Afro Latino Representation (Lack of) Jazmin Celeste Course: Latino Cultural Studies Professor: Rosa Soto Student: Jazmin Celeste Essay: Afro Latino Representation (Lack of)
Assignment: In this assignment, students were asked to examine the constructions of Racialized Identity politics in the representations of Latinx characters in film, television and popular culture.
If it is one thing we have learned throughout this course, it is that Latinos are not one size fits all. We have different experiences in terms of education, linguistic abilities, race, and ethnicity. These varieties can be subtle such as the many ways that each ethnicity speaks Spanish (ex: Dominican Spanish vs. Colombian Spanish), education (those who choose blue collar jobs vs. Those who attend college), and race (those who identify as white vs those who identify as black). There are so many factors that go into play when someone is deciding what a Latinx person is supposed to look like. Oftentimes, the Latinx people they choose to represent us all, only represents a small portion. This being the case, Latinx folk who fall in the “other” categories are ostracized or made to feel as though they do not fit the mold society has constructed and this is most certainly the case for those who identify as Afro-Latinos. Though different shades of Latinx folk exist, it is still a “shock” to people
when someone on the browner or black side is Latino. This shock and disapproval from non-Latinos, and colorist Latinos alike, diminishes any opportunities for Afro-Latinos to be given a platform. The roles in film or television for Latinos are limited as is. Latinos are always given roles where they stick to a specific stereotype. “Most studies on Latinos and the media, have tended to focus on mainstream media, such as Hollywood films, and network TV, repeatedly 5
