Where Latina Writers and Producers Shed Light On The Media and Their Place Therein
By Vanessa Verduga
There’s a new online series that focuses 100% on Latinas working in media. The first season kicked off featuring East coast Latina writers and producers with a unique perspective on the progress, or lack thereof, being made by Latinos in the industry. The series has struck a nerve within the Latina community. Come August 2014, Latinas Chat Media Los Angeles will feature the West coast’s point of view – and, it is not all the same – one size does not fit all. Latinas Chat Media (LCM) is a talk show created by author Linda Nieves-Powell and I, Vanessa Verduga, also co-executive produce the series. I’m an actor, writer, producer, director and an attorney devoted to bringing the Latina voice to the forefront. Here’s a little review of how LCM launched:
The Misrepresented American
To all appearances, or at least the appearances of mainstream media, Latin Americans have successfully gained a prominent position in the filmmaking arts. We can all point to favorite actors and actresses who have gained acclaim as American heroes and heroines; Salma Hayek, Anthony Quinn, Rita Moreno, along with an exciting repertoire of famous film directors, such as George A. Romero and Robert Rodriguez. However, there’s a little bit of a discrepancy going on. Although, according to the US Census, an estimated seventeen percent of the US population is Hispanic, their representation in US television, film and theater gives the appearance that only about two percent of the industrious work force is Hispanic. Not only that, their cultural identity seems to be confined to drug dealers, gangsters, gardeners, maids and sexy sirens.
We’re Not All from Mexico
Latinas Chat Media has tackled the subject of stereotyped roles within cinema. Linda Nieves-Powell, writer and director of “Stereotypically Me”, and a member of the Writer’s Guild of America, hosts the web series that brings Latina writers, producers and actors together to discuss the issues, problems and state of the Latina artist in Hollywood and in the media. While the message of the Latin American community is “we need to build our own market place,” she feels even this spirit of unity comes with its own problems.
The Hispanic community is a diverse group. The experiences of a Mexican-American are not going to be the same as those of a Hispanic hailing from Cuba, Argentina or Bolivia. Without a group experience, it’s a bit difficult to unite as a single collaborative effort. Nieves-Powell feels the main message of their union should be that even when we fail, we need to be accepted just the way we are. Who we are isn’t necessarily an immigrant, although the immigrant community is a viable force, with its own stories and messages for the public. Many Latin Americans were born and raised in the United States and have their own unique perspective.
Activism in Film
While roles for Hispanics are diligently being written into filmmaking, it’s not about how Hispanics see each other, but how a non-Hispanic white community sees us. The populations of Los Angeles and New York City are pushing the figures over fifty percent, yet in both areas, Hispanics are seen as a very small part of the community. The plot lines are white, with white characters adding the greatest impact to script dialog and development. Colombian-American writer and multimedia producer, Maria Nieto, is not content with this. Her activism has concentrated on addressing issues relevant to the Latin American community.
Sofia Quintero, who has already made a name for herself as an activist as well as a serious author, feels the American public is limited in what they perceive as a successful Latin American artist. If a role calls for a Latina actress and Hayek or Jennifer Lopez passes on it, chances are the film won’t make it. White America has found its acceptable Hispanic actors and is very reluctant to explore new ideas, interpretations and roles with fresh new Hispanic faces.
When the Invisible Becomes Visualized
In a land where individualism has been the heralding call for creativity and ingenuity, there is a growing realization that it takes a team to arrive at true accomplishment. It takes a supportive effort to surmount a hierarchy of social status, selectivity and public favoritism. Each one of the women who contribute to the discussions of Latinas Chat Media has been a fighter and a leader in overcoming the odds stacked against them.
Jenny L. Saldaña, comedienne, actor and writer, was a cancer survivor before the age of forty. Her message takes an astonishing break from the norm in a somewhat flippant turn in “pink survivors” with Happy Cancer Chick. Gabrielle Rivera also goes brash, but with a different turn of the key. Her short stories and poems take a slant on the “queer” media projects, including her own short film, Spanish Girls are Beautiful.
Sponsoring the unique talk show is I, Vanessa Verduga, who recently made a splash with a unique comedy-drama web series, Justice Woman. Attorney by day, super hero by night, Justice Woman battles a legal system that favors the rich and powerful over the poor, the downtrodden and minorities. I am also one of the executive producers of the Los Angeles edition of Latinas Chat Media, straddling the two coastlines to bring together a Latin American voice that can be heard cohesively across Middle America.
Your Turn to Shine
Bucking mainstream media is difficult for any artist. Networks and publishers don’t want to take gambles on unknown factors, new ideas, and anonymous faces. They want what has been proven to sell. The Latin American perspective, stripped of its stereotypical aspects and presented with the real problems, issues and cultural influences facing Latin American women is as difficult for mainstream media to digest as a bowlful of habanero peppers.
If the Latin American community is diverse, it still faces similar problems. Acknowledgment of their contributions to society remains minimal, as well as recognition concerning degree of education and an ability to articulate intelligently and cohesively on political and social affairs. The Latina woman is often seen as frivolous, superficial or just plain giddy. Latinas Chat Media wishes to change that. Its objective is to create a collaboration of Latinas in the entertainment industry, a place where the Latina woman is given a voice, a place where Latin American women can come together as film artists, writers, producers and directors.
The six-part series, which can be viewed in its entirety at http://www.latinaschatmedia.com is designed so you can be an active part of the community. Uncensored, sometimes ribald, the no-holds-barred philosophy becomes deeply reflective, challenging everyone, Latinas and non-Latinas alike to examine their belief system on what constitutes the Hispanic media and what doesn’t.
The goal is to span the gap between the east and the west, by encouraging Latina artists everywhere to create their own local roundtable discussion. The website provides information for adding your lively group to the conversation and creating a movement of support for the evolving Latina American artist. It is your chance to become progressive, to think outside the box and become part of the change that will revolutionize Latin American media.
You may not always find yourself in agreement with the panelists; they don’t always agree with each other; but differing views are what stimulate a discussion and eventually find a common ground for understanding. “Like” Latinas Chat Media on Facebook so you can become an integral part of this social network community, leave your comments, suggestions, and receive immediate updates on the upcoming L.A. edition of Latinas Chat Media.
It takes a team to make a difference. It takes the special bonding of working together, helping each other with advice, discussing the problems that need overcoming and taking an active stand of support for each other. This is the empowerment of the Latin American woman, a woman who has shed her coming-to-America identity as a maid, a mom, a walking bombshell, and has stated her position as a thinking, intelligent woman, vibrant with her cultural heritage, stepping into relevant roles within society and making her own impact on lives.
For more about Latinas Chat Media visit: http://www.LatinasChatMedia.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/LatinasChatMedia
Twitter: @LatinasInMedia
Hashtag: #LatinasChatMedia
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