WHITE ALLIGATOR
Follow us!
  • TRAILER
  • ABOUT
  • PRESS
  • MOVEMENT
    • MISSION
    • BLOG
    • CARTOONS
    • SUPPORT
  • TEAM
  • CONTACT

Princess Sofia, our role model?

10/19/2012

2 Comments

 
Upon joining the Twitter community this morning (yes, I'm social media shy), I discovered that the big news of the day is that Disney has announced its first Latina princess. Then another headline catches my eye: apparently Castro had a stroke. (But I didn't consider that big news since he's been looking - and acting - like shit for decades and, let's face it, probably died and was stuffed thirty years ago, with his physical movements controlled by a complex electronic system.)

So let's talk about this princess!


http://www.latina.com/entertainment/tv/disneys-first-latina-princess-sparks-debate

Naturally, the only thing people can talk about is the color of her skin, hair, and eyes. As you can probably guess, those Latinas with light skin and light eyes (they exist) were pleased and commented, "She looks like me!" The Latinas that have dark skin and eyes commented (I paraphrase), "What a crock of shit, she doesn't look Latina at all." What was my reaction?

Where the hell are they getting the notion of a Latina princess when there was never a monarchy in any Spanish-speaking country in the New World? And, more importantly, when are we going to get past this princess shit?

Seriously folks, let's assume (as they say) that the whole reason they're making a Latina princess character is to serve as an example for little girls everywhere. And what example does that set? That you first have to be born physically beautiful, something totally out of your control. You don't study hard for that shit. And second, you have to be born rich, or just drop dead gorgeous enough to buy your way into being rich...through marriage, obviously. And who said dowries are out of style? They're called boobs. And third, and I'm going on a limb here, you have to be vapid/demure enough to attract a man to "rescue" you from the meaningless existence of, what, being a woman? A non-rich woman? Unmarried? I'm actually at a loss here. What on earth is so wrong about just being a normal gal? And when do we get to the part in our society where we can expect "role-models" for girls to be like, "hey, I freaking aced my SATs!" Or, "fuck state college, I'm aiming for Harvard, bitches!" I'd kind of enjoy a role model like that -- I'd even watch it myself.

I know what Juanita thinks (follow her on Twitter!). But what do you all think?
2 Comments

They call it the American Dream

8/9/2011

0 Comments

 
(Originally published on Kickstarter on June 27)
I had a tough week that culminated with an entertainment industry professional requesting that I do black face.

Let me explain. I happened to be at an audition for a Spanish speaking project, a rare opportunity due to my white skin. As I sat there going over the material, the monitor approaches us, humiliated, with a small jar of bronzer and some cotton pads. He says to us, "they want you to put this on before you go in." I could tell the boy was just a messenger, and he himself was horrified at the request. Nevertheless, I looked at him like he had three heads and I was about to eat one of them. He apologized and walked away silently. The other girls and I tried to laugh it off and go back to our material.

You know how I was able to laugh it off? Because it's happened before. I have had a manager ask if I can wear darker foundation to appear more Hispanic (by the way, there is a scene in White Alligator comprised of this experience).

This happened after I already had a friend stare at me in shock for a few minutes after I told him I was born in San Juan, and I heard another industry professional explain to an actor taking direction that a Hispanic character's motives for cheating on his wife were "cultural". All in a week. And this is the norm. I took the edge off by treating myself to the Klimt exhibit at the Neue Gallerie on Sunday.

I leave you with this fascinating article about a man who's lived in the US his entire life (like me) and is still trying to fit in, just like you and me. Hell, at the end of the road, we're all in the same boat...pursuing the American Dream.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/magazine/my-life-as-an-undocumented-immigrant.html?_r=4&ref=magazine&pagewanted=all

0 Comments

    Viviana Leo

    Viviana Leo is the writer and star of White Alligator.

    RSS Feed

    Follow this blog

    Archives

    December 2013
    August 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    August 2011

    Categories

    All
    Actor
    Actors
    Albany
    America
    American Dream
    American Latino Media Arts Award
    Antioxidants
    Artist
    Ava Duvernay
    Berlin
    Beta-carotene
    Blackface
    Business School
    Calcium
    Cannes
    Carmen Pelaez
    Castro
    Chick-fil-a
    Cholesterol
    Civil Rights
    Classics
    Colorado
    Comic Books
    Commercials
    Community
    Day Job
    Disney
    Dowry
    Emma Stone
    En Mi Viejo San Juan
    Erich Von Stroheim
    Ethnically Ambiguous
    Film
    Filmmaker Magazine
    First Latina Princess
    Fitting In
    Francesco Quinn
    French
    Gay Rights
    German Vogue
    Greed
    Hartford
    Harvard
    Hispanic
    Hollywood
    Humphrey Bogart
    Hypochondria
    Immigration
    Irena's Vow
    Jane White
    Jonathan Larson
    Jose Antonio Vargas
    Juanita Perez
    Kickstarter
    Klimt
    Ku Klux Klan
    L.A.
    La Patria
    Latino
    Maitely Weismann
    Manhattan Project
    Marriage
    Melissa Mayer
    Metro Ny
    Miami
    Middle Of Nowhere
    Minority
    Naacp
    Naho Iguchi
    Nerds
    Neue Gallerie
    New York
    New York Lotto
    Nightwing
    Nytimes
    Open Letter
    Passing
    Pbs
    Physicians
    Piano
    Poverty
    Power Of Now
    Princess
    Princess Sofia
    Print Ads
    Protein
    Puerto Rican
    Puerto Rico
    Quinoa
    Race Blind Casting
    Rent
    Robert Townsend
    Role Model
    Salma Hayek
    San Juan
    Sat
    Schindler's List
    Science
    Scrabble
    Seattle
    Ski
    Sofia Vergara
    South Korea
    Spanish
    Stephen Adly Guirgis
    Stereotypes
    Stetson Kennedy
    Subway
    Superheroes
    Sweet Potatoes
    Swiss Chard
    Tarantula
    T. Colin Campbell
    The American Way
    The Best Years Of Our Lives
    The China Study
    The Help
    The Motherf*cker In The Hat
    Tj Maxx
    Tobey Maguire
    Toby Dawson
    Tokyo
    Twitter
    Type A
    Vail Daily
    Vegan
    Ventanarosa
    Viola Davis
    Walter White
    White
    White Alligator
    White House
    Woman
    Wrapped
    Yahoo!
    Zoe Saldana