Representation of Latinas in Film

As one sits to watch a movie and sees a young Latina playing the role of a prostitute, drug addict or a young mother of three, one begins to wonder why are Latinas always represented in a negative way. There are a few roles which represent Latinas in a more positive way but the majority of the time as Gary D. Keller in Hispanics and United States Film writes, "The range permitted to Hispanic female characters was very constricted because they primarily functioned in relationship to an Anglo love interest... Outside of the parameters of romance or sex, there are virtually no roles for Hispanic females" (48). In early American film production the roles associated with Latinas were a cantina girl, a señorita and a Vamp. As time progressed Latinas played the roles of prostitutes, drug addicts, ignorant, uneducated and sometimes innocent victims. All of these roles can fit into two modern categories: the Madonna, the innocent and passive Latina, and the Spitfire/Whore, the :hot-blooded tamale" and fiery Latina. As Clara Rodriguez mentions in the article, "The Silver Screen," "what makes Latina images different is that there are so few images, that they are so narrow, and that lately they are so consistently negative and lower class" (76). These roles and representations reflect the United States' perception of the position of Latinos in U.S. society. As Tara mentions in her essay, "Since the movie industry favored and "catered to the white, middle class, American born patrons" movies were created at the expense of Latinas, Asians and blacks" (Tara Osorio)   Interestingly enough, most of these Latinas are involved in interracial relationship.  I agree with Nick that  "At the base they were attractive and seemingly irresistible to Anglo men, however time after time, in completion they end up depending completely on the Anglo male" (Nick Barquin).

Two of the early cinema roles are the cantina girl and señorita. The cantina girl is mostly associated with dancing and singing in a alluring fashion in order to receive attention from males. Keller describes the cantina as, "a naughty lady of easy virtue, who is also outgoing and exhibitionist... with rare exceptions the cantina girl serves an ancillary function as the love interest of the Anglo hero. She seems either to be waiting for the Anglo to enter her life, or is quick to discard her Latin suitor in favor of the Anglo... the cantina girl falls head over heels for the Anglo. Quite often she is a dancer in the cantina and does a seductive dance..."(40). The opposite of a cantina lady is the señorita who is faithful, moral and self-sacrificing. Keller writes, "Moral... does not refer to sexual behaviors, she may have or not have physical love with her Anglo. Moral refers to fidelity to Anglos from ethnocentric, Anglo expectations; fealty to the Anglo race, the United States and its symbol such as the flag, the sheriff, or cavalry, or to American cultures or mores" (42). A great example of the difference between the cantina and the señorita is in the film The Birth Of A Nation(1915). Even though the film dealt more with the issue of whites and blacks, there was still some parallel with some of the blacks roles with Latinos roles. The difference between a black servant and a mulatto servant are key parallels with Latinas roles. The black servant has strong qualities and is faithful to her master. A Señorita would be the equivalent to the black servant because a señorita was not seen as a sexual threat instead she is faithful to her Anglo lover. On the other hand, the mulatto servant is more sex driven, she is not able to be trusted, is dangerous and tempting to men. This mulatto servant has also fallen head over heels for the white master. The loyal dancing slaves can be parallel to the cantina girls whose qualities are dancing and singing in a sexual behavior. The Latinas in the film The Alamo play the role of the cantina ladies. When the American soldiers arrive at San Antonio after riding for 28 hours they want to have fun therefore they go to a cantina. There the women look cheap because all the women are dancing with all the men. The men even fight for the ladies. Even though all the men are having fun with the cantina ladies, David Crockett becomes involve with a señorita. She is faithful to him and shows her fidelity to the American values and even wants to stay to fight with the Americans against the Mexicans. The cantina represents modern day's role of the Spitfire/Whore while the señorita represents the Madonna.

