¡Ojo! Latine media, art & cultural happenings to keep your eye on.
Bringing you a selection of new and notable LGBTQ media curated by GLAAD’s Spanish-Language & Latine Media & Representation team.
Younger latine people are more likely to identify as LGBTQ, and with over 62 million Latines in the US alone, it is crucial to celebrate and amplify inclusive media that represents the wide range of Latine experiences. Here are just a few examples of creative projects doing just that.
If you love a show, film, song, or book, please remember to share about them on your socials, so that others can also know about great queer Latine media.
TV
Nava Mau’s Historic Emmy Nomination for Baby Reindeer
Nava Mau is the first transgender woman to be nominated for an Emmy in the category for best supporting actress in a limited series. The Mexican actress, filmmaker, and activist who plays Teri in Netflix’s hit show Baby Reindeer, spoke to NBC News about the show and her historic nomination. In the interview, Mau revealed how touching it is to be approached by people who share “how much it means for them to see a trans woman, a Latina woman, on screen who is empowered, who is entitled to her own needs, who firmly and successfully sets boundaries and ultimately protects her vitality.”
Hear more about the profound impact of great representation from Nava Mau herself in this interview with GLAAD’s Shar Jossell:
Watch Baby Reindeer now on Netflix and tune in to the Emmy Awards on September 15th!
Music
Michaela Jaé Announces Debut Album 33
Actress, singer, and activist Michaela Jaé Rodriguez announced the release of her highly anticipated album 33, set to release on September 23, 2024. Rodriguez is a trailblazer in the acting world as the first trans actress to win a Golden Globe and has iconic roles in Pose, Loot, Rent, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and many more.
Described by Essence as an album that “explores themes of self-discovery and resilience through the eyes of a cloned humanoid woman navigating an alien planet” Michaela Jaé musically embodies a futuristic version of herself as 33F7, “a character preordained for greatness.” In the interview Rodriguez speaks about her newest artistic pursuit:
“I’ve always loved pop and R&B music, and I’ve always dreamt of how it would sound if I mashed the two together, and I feel like I succeeded with that, along with a story that will hopefully last the test of time, when regarding the past, present and future.”
Watch the music video for her single “Green Lights” below and watch out for the release of 33!
Destroy Boys’ new Album Funeral Soundtrack #4
Bilingual punk rock quartet Destroy Boys released their fourth album Funeral Soundtrack #4 earlier this month. The queer-led band founded in Sacramento, California is helmed by non-binary singer and guitarist Alexia Roditis, with guitarist and backing vocalist Violet Mayugba, drummer Narsai Malik, and bassist David Orozco. The band’s unique blend of punk, garage rock and alternative styles has led them to play with iconic bands like Blink-182 and Pierce The Veil and perform at festivals like Lollapalooza and Coachella.
Each Destroy Boys album is a funeral ode to a different part of the group’s lives. In a conversation with KERRANG! Roditis explains “the first one was our high school album. On the second record, we went to college and were saying goodbye to our childhood. On the third one, we’d just gone through COVID and, speaking for myself, I lost my entire sense of self and gained a new one.”
SLUG describes their newest album as “a funeral for old identities and relationships, but it’s also a celebration of new ways of living.” Standout tracks include “Boyfeel” a song about gender nonconformity, “You Hear Yes” featuring Mannequin Pussy and Scowl, and “Amor Divino” a dreamy tune completely in Spanish.
Watch the music video for “Boyfeel” below and listen to Funeral Soundtrack #4!
Events You Don’t Want To Miss
Mark your calendars for November 16, when GARRAS (Groundbreaking Activism Redirecting & Reforming All Systems) is TransLatin@ Coalition’s annual fundraising event to support life-saving supportive services they provide in Los Angeles through the Center for Violence Prevention & Transgender Wellness. This year’s event also celebrates their 15 year anniversary, and will be Quinceañera themed.
Mark your calendars! The fundraiser will take place at the Pacific Design Center in LA on Saturday, November 16, 2024.
Go to the GARRAS website for more information: https://garras.org/
Keep Watching
Stereotype-Crushing Comedy Ojitos de Huevo (Nothing to See Here) on Netflix
After only a month on Netflix in late 2023, Ojitos de Huevo (Nothing to See Here in English) became the most watched series in Mexico with 2.4 million views and was renewed for a second season.
The Mexican comedy series follows Alexis, a blind young man who moves from a small town to Mexico City with dreams of becoming a successful comedian alongside his best friend and “manager” Charly, who has cerebral palsy.
The Mexican comedian, journalist, writer, and activist Alexis Arroyo, whose stage name is “Ojitos de Huevo”, plays a fictionalized version of himself in this series. Arroyo’s real-life friend Kike Vázquez plays Charly, and is also a disability rights activist, psychologist, and comedian. Vázquez shared in an interview with Xally Miranda that the show’s appeal comes from its realistic representation “en la serie tú ves a una persona con parálisis cerebral que es gay, que quiere ligar, como cualquier otra” (in this series, you see a person with cerebral palsy who is gay, who wants to flirt, just like anyone else).
In an interview with Milenio, Vázquez speaks on the power of comedy:
“La serie muestra todo lo que damos por hecho; no nos enseñan a pensar en la comunidad con discapacidad, porque tampoco podemos decir que no conocemos a nadie, siempre hemos estado ahí. La comedia es un medio muy amable de invitar a pensar diferente”
In English, “The series shows everything we take for granted; No one is taught to think about the disabled community, but at the same time, no one can say they don’t know a single disabled person, we have always been there. Comedy is a very kind means of inviting people to think differently.”
Watch the first season of Ojitos de Huevo now on Netflix!
Heartwarming Inter-generational Drama Land of Women
Six-episode dramedy series Land of Women stars Eva Longoria, Victoria Bazúa and Carmen Maura as a mother-daughter-grandmother trio. Their life in New York is turned upside down by dangerous criminals and are forced to take refuge in a small wine town in northern Spain, but gossip spreads and deep family secrets come to light.
Watch below for NHMC’s glowing review of the show.
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Stream Land of Women now on Apple TV+ and watch the trailer below!
Socials Corner
Moving film In The Summers, co-starring Residente, is coming to theaters this fall!
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A great post about the truth about aging as a trans person in Mexico from LaVerdrag
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Young Miko and Billie Eillish meet onstage to fans’ delight
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Pepe Peralta, participant in the reality show La Casa de los Famosos México, brings up HIV and PrEP during the program. El Closet LGBT analyzes what he did well, and what messages could be improved.
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Season 7 of La Más Draga is coming soon… A brillar feminosas!
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