Before Sara Ramirez became orthopedic surgeon Dr. Callie Torres on Grey’s Anatomy she asked the same question other Latino viewers were:

As a Latin person, I was really proud to see the ethnic people on the show. I thought, Wow, there are no color limits. Nobody’s making comments about how there are African-Americans on the show and an Asian on the show. However, I did think, Where’s the Latin person?

Well now she is the Latin person and doing a great job at it. This Latina with an extensive Broadway background is featured in an interview in this week New York Magazine. A large part of the focus of the interview is her weight (or rather people’s perception of it).

Between you and America Ferrera on Ugly Betty, there’s a mini-boom for curvier, “real” Latin women.
Absolutely. I’ve spoken to America several times at events about how funny it is that we’re on TV, and how cool it is to represent a group of women who aren’t stick-thin. I know my boyfriend loves to have something to hold onto. There’s a lot of men out there who do.

While I am pleased as can be that there are Latina actresses on major shows, playing three dimensional Latina characters, I have to admit to being somewhere beteween amused and disturbed by focus on weight. It’s a sad sad thing when people get excited that anyone wearing any size above 0 is featured on television. Not to mention the fact that the weight/size issue is racialized by being aceptable on Latina women and not on others.

Let’s just hope that this is not just a trend, “the curvy Latina”, and that more people will tune in to see Latina actresses of all shapes and sizes showing off their greatest assets, their sizable talents.

Via / New York Magazine

Image Via / Bella Online