The most common and popular role in early cinema was the Vamp who "...did her work by using her wiles, often bringing men to violence, either to others or themselves" (Keller, 44). As Jessica mentions, "The audience was not however interested in the voice of the vamp but rather for her appearance and sex appeals.  She was depicted as exotic and sensual" (Jessica London) Dolores del Rio and Lupe Vélez are two of the actresses that were considered the Vamps of that time. Even though they fall under the category of a Vamp, Dolores del Rio was more innocent, passive and sexy more the Madonna while Lupe Vélez became known as a "spitfire," a hot blooded, fiery and sexy latina. Dolores del Rio "claim to screen fame was sensuality, a special kind of cool sensuality, consistently restrained and ladylike" (Cortés, 130). Dolores was mostly known for her sexual figures that would make the guys fantasize with her. She had a career from the silent era to the early sound eras. Ana M. López in the article "Are All Latins from Manhattan?" writes, "Undeniably Latin American, del Río was not, however, identified exclusively with Latin roles" (410). Due to the fact that she was light skinned and did not speak with an accent, she could pass as a "foreign/other". Her features allowed her to easily assimilate She had the power to cause sexual threats to Anglo men and cause men to get out of control. "As Carlos Fuentes has remarked, del Río was 'a goddess threatening to become woman,' and neither category-goddess or woman- was appropriate to Hollywood' self-appointed mission as goodwill imperialist ethnographer of the Americas" (López 412). In other words, Hollywood did not allow her to be herself instead she had to be what they wanted her to be, sexual. In Flying down to Río Dolores has the power to make Roger crazy for her. Dolores is seen as vicious and deceiving because she has two lovers trying to win her love. This Latina becomes involve in an interracial relationship and is willing to leave her Latino fiancée for her Anglo lover. Even though she is seen as a treat and vicious to get the man she wants she can still be perceived more like an innocent, passive and virginal lady.

On the other hand, Lupe Vélez is still seen as temptous but allows for cheap laugh due to her heavy accent and silly ways. López writes, "But Vélez's position in Hollywood was defined not by her acting versatility, but by her smoldering ethnic identifiability. Although as striking as del Rio's, Vélez beauty and sexual appeal were aggressive, flamboyant and stridently ethnic" (López, 412). The quotation make emphasis on her figure and not much on her ability to act. In Mexican Spitfire, Lupe is portrayed as a "wildcat", loud-mouthed, ignorant, "loose", and has a heavy accent. Carmen Huaco-Nuzum in the article "(Re)constructing Chicana, Mestiza Representation" writes, "In the Hollywood of the late 1930s to early 1940s one finds the epitome of the sexually provocative generic latina played by the mexicana starlet Lupe Vélez... typecast as dumb brunette (who with time became more blonde)..."(263). Lupe Vélez is more ethnic than Dolores and can be identify more like a latina and it becomes harder for her to assimilate because of her accent, behavior and looks. In the film she is married to an Anglo man. The film also presents the topic that latinas could never be married to an Anglo man because she can be more his secretary than wife. At the end both Dolores and Lupe defeated the Anglo men.

In 1961 West Side Story presented two different representations of Latinas. First there is Maria played by Natalie Wood, an Anglo, who is innocent but sensual Puerto Rican beauty creating an image of Madonna. The characteristics that create the image of Madonna is her innocent, passiveness and virginal behavior. As a Puerto Rican she becomes involved in an interracial relationship with an Anglo. This relationship causes more conflict between her brother's gang , the Shark's, and her boyfriend Tony's gang, the Jets. Her ignorance of not listening to her brother Bernardo about not dating outside her ethnic group leads to the death of both her brother and boyfriend. At the same time she is innocent of society's problems because there should not be anything wrong with dating outside of your ethnic group especially when she is in love. She is submissive to his need because she has sex with him especially after he has killed her brother. On the other hand, Anita played by Rita Moreno, a true Puerto Rican, creates an image of a "Whore- the hot-blooded, fiery, sexy Anita"(Rodriguez 75). She is also spontaneous and wordly. At first it seems that Anita is submissive because she allows for Maria to see Tony and at a point Anita seems the most assimilated especially in the scene where she sings "America," describing how much better America is to Puerto Rico. Later on "Anita, the most assimilated, ends up the most ethnic by affirming her cultural difference" (Sandoval Sanchez 175). This spontaneous change identifies her more like "hot-blooded" and fiery. Anita is more ethnic looking because she has darker hair, darker skin color and heavier accent while Maria does have dark hair it is much lighter than Anita's and Maria is light-skinned. It is very clear that Latinas do not play the major roles instead like Rita Moreno they play the supporting roles.

