“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” premiered in theaters on Nov. 11.
There is one casting in particular that stands out. The villain of the movie, Namor, is played by Tenoch Huerta.
Namor is a fictional supervillain that is of Aztec origin. Huerta is a Mexican actor from Ecatepec de Morelos, Mexico, near Mexico City.
Huerta being cast as Namor made headlines, but not just because he is going to play a villain for a Marvel movie. He is Mexican, but that also isn’t the most controversial thing about him. One of the most controversial, if not the most,, is that his skin is dark.
Huerta has been in the film industry for a while, he has been in movies and shows such as “Gueros, Sons of Monarch, and Narcos: Mexico.”
Huerta has always been an activist for colorism in film/TV. Colorism among Hispanic/Latinx is a big issue going on for decades and film/TV shows that. There are a variety of shows that include a diverse cast. Netflix original, “On My Block” has a diverse cast of different people of different pigmented skin. Some of these actors are known as Julio Macias, Brett Grey, etc. A movie called “Spare Parts” has a Hispanic/Latinx dominated cast as it focuses on true events of a group of Hispanic robotics engineers and some of these actors were George Lopez, . McFarland, USA also featured Hispanic actors such as Ramiro Rodriguez, Rafael Martinez, etc. Another movie in particular in the MCU, “Doctor Strange: Into the Multiverse of Madness,” featured a Hispanic superhero known as America Chavez, portrayed by Xochitl Gomez, a Mexican-American actress with a darker skin tone.
A lot of telenovelas and movies in the Hispanic film industry show colorism. A lot of the main characters are those with lighter skin colors and the actors with darker skin are portrayed as characters like a maid, a farm worker, or a villain of the whole thing.
A lot of popular novelas show colorism. For example, Rebelde is a telenovela about a group of teens that like music. On the cover of the telenovela provided by IMDB, the main characters are of lighter skin. Another telenovela called “Teresa,” which is one of most well known telenovelas has a lighter skin person being the main character. Angelique Boyer not only had lighter skin, she was also born in France.
Not as many people with browner skin get lead roles. Only some actors with a bit darker skin like Eduardo Yanez, Fernando Colunga, etc get roles like that. Some of the novelas they’re featured in are Amores Verdaderos, Fuego en la Sangre, Maria la del Barrio, Porque el Amor Manda, and much more.
“For as long as Huerta can remember, the Mexican television and film industry has looked ‘like it’s made for Scandinavians,’ Huerta said in a New York Times story from XXXX. “The productions mostly feature white Mexican or Latin American stars, while brown-skinned performers like him are relegated to subservient, criminal or generally disparaging parts.”
The first Black Panther movie helped give opportunities for Africans actors. “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” helped give opportunities for dark skin Hispanic/Latinx actors. Both of these movies have shown diversity and had a positive impact on the world.