[For generations, entertainment media has invisibilized and/or
stereotyped Black and Indigenous people with origins across Latin
America, just as its Spanish and mestizo white supremacist leaders
have done in this region throughout history.]
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PORTSIDE CULTURE

WITH NAMOR, WAKANDA FOREVER DOES WHAT LATINE MEDIA WILL NOT  
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Dash Harris
November 18, 2022
Refinery29
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_ For generations, entertainment media has invisibilized and/or
stereotyped Black and Indigenous people with origins across Latin
America, just as its Spanish and mestizo white supremacist leaders
have done in this region throughout history. _

, PHOTO: COURTESY OF MARVEL STUDIOS.

 

Tenoch Huerta Mejía
[[link removed]] is soaring. Since
starring in the superhero epic _Black Panther: Wakanda Forever_
[[link removed]],
the Mexican actor has been trending for dancing with Lupita Nyong'o
[[link removed]] and going viral for
his critique of Latine representation
[[link removed]] in
media. “In Latin America, especially Mexico, we have a lack of
representation. If you turn on the TV, all the people are white.
Mexico looks on the TV like a Scandinavian country," he said in an
interview with NBC News
[[link removed]] —
and he’s not wrong.

Portrayals of Latines
[[link removed]] —
both in Latin America and in the United States — are overwhelmingly
(and violently!) white. This is by design. For generations,
entertainment media has invisibilized and/or stereotyped Black and
Indigenous people with origins across Latin America, just as its
Spanish and mestizo white supremacist leaders have done in this region
throughout history. This is why seeing the brown-skinned Huerta
playing a Maya-inspired antihero is so powerful — and it’s also
why it’s not surprising to me that it took U.S. Black entertainment,
not Latine media, to tell dignified stories of Indigeneity in a major
motion picture. 

“

"It’s not surprising to me that it took U.S. Black entertainment,
not Latine media, to tell dignified stories of Indigeneity in a major
motion picture." 

DASH HARRIS

”

In the Marvel film, Huerta plays the feathered serpent God
K’uk’ulkan, or Namor “to his enemies,” a character with both
Maya and Aztec influences. His underwater kingdom, Talokan, came into
existence after Spanish-invading colonizers
[[link removed]] decimated
the Yucatán peninsula with disease. For the actor, the role isn’t
important because it’s a representation of Latinidad but rather
because it reflects the people, lands, and cultures that the
colonization and hegemony that created Latinidad tried to eradicate.
“To give this background to Namor, the Mesoamerican culture,
especially Maya culture, they nailed it,” he said.

[Tenoch Huerta Mejía as Namor in Marvel Studios' BLACK PANTHER:
WAKANDA FOREVER]

PHOTO: COURTESY OF MARVEL STUDIOS.

As a historian and educator, I can see how this superhero tale
reflects real life. In a history class that I teach with Javier
Wallace through AfroLatinx Travel 
[[link removed]]called
“Mexico and Texas Entanglements,” we go over Mexico’s white
supremacist racial goals in collaboration with the U.S. We cite the
casta wars
[[link removed]] that
cut the Indigenous population of the Yucatán peninsula by half, left
Indigenous Maya and Yaqui
[[link removed]] people
landless and enslaved by the white and mestizo ruling classes, and
jailed or deported Maya people to Cuba and Puerto Rico to labor in
sugarcane fields. Like these Indigenous communities, hundreds of
thousands
[[link removed]] of
African people were also on the Yucatán peninsula during this time,
outnumbering the Spanish. Namor’s rage in _Wakanda
Forever _hearkened to the real past of Spanish subjugation of African
and Indigenous peoples that informs the present and the long-ongoing
resistance to it.

It’s clear that Huerta knows this history, too. Throughout his
career, he has spoken about the race and color hierarchy that exists
in Latin America. In his forthcoming book, “Orgullo Prieto
[[link removed]],”
Huerta describes himself as a “prieto resentido,” a resentful dark
one. It is a play on a phrase that Latin Americans who benefit from
racism say to minimize the grievances of subordinated Black and
Indigenous communities, yet it took other so-called “prietos” to
open up space for Indigeneity to be seen on the Marvel big screen. 

“

"The role isn’t important because it’s a representation of
Latinidad but rather because it reflects the people, lands, and
cultures that the colonization and hegemony that created Latinidad
tried to eradicate."

DASH HARRIS

”

When _Black Panther_ premiered in 2018, many non-Black Latines
bemoaned, “when will Latinos get their superhero?” But for Black
Latines
[[link removed]] like
myself, _Black Panther_ was the superhero film that “Latines were
waiting for” — Black Latines. In both the U.S. and in Latin
America, Black people dressed up, lined up, and showed out for the
movie. It was a chance to see ourselves in ways unbinded to normalized
anti-Black tropes. And now, _Black Panther: Wakanda Forever_ has
given way to Indigenous world-making. 