By the 1980s the representations of Latinas became worst because there is a few that play the role of the señorita while the role of the Whore increased. Clara Rodriguez writes, "The early dichotomy between rich, valuable, and virginal señoritas and the spitfires or "cantineras of easy virtue" has been reduced to a single more negative view of the spitfire"(80). The film Fort Apache, The Bronx is a great example of all the negative representations. The females are seen as prostitutes, drug addicts, "easy" and dirty. At first the nurse Isabelle is seen as a positive representation because she is educated and at first does not seem "easy" because she refuses a date with the Anglo officer Murphy but she then gets involve with officer Murphy by making advances by telling him, "You provide the booze and I will provide the nurse". The image that Latinas are dirty because they "sleep around" is presented by Officer Murphy's partner, Coreli, when he says "If he catches something from her, at least she could cure him". He is implying that Latinas have diseases. The audience also ends up finding out that Isabelle is a drug addict. There is only one positive latina in the film and that is Coreli's fiancée who is innocent, virginal and submissive. She has strong beliefs of only having sex after marriage but after convincing her that he can die while working, she gives in and has sex with him. Clara Rodriguez also writes, "Carmelita [Lupe Vélez] was spunky, funny, and smart, often outwitting others and getting the guy in the end. This is in sharp contrast to recent spitfires, marginal characters who never get the guy. These are easy, supersexed, or violent and vulgar Latinas who fume and fornicate without humor, without substance, and without much intelligence" (80-1).

In the 1960's Latinos began to control some of the Latinos images presented in the media. Latinos wanted to teach and show how Latinos were affected by the distorted images created by Hollywood and wanted to show the reality. This was a period of resistance that created images that countered the old. For example Victor Fuentes in the article, "Chicano Cinema" describes how in La Bamba the women "are represented as hardworking women of moral strengths and integrity. In spite of their physical beauty, there is very little emphasis on their sensuality...in opposition to her Hollywood stereotype; that of a lazy woman, devoid of morality and given only to sensual pleasure"(213). Ana Maria García wrote La Operación to show how the role of the women is to reproduce and how in Puerto Rico the government tried to control this privilege from the women. The documentary also shows how because the Puerto Rican ladies of that time were not educated and were ignorant, they were taken advantage by the government. The women were used as guinea pigs to try different approaches to the population problem. The documentary shows how the conditions of the island allowed for the government to take advantage of the ladies. The resistance movement allowed for new images and representations to be created. It also awaken Latinos of the negative images that are presented in media and it hoped that these Latinos would take control of their own images.

The last film that we saw in class Hanging with The Homeboys leaves us all with negative representation of Latinas. The film represents the submissive and ignorant girlfriend, the "Whore" who dances with everyone and the female who has tow different identities. Fernando's (Vinny) girlfriend is the ignorant latina who when asked for something gives in. Fernando asks foe money for his friend and she gives him the money because she believed the lie he told her. Then there is the latina which Johnny is in love with along with all the men in the world. In the club she dances in a provocative way. She is a pornstar actress, every male's fantasy. The female that Johnny meets has two different identities. She is seen as a educated college student but then she gives Johnny a matchbox with two numbers and tells him "I hope you call the right number". She had given him her number and on the other side it was a "slut" number. All of these representations in the film are the ones now a day we see in films. It is these negative images that has great impact on young Latinas in today's society.

