VivirLatino

Colorlines has a good write up about the demise of my favorite show, Ugly Betty. It’s last show was last Thursday night–it will live on in Netflix for me, but I was really heartbroken to find out it was cancelled. Not only did it have the amazing Salma scenes, but it featured complex and powerful women of color as the lead characters AND queered things up beautifully. Which brings me to my favorite scene ever on any TV anywhere.

Via Colorlines:

No. 1—It was real. Networks are increasingly targeting Latino viewers, but “Ugly Betty” was the first primetime show to address real issues Latinos in the U.S. face—like immigration laws and trying to assimilate to U.S. culture. Lisa Navarrete, a vice president for the National Council of La Raza says “the plot line illustrated the complexity of the lives of many undocumented immigrants who are otherwise integrated into American life.”

No. 2—Betty Suarez was no Jennifer Lopez. And she was the first TV Latina who lived in “both” worlds—the white professional Manhattan world and a Mexican working class home in Queens, NY.

No. 3—It was queer. Betty’s family accepted her brother Justin’s love for musicals and fashion from a very young age and never discouraged him from following his interests—which included Austin, his boyfriend. The show also provided a compelling and human portrait of Alex Meade, who transformed into Alexis.

No. 4—It opened other closets, too. Ignacio Suarez’s undocumented immigration status had its own storyline. That’s a coming out tale for 2010.

No. 5—And still, it was a family affair. “Ugly Betty” did all of this while still bridging the generational divide. Tias and Ninas alike were glued to Betty La Fea.