We chatted with Black and Indigenous Latin Americans and Latines about
how they felt after watching _Wakanda Forever_ and why they believe
Black entertainment accomplished what Latine media has failed — and
refused — to do: represent Indigenous communities in Latin America
with nuance, care, and veracity. 

EVELYN ALVAREZ, GUATEMALAN-AMERICAN, ORGANIZER, DOULA, AND HOST
OF RADIO CAÑA NEGRA
[[link removed]] 

This is a great question. It speaks to the rampant colorism in Latine
culture and society. It took a Black writer with a social justice lens
to integrate this character of Namor and humanize their stance.

“

"It took a Black writer with a social justice lens to integrate this
character of Namor and humanize their stance."

EVELYN ALVAREZ

”

From my understanding, the character in the comic is less generous
than the version of Namor in the film. The amount of grace Black
people are expected to give on film is borderline harmful. The fact
that blue merpeople are experienced and welcomed as Latine while
T'Challah and the folks of Wakanda were not tells us all we need to
know.

DR. JESSICA HERNANDEZ, MAYA CH’ORTI’ & BINNIZ, SCIENTIST AND
AUTHOR OF “FRESH BANANA LEAVES
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I have always considered _Black Panther _a part of the Indigenous
representation in Marvel, as it depicts an Afro-Indigenous
civilization that has thrived despite the colonialism around it. That
said, it did not surprise me that it became the franchise that would
bring additional Indigenous representation from the Global South; in
this case, it was Indigenous Maya representation. 

“

"I have always considered _Black Panther_ a part of the Indigenous
representation in Marvel, as it depicts an Afro-Indigenous
civilization that has thrived despite the colonialism around it."

DR. JESSICA HERNANDEZ

”

The story of Namor goes beyond what Latinidad claims to be and
embodies Indigenous Maya cultures. While it portrays the past of our
Indigenous Maya civilizations, it also brings light to present
representations such as “Laayli’ kuxa’ano’one,” from the Adn
Maya Colectivo, as well as Pat Boy, Yaalen K’uj, and All Mayan
Winik. This highlights the Indigenous and Black influences that
Indigenous hip-hop embodies. 

DR. ALÁN PELAEZ LOPEZ, AFRO-INDIGENOUS COASTAL ZAPOTEC, POET,
INTERDISCIPLINARY ARTIST, AND CREATOR OF “LATINIDAD IS CANCELLED”

To frame _Wakanda Foreve_r as Indigenous representation and not the
first _Black Panther_ is to gesture toward the idea that Blackness
and Indigeneity are mutually exclusive. 

Don’t misrepresent me, _Wakanda Forever_ is an important
intervention in Indigenous people on-screen because it interrogates
empire. It asks, what would happen if the Maya empire was given back
their lands? How would Mexico’s Yucatec peninsula reunite with parts
of Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala? 

“

"Indigeneity, like Black life in this continent, lives in the currents
of empire, the wake of neoliberalism, and in proximity to the shores
of hope, kinship, death, betrayal, and resistance."

DR. ALÁN PELAEZ LOPEZ

”

_Wakanda Forever_ is allowing me to imagine an abundant future that
refuses the trope that Indigeneity is dormant or minimal in the
Americas. Indigeneity, like Black life in this continent, lives in the
currents of empire, the wake of neoliberalism, and in proximity to the
shores of hope, kinship, death, betrayal, and resistance.

LAMAR BAILEY KARAMAÑITES, PANAMANIAN, HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZER WITH
UHURU VALENCIA & VOMAP VOCES DE MUJERES AFRODESCENDIENTES EN PANAMÁ,
HOST OF “AFRODIASTORIES”

[Tenoch Huerta Mejía as Namor in Marvel Studios' BLACK PANTHER:
WAKANDA FOREVER]

PHOTO: COURTESY OF MARVEL STUDIOS.

I appreciated that all this big-screen time was given to Black and
Indigenous people. We spent three hours looking at our own faces.
Univision, Telemundo, and Latine media overall had so much time,
resources, and opportunities to make Indigenous people visible, and
they have not. It’s simply not a priority; it’s not part of their
agenda. They are in show business for their own interests, and those
interests perpetuate a history of power and control. 

