The Fight Against Racism in Santa Diabla

    Racism. It is a horrible fault of our present day society, and it must be stopped. It runs tragically rampant among our country, among our continent, and among our planet. There is hope though, as it is being fought by the crowds on the streets: every single day last summer the BLM movement fought back against this country built on racism. But one unexpected place, a place I did not think I would find racism being perpetuated as well as fought against, is in the world of telenovelas.

    I'm not sure why it was so surprising to me that telenovelas are quite racist and colorist. It had never crossed my mind before this class, but now as I look back at the episodes and clips that I've seen it is quite clear. Why are telenovelas so white? What compels casting directors and producers to rarely hire people of color in telenovelas? These questions, of course, extend outside the world of telenovelas, as Hollywood has a clear lack of diversity as well. And I do not have the answers to these questions. We live in this society where racism rules the media, resulting in almost no diversity at all. It truly is bizarre to me how non-diverse telenovelas are, as they come from countries bursting with diverse cultures - but on the the other hand it is almost expected, for the US is diverse culturally too but the entertainment industry is not.

    Some telenovela writers also find this lack of diversity upsetting, and actively strive to fight racism in their work. I have been watching Santa Diabla, and the audience has recently been introduced to the characters Arturo and Mara. They are an interracial couple, as Mara is a black woman. It is notable that Mara is the only black woman in the show. Practically every other actor in the show is white, and Mara herself is light skinned. This is a fault of Santa Diabla, for they too have a blatant lack of diversity, but I feel that this is not the fault of the writers. This colorism/racism in casting is mainly at the fault of the casting directors and producers. However, the writers, José Vicente Spataro, Juan Manuel Andrade, and Tabare Pérez, have purposely included Mara and Arturo's relationship so as to combat racism through their platform.

This is an image of Arturo and Mara.

    Mara is first introduced when Arturo surprises her by hiding in her car. It is revealed that they have been dating for three years, yet their relationship has remained a secret the whole time. Why is this? Because Arturo's mother is incredulously racist and would despise the idea of her son dating a black woman. Mara and Arturo's mother meet, and Arturo introduces Mara as simply his friend. Even then his mother is incredibly racist, saying she does not understand why he would be friends with a "person like that". While I have not seen many episodes of this storyline so far, it is clear that Arturo's mother is a terribly racist individual who I am sure will only get worse as Mara and Arturo's relationship becomes public.

    When I first saw this racist character being portrayed, I was a bit confused. I asked myself why the writers include blatant racism in their show. But contemplating on it now, it seems obvious. By including the character of Arturo's mother, the writers open up serious conversations about the topic of racism in the homes of viewers. As we know, watching telenovelas is typically a family event. Perhaps some viewers resonate with Arturo and Mara - and perhaps they watch the show with their racist family members. It became clear to me as I watched why such blatant racism would be included, for the show now enables a family to discuss their issues that may mirror that of Arturo and his mother. 

    Racism must be fought everywhere. On every street corner, in every home, and in every telenovela! As we continue to move into this new decade, I truly hope to see much more diversity in telenovelas and in all of the entertainment industry. I am sure Arturo and Mara are not the only interracial couple in a telenovela, but they are still a minority. And we need to continue to lift up the voices of minorities through all platforms, just as the writers of Santa Diabla did. Of course, Santa Diabla is still predominantly white, and that's a real issue. But the inclusion of Santa Diabla's interracial couple and Arturo's racist mother is paving the way towards these tough conversations that sometimes have to be had with racist family members. And for that, I commend the writers.