Latinos Are Our Own Worst Enemy: Why Shows Like "Cristela" Matter

Jonathan Marcantoni.

There is a heavy burden placed on minority-run shows, and the burden does not come from White America but rather from the communities being depicted. Sometimes the concerns voiced have merit, especially on shows that degrade a certain community for no redeemable reason.... However, whenever minority artists draw from their own lives and tell stories that may not be flattering, suddenly they are the enemies. I beg to differ, the enemies are those in the community who wish to whitewash our culture in order to fit in, otherwise known as “assimilationists.” The assimilationists are the people who embrace their culture only when it is convenient, but who otherwise embrace all things white, and is mortified whenever someone from their group does something that they find embarrassing (i.e., something a white person would disapprove of). –novelist and publisher JONATHAN MARCANTONI

Check out Jonathan Marcantoni's blog in Latino Rebels, where he talks of Cristela Alonzo's eponymous ABC sitcom and why diversity (even within marginalized groups) matter by clicking here.