On the Monday after the release of In the Heights, its creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda posted not a congratulatory note but an apology.
“I’m trying to hold space for both the incredible pride in the movie we made and be accountable for our shortcomings,” Miranda said in a statement posted on social media.
It starred Latino talent, it featured dozens of Latino extras, was based on a play written by a Latino, Miranda, and its screenplay was written by a Latina, Quiara Alegría Hudes.
Personally, the movie had me emotionally on its side the moment in the trailer I saw the Cuban flag wave on-screen in a moment of celebration in what would become the delightful “Carnaval del Barrio” number where many different flags of Latin American countries were hoisted as a nod towards representation.
It felt like a classic Hollywood musical in Spanglish, using the music I grew up listening to and close-ups of the food I’d find on my grandparents’ table on Noche Buena.
He cited Afro-Latinos were in the background as dancers and extras in the beauty salon number “No Me Diga.” The answer that only the most talented were chosen to play these characters was an especially painful response because part of the issue of colorism is that it denies opportunities to darker-skinned people, meaning that lighter or whiter actors may have had more jobs on their resume and more experience than their dark-skinned colleagues even before auditioning.
It’s how Oscar winner Hattie McDaniel would only be offered parts as slaves or servants but Dorothy Dandridge, who still face discrimination throughout her career, could be seen as a potential leading lady.
When Zoe Saldana was cast to play Nina Simone, she had to darken her features to do so when the filmmakers could have cast a darker-skinned actress.
As part of the region’s colonial legacy, light-skinned or white-passing Latinos and Latin Americans have earned a social privilege often denied to dark-skinned Afro-Latinos or indigenous people.
For instance, while Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma gained attention for casting an indigenous actress, Yalitza Aparicio, as his movie’s lead, Mexican racists attacked her looks and at least one magazine cover lightened her photo.
While it is difficult to expect any one piece of art to encapsulate the entirety of experiences from over 30 different countries and subsequent diasporas, there should be space for discussion on why this exclusion of Afro-Latinos and indigenous people continues.
This discussion about colorism is about acknowledging those already in our communities and families, to stop relegating dark-skinned and indigenous talent to outside the spotlight and open doors to not just white or light-skinned Latinos, but to all of us and our varied experiences.