Opinion | Where are the Latinx characters?

Latinx representation on screen is still far less than it should be. This becomes glaringly obvious when watching awards shows like the Emmys due to the historical lack of Latinx nominees and winners across the board. Photo collage by JACK SUNDBLAD, Staff Photographer

I was really disappointed when Jenna Ortega didn’t win an Emmy Award for her role in “Wednesday”. My disappointment got worse when Pedro Pascal also didn’t win for his role in “The Last of Us”. At first, I thought this was just normal disappointment because my favorites hadn’t won. But then I realized this was deeper than that. 

Emilia Cuevas Diaz, Opinions Editor

For as long as I can remember, I haven’t seen someone like me win an Emmy.

Before Jenna Ortega, there was America Ferrera, who was nominated for “Ugly Betty” in 2007 and 2008. Before her was Rita Moreno nominated for “9 to 5” in 1983. Before Pedro Pascal was Jimmy Smits who was nominated for “NYPD Blue”.  

Three nominees in 75 years is not enough. 2 nominees in 75 years is not enough. There should be no reason for so few Latinx people to have been nominated, let alone to have actually won an Emmy.

Latinx representation on screen is still far less than it should be. And this becomes glaringly obvious when award season comes around. I mean, it’s not like they have a huge pool of people to pull from for nominations.

For the 75th Emmys, there were several articles about how Pedro Pascal and Jenna Ortega were making history with their nominations and how this was a huge step forward for Latinx representation on television. I disagree.

While I am glad that they were nominated and I think it's good that the community is finally getting the recognition it deserves, I don’t think of Pascal and Ortega’s nominations as showing how diverse the industry has gotten in the past years, but rather as proof that the Latinx community is being left behind. 

According to a study by The Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, in the last 16 years across 1,600 films, only 4.4% of lead or co-lead roles were Latinx, which amounts to a total of 75 roles. 

And that’s exactly where the problem lies. How can the Television Academy or the Academy of Motion Picture be expected to nominate more Latinx actors when they are so rarely on screen? How can we prove that we are worth the money when we rarely get a chance to be the leads?

And the Emmys are not the only place where the lack of representation is showing. You can look at all kinds of different places. 

I mean, the lack of Latinx representation in Hollywood is so evident that even during the writers’ and actors’ strike, 27 Latinx advocacy groups came together to promote the movie “Blue Beetle” when the actors and writers couldn’t. 

The advocacy groups saw “Blue Beetle” as an important step to prove that the Latinx community is worth being represented as one of the only pieces of media coming out that was directed by, written by and starring Latinx people. They thought it was necessary for this movie to perform well to push studios to invest in more stories centering on Latinx characters.

The Latinx community needs to be given opportunities to be the main leads. I am tired of seeing myself and my community so little on the screen. And I am tired of most representations being based on stereotypes. 

I want the generation that comes after me to grow up believing that they can be superheroes and vampires and witches and wizards. I want them to see themselves falling in love with the girl next door and solving a murder. I want them to see themselves as doctors, adventurers and fighters, not just background characters and drug dealers.