there weren’t very many accurate depictions of Latinos in the American television that I had watched. “One Day at a Time” portrays the real-life struggle in multi-generational Latino families when there’s a cultural divide between generations. It was the first show that made me feel seen as the child of an immigrant who was growing up in a completely different culture than my parents. 

Out of curiosity, I scrolled through my Spotify, only to find there weren’t any Latino artists in my library. The lack of Latino representation in the media manifested itself into an identity crisis for me in high school when it felt like I couldn’t bridge the gap between my love for entertainment and music with the culture I was so very proud of. I found myself wondering why my peers had musicians or actors they identified with or related to, while most of my favorites were white. It felt like I was ignoring and disgracing part of my identity in the way I consumed media. 

Since then, I have made more of an effort to incorporate and discover more Latino artists into my playlists – a struggle since the popularity of indie pop/folk Latino musicians in the mainstream is less than that of other artists. Also, in recent years, the Latina representation in television and cinema has greatly improved with the emergence of Jenna Ortega, Xochitl Gomez and Rachel Zegler, which has induced a sense of pride in me that I didn’t know was possible. Finally seeing beautiful Latina women portraying characters I love: Wednesday Addams, America Chavez and Lucy Gray (who wasn’t originally Latina) without being reduced to a stereotype or typecast was a wonderful experience. 

I’m still working on finding ways to incorporate Latino artists into the media I consume daily and figuring out how to stop separating my two identities, instead bridging them together. The progress the industry has made in terms of representation has helped that journey. If anything, I’m glad a new generation of Latinas can grow up with more visibility and representation in mainstream pop culture.

Kendra Martinez, Asst. Artsweek Editor

This appeared in the October 10 printed edition of the Daily Nexus