The stage of the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles sizzled with handsome. beautiful and talented Latinos and Latinas giving and receiving Alma Awards last Monday on prime-time television.
The sight of Latino singers. dancers and actors offered a pleasant alternative to the television and print coverage of thousands marching in major U.S. cities or dashing across its border.
After years when little media coverage focused on the Latino community and its issues. the media now spend large amounts of time and resources on the immigration issue. It's a hot-button topic because it strikes at the heart of this country's struggle with its image. Is America's icon still the Statue of Liberty. or is it shifting to the Mexican Wall?
Charles Ramirez Berg addressed Hollywood's negative portrayal of Latinos in his book. Latino Images in Film. His research identified stereotypes in film history: bandito. dark lady.
The undocumented easily fall into the bandito category. Movies like Scarface. which glamorized a Cuban immigrant drug lord played by Al Pacino (couldn't find a Latino for the role). still draw acclaim.
Ramirez Berg explains that the negative images of Latinos reflect the dominant culture's attitude toward them. It provides a shortcut to rationalizing Anglo dominance and maintaining status quo.
Governments have long used the media to rally citizens against enemies and scapegoats. Nazi propaganda produced documents. speeches and films depicting Jews as subhuman and as a drain on civilized German society. During World War II. fliers and movies showed the Japanese as animalistic and predators of Anglo women.
In recent movies and shows. Latinos have portrayed lawmakers. detectives and entertainers -- not always the humble maid or foul-mouthed gang banger. Even the Alma Awards' commercials were heavily slanted toward a Latino audience. with Latino actors promoting products and speaking Spanish.
Some actors are moving from Cheech Marin's role as the drug-dealing buffoon in Up In Smoke to Jimmy Smits' acting gig as a congressman campaigning and being elected as president in The West Wing.
Michael Pena won an Alma Award for his role as the barrio dad in Crash. the 2006 Academy Award winner for Best Picture. It seems that Hollywood recognizes that good movies can be made when they respect the audience enough to present minorities in three-dimensional roles.
But some stereotypes won't die. At the start of the awards show. the camera captured the buttocks of Eva Longoria. Corpus Christi native and a star of Desperate Housewives. as she shook and swayed with four other leggy Latinas dancing to the rhythm of congas.
Viewers need only channel-surf to Sabado Gigante on Saturday to see scantily clad Latinas revealing much more than their vocal gifts. With Latina teenage pregnancy problems. the hot mamasita image requires shelving.
Instead. Latinos should heed Marc Anthony. winner of the Celia Cruz Award for excellence in music. He spoke about his Puerto Rican parents. who emigrated from their island home to Spanish Harlem. With help from Cruz. Paul Simon and Ruben Lares. he has reached international fame with his romantic ballads.
At one point in his award speech. he held up his Alma (spirit) and shouted. "Que viva la raza Latina!" That's the kind of Latin lover we need to see more often in the media.



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