This year marks a pivotal time for Latino representation in television, streaming, and social media, with more streaming shows, movies, and social media produced by Latino voices. From Colon-Zayas’ historic Emmy win to online platforms like Looking Bilingüe!, Latino representation, historically underrepresented in American media, is on the rise.
Research by the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) shows that family conversations about authentic representation help children engage critically with media and address harmful stereotypes often perpetuated in movies, television, and social media. while emphasizing that they can strengthen their connection to their heritage.
In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month and to bring conversations closer to Latinx families, Jade Cintron Baez, bilingual theater and language educator and founder of “Looking Bilingüe!” We spoke to her to share her insights. Her advice will help you start a conversation with your family about three important issues in Latinx media: language, colorism, and cultural realism.
Here’s how parents can talk to their kids about these topics.
Language: Talking about the way we speak
Language plays a huge role in cultural identity. Recently, the hashtag #YoSabo has become popular among young Latinos who don’t speak Spanish fluently. The term is derived from the phrase “no sabo kids” (“no sabo” is the incorrect Spanish word for “don’t know”) to describe children with limited Spanish language skills. Born after being used. Today, children claim “Yosabo” as a way to respond to criticism about their language abilities.
Bilingual teacher Cintron Baez considers this mixture of languages (often referred to as Spanglish) to be a sign of intelligence and understanding. She explains that using both English and Spanish is a complex way of communicating and does not indicate losing one’s culture.
This cultural complexity of blending the languages of families portrayed on television can also say a lot about representation (or lack thereof) behind the camera. “Trying to force a connection between words that aren’t actually natural,” Cintron Báez signaled, adding, “I know they didn’t let people like us write this, because we didn’t want to do that.” At the other end of the spectrum, today’s best television shows with Latinx characters use language to provide cultural complexity.
Conversation Starter: If what’s on TV doesn’t reflect the way your family speaks, talk about what feels like a more authentic way for your family to communicate. Ask the children, “How do you say this?”