Now a day the two main roles for Latinas are either the Madonna/señorita role or the Spitfire/Whore role. There is no opportunity for in between roles for Latinas. These negative representations have been present from early cinema as the cantina girl, señorita and Vamp. It seems as the role of the Anglo men in the interracial relationships in the early cinema was to help the Latinas change their old ways and for them to accept the American way. It is also evident that in early cinema most of the roles were played by Anglo females and then by light-skinned Latinas. After, some of the Anglos played more the main roles and the Latinas with dark and very ethnic looking played the supporting roles. By the 60's they are more Latinas producing and directing documentaries allowing for more positive images for Latinas.

As a young Puerto Rican female, others who are ignorant perceive and associates me and my culture with images that have been portrayed through the media. As Lester Friedman in his article "Celluloid Palimpsests..." writes, "We define ourselves, and others define us by gender and by class, by race and by religion, by educational level and by historical period" (28). My gender and race has been portrayed in a negative way so others will define me by those negative values.  Just like Tara I feel "that actual truth about the culture dos not matter.  Once Latinos are portrayed one way on film, that is the way that others will perceive most Latinos the majority of the time" (Tara Osorio). The media does not allow for positive role models for Latinas, making it harder for young latinas to have a high self esteem and feel proud of their gender and race. Instead most of the young latina become as the images represent, they become the prostitutes, drug addicted, sex driven and having many children at an early age. As for me I have learned about all the negative images and I want to prove all the images wrong. I do not want to be seen as uneducated, ignorant, helpless and seen as dirty and "easy". I do not others to label me as either a Madonna or a Spitfire, I want to be labeled as Shakira Aida Ramos Fernández, a student at Trinity College who is willing to succeed and be a positive role model for other young latinas.

Works Cited

The Alamo. Writ. James Edward Grant. Dir. John Wayne. United Artists and  Batjac Productions, 1960.

The Birth of A Nation. Writ. Thomas Dixon, D.W. Griffith and Frank Woods. Dir.D.W. Griffith. Blackhawk Film, 1925.

Cortés, Carlos E. "Chicanas in Film: History of an Image," in Rodriguez, 121-141.

Flying Down to Río. Writ. Gerald Beaumont. Dir. Herbert Brenon. Radio Picture, 1932.

Fort Apache, The Bronx. Writ. Heywood Gould. Dir. Brian de Palma. Universal Pictures, 1983.

Friedman, Lester D. "Celluloid Palimpsests: An Overview of  Ethnicity and the American Film." Friedman, 11-35.

Friedman, Lester D, ed. Unspeakable Images: Ethnicity and The American Cinema. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1991.

Hanging With The Homeboys. Writ and Dir. Joseph Vasquez,  1991.

Huaco-Nuzum, Carmen. "(Re)constructing Chicana, Mestiza  Representation: Frances Salomé España's Spitfire (1991) ,"  in Noriega and López, 260-274.

Keller, Gary D. Hispanics and the Unites States Film. Temple: Bilingual Review, 1994.

La Bamba. Writ. Luis Valdez. Dir. Luis Valdez. Columbia Pictures Corporation and  New Vision Pictures, 1987.

La Operación. Ana María García.

Lopez, Ana M. "Are All Latins from Manhattan?: Hollywood, Ethnography, and Cultural Colonialism." Friedman,  404-424.

Mexican Spitfire. Writ. Joseph Fields. Dir. Leslie Goodwins. Radio Picture, 1939.

Noriega, Chon A, ed. Chicanos and Film: Representation and Resistance.Minneapolis: Univ. of Minnesota Press, 1992.

Noriega, Chon A. and Ana M. López. The Ethnic Eye. Minneapolis: U of  Minnesota   Press, 1996.

Rodriguez, Clara E, ed. Latin Looks. Colorado: Westview Press, 1998.

Sandoval Sanchez, Alberto. "West Side Story: A Puerto Rican Reading of  "America", " in Rodriguez, 164-179.

West Side Story. Writ. William Shakespeare, Jerome Robbins, Arthur Laurents and Ernest Lehman. Dir. Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise. United Artists and Beta Productions, 1961.

Updated: 07/06/99