It’s true there are just a couple seats at the proverbial table for
Latine people, but non-Black and non-Indigenous Latines want to hold
onto those seats for themselves and not make room for anyone else.
They benefit from whiteness
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they want to keep the status quo as it is. They want their seat at the
white table, and they want the table to remain white. Instead of being
truly transformative, like _Black Panther,_ and creating other
tables where we play by our own rules, they tell the same stories,
with the same people, and leave Indigenous and Black Latin Americans
out. They may occasionally throw these itty-bitty things in to make us
feel like it’s progress, but really they have no interest in
progress because they benefit from things as they are. The wildest
part is that they then ask and expect us to support them. They want us
to go see their movies just because they’re Latine. 

“

"They benefit from whiteness so they want to keep the status quo as it
is."

LAMAR BAILEY KARAMAÑITES

”

With the success of _Wakanda Forever_, they can no longer hide behind
words like, “it’s not the moment” or “it’s not the time”
or “the world is not ready.” _Black Panther_ has shown that it
is just a poor excuse for them wanting to perpetuate themselves and
having no will whatsoever to put Indigenous and Black Latin American
faces front and center. 

DR. JAVIER WALLACE, PANAMANIAN-AMERICAN, CO-FOUNDER OF AFROLATINX
TRAVEL [[link removed]] & FOUNDER OF BLACK AUSTIN
TOURS [[link removed]], AND PROFESSOR AT DUKE
UNIVERSITY 

_Black Panther_ had to do what Lin-Manuel Miranda wouldn’t do.
While Rita Moreno was telling Black Latines to “just wait a
minute,” it took a Black action movie to take an Indigenous person
from playing a domestic role to a principal character. This has never
been reciprocated by Latine media in the U.S. or Latin America.

“

"_Black Panther_ had to do what Lin-Manuel Miranda wouldn’t do."

DR. JAVIER WALLACE

”

Black people had to put the dark brown mestizos and Indigenous people
on, not their “own” white Spanish-language media. How long has
Spanish-language media had this opportunity? How long has U.S. Latine
media had this opportunity? How many times has “progress takes
time” been said? 

DR. PAUL López ORO, GARIFUNA, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF AFRICANA
STUDIES 

To me, it’s been interesting to see how Maya becomes synonymous with
“Mexican” and how Maya becomes synonymous with Latinidad. This is
fascinating to me because it is quite literally a false connection. It
is not the connection that we should be having.

“

"It’s interesting that Central Americans get written out."

DR. PAUL LÓPEZ ORO

”

While Maya people were in Mexico, they really ran Central America. So
it’s interesting that Central Americans get written out. I would
have really appreciated if _Black Panther_ had Guatemalan Mayas, but
it also tells you who is in the writing room.

ARIANA CURTIS, PANAMANIAN-AMERICAN, CURATOR OF LATINX STUDIES AT THE
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE 

_Black Panther_, in its contemporary reimagining by Black creators,
doesn’t center whiteness — culturally, economically, or
geographically — so it is the place in the Marvel Universe where
Latin American Indigenous stories would exist and be thoughtfully
represented. Marginalized stories are centered. Heroes are connected
to their communities, not individual anomalies. Wardrobe choices are
intentional. And the characters are complex. 

In an interview, director Ryan Coogler
[[link removed]] described
Namor’s role as “a character who leans into his trauma, who owns
it, and is comfortable existing in a state of perpetual grief.” I
think that’s a poignant, resonant framing for Black- and
Indigenous-led narratives. Wakanda and Talokan are both vibranium-rich
communities that have self-isolated for their own realization and
preservation. It made me think of African and Indigenous peoples who
formed maroon communities. With Black creators leading, reimagining
the history of Black futures includes histories of prosperous
Indigenous futures as well.

“

"With Black creators leading, reimagining the history of Black futures
includes histories of prosperous Indigenous futures as well."

ARIANA CURTIS

”

Black and Indigenous cultures are increasingly celebrated as part of
Latinidad, but not Black and Indigenous people. For example, not long
before this film premiered, Latine Los Angeles city council members
were caught on camera
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racist and colorist comments, while political pundits were trying to
talk about a mythical cohesive “Latino vote.” 

Huerta is and has been vocal about colorism in Latin American
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He is not alone in that critique, but the platform he has now is huge.
I appreciate that we have these accessible pop culture examples to
draw from when we speak about the limits of the term “Latino
representation.” When talking about movies, it also creates nuance.
Do we mean Latine/Latin American actors, like Lupita Nyong'o
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Latine/Latin American characters, like Namor and America Chavez
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Those are related conversations about access and inclusion, but they
are not the same. We can’t talk about “firsts” and
“reinvention” and why this feels so important without
acknowledging those who have been marginalized, overlooked, and
excluded. I think this buzz has ignited deeper conversations, in
multiple languages, in public spaces. 

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOVEMBER 18, 2022, 8:48 AM
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* wakanda forever
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* Indigenous peoples
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* indigenous representation
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* Colorism
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