Marvel’s newest star in ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ is a step forward for Latinos in film
There’s a Latino representation problem in Hollywood, and the actor behind Marvel’s first Latino superhero is hoping to help solve it.
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” opened in theaters last weekend, and it featured Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta Mejía as one of the lead characters. Mejía plays Namor, an aquatic superbeing and adversary to Black Panther.
Fans celebrated the inclusion of a Latino in the role given the continual absence of the group in in U.S. films and television.
A 2021 USC study found Latino characters represented 5% of overall Hollywood roles since 2007. And in 2022, Latinos represented 3.1% of lead actors in TV shows and 5.2% of the lead roles in films, according to a recent report from the Latino Donor Collaborative. It’s also such an issue that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus led a House Judiciary Committee hearing in 2020 to address the disparity.
Mejía’s breakthrough as an Avenger was part of the draw for a group of 400 south Sacramento students who saw the film for free on Saturday. They got tickets thanks to partnership between the Sacramento City Unified School District and Municipal Utility District. Council members Rick Jennings and Mai Vang sponsored three theaters and tickets for all attendees.
Joe Flores, a Sacramento parks commissioner, co-hosted the event with Chinua Rhodes, a Sacramento city unified board trustee. Flores said the idea stemmed from the “Black Panther” challenge in 2018, which raised money for children to see the movie in theaters. Until Black Panther, every movie made by Marvel was led by a white man.
Flores said the student screening was deeply personal to him because the “beauty of Mesoamerican culture and language” would be displayed through the character. In the film, Namor rules an underwater kingdom inspired by Mesoamerican mythologies.
“The new Marvel superhero not only looks like me, but the students who look like me can feel seen and represented on the big screen,” Flores said.
Latinos are underrepresented in leading roles even they make up a disproportionate share of American moviegoers, said Ana Valdez, president and CEO of the Latino Donor Collaborative. She noted Latinos are between 26% to 30% of the U.S. film audience, while being 19% of the population.
She added that film and television producers are making strides for representation among Black and Asian Americans more so than with Latinos. Black and Asians actors both represent higher percentages of those in streaming shows than Latinos, according to the Latino Donor Collaborative report.
“The talent that is Latino sells and travels globally,” Valdez said. “And in the business case, the miss and the lack of representation of Latinos is a huge problem, because the growth is coming from this specific cohort, and it’s being ignored.”
At the San Diego Comic-Con in July, Mejía spoke about how his role was dedicated to Latino fans.
“Gracias a todos, a todos los paisanos, todos los latinoamericanos. Ustedes cruzando el rio y dejaron todo que amaron atras. Gracias a eso, estoy aqui ,” said Mejía, while receiving applause from crowd.
“Thanks to everyone, to all countrymen, all Latin Americans. You crossed the river and left everything you loved behind. Thanks to that, I am here.”
This story was originally published November 15, 2022 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Marvel’s newest star in ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ is a step forward for Latinos in film."
