Media Portrayal: Tracing Back...

"Latinas historically have been enslaved, raped, and otherwise constructed similarly through narratives of colonization as available and accessible sex objects."¹ We want to explore the media views on Latina and the stereotypes that have been created and reinforce over the years. We could see the vicious cycle from the times of Lupe Velez to today's fascination with Jennifer Lopez. We will use newspapers, web pages, books, and other resources to demonstrate the perception of Latinas as exotic, sexual, and good enough to have, but not good enough to be. These are sentiments that have been constructed and are instill in the American popular culture today.

In Various Newsstands we find circulations with headlines such as "Eva Mendes And Christina Milián Add Latino Flavor To MTV Awards"². These headlines eroticize latinas and view them anymore different than in the times of Velez with the concept of spitfire as discussed by Charles Ramirez Berg in Latin Looks. Adding "Latino flavor" to public event that is being broadcast by the media demonstrate the general public views of Latinas. The contributions that they are making are many times minimize and simply view as adding a spice. Constantly when they are mention blur words such flavor, salsa, caliente, sexy are added failing to recognize Latinas' talents and intellectual attributes. The driven attitude as hard workers and strong advocate of family unity is ignored. The Latinas that are contributing to our society many times are left in the shadow even though they have overcome many barriers that have been created by the misconception. They are almost dehumanized and view as sexual objects.

In the media we could trace this back to the times of legendary figures such as Carmen Miranda and Lupe Velez. The roles of Latinas actresses have been very limited. It is more interesting to see that for these Latinas to play certain roles their "Latin Look" has been reinforce.They have painted their body darker for the tan effect as mentioned by Carlos E. Cortes in his essay Chicanas in Film: History of an Image published in Latin Looks. They also colored their hair darker shades, and reinforce the overall look with the red lipstick or red dress.

"This happened to Jossie de Guzmán who had the role of Maria in the 1980 production on Broadway. If they darkened her skin, they did not have to do it to Debbie Allen, a black actress who played Anita, nor to Rita Moreno in the film version. De Guzmán commented with surprise:"Oh, my God, I am Puerto Rican--why do they have to darken my hair?" They darkened her pale skin too, and after a bit she liked that, wanting literally to "get into the skin of Maria."³

The few Latinas that have been celebrated and honor in the big scream many time are portrayed by white women. This was the case of Evita who was personalized by Madonna, and today we are looking at Whoppie Goldberg to personalize the legendary Celia Cruz. This same a pattern has been followed.

Very few films have portrayed good characteristics overall.

There were, however, continuing Hispanic characters for both men and women-something that is again absent today. Many of these characters tended to fit the classic stereotypes of spitfire and clown (Carmen Miranda, Lupe Vélez, and Ricky Ricardo) or of Latin lover and caballero (Dolores Del Río's classy señorita persona, the Cisco Kid, Zorro, and the various incarnations of Latin lovers). Finally, the variety of Latina images, in particular, diminished over time and roles became more narrowly cast and marginal. For men, Latin lovers are common and popular again; however, many are not as legitimately wealthy or powerful as they were in earlier days.

How do you feel Latinas are portrayed in the media?⁴

An interesting site to explore: Young Latinas' views on the way the media portrays them.

"Latinas aren't portrayed enough on T. V. White females are portrayed as doctors, teachers, etc. Latinas are portrayed as pretty women who are housewives. They're good enough to have, but not enough to be." (L.C.)

"It saddens me. In fact, I just recently read an article in the Latina Magazine about this problem. We are constantly portrayed as helpless wives who get slapped around by our husbands and also that we show too much skin. But on the other hand, there are also shows that talk about the beautiful successful Latinas." (J.S.)

"I feel that most latinas that are shown in the media right now (such as Shakira, Thalia, and Paulina Rubio) are portrayed as sexy, exotic, and talented." (A.H.)

"It's been improving. They used to be maids and sluts. Now, with J-Lo, the situation has improved by latinas obtaining roles with more importance." (A.O.)

"From what I've seen, latinas are considered beautiful, and that is something really honorable for me. I feel great and am really proud of being a latina ." (M.H.)

Taking Action:⁵

WANTED: Latino Role Models
Educated Hispanic professionals need to step up
By ANA MARIA SALAZAR

Example of leadership in the community.

Whom do we blame? We could blame the media. The positive portrayal of Latinos in the mainstream English-speaking media is still an infrequent occurrence. When was the last time you saw a successful Latino lawyer or doctor portrayed on TV? Instead, we are frequently portrayed as the criminals—¡ los bandidos ! What about the Spanish-speaking media? Have you recently encountered any TV show that has Latino role models and encourages values such as education, strength and valor? No creo.

Ana María Salazar, deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Drug Enforcement Policy and Support, is the highest ranking Latina at the U.S. Department of Defense.