The purpose of this research project was to explore how well Afro-Latinas are represented in mainstream media. Focused on Rosario Dawson’s roles, my hypothesis was that the quality of Dawson’s roles improved as her career progressed, but they will either not be well-rounded, three dimensional characters, or there will be no references made to her Afro-Latina heritage, leading to the erasure of this identity. The analysis of three films sampled from the career of this prominent Afro-Latina actress confirmed my initial argument.

Rosario Dawson’s very first movie role in Kids was a hyper-sexual teenager who served no real purpose in the movie other than support to the plot-line of the white female lead. There was no attempt by the writers to provide any depth to her character. Her next role in RENT was Mimi Marquez, a female leading role, nevertheless her character was similarly in an underprivileged setting, and almost the entirety of her story was centered around her unsteady relationship with her boyfriend. Finally, Dawson’s portrayal as the iconic Dolores Huerta was a welcome change, seeing her as strong figure, but she was only a supporting role in the film. Furthermore, iIn all three of the selected films, there was no direct or relevant reference to Rosario Dawson’s Afro-Latina heritage, and the productions chose to either downplay the possibilities offered by her cultural and racial heritage or erase it. This example clearly shows that there is still an important debt regarding the representation of Afro-Latinas in the film industry and the creation of interesting, complex, and rich roles that are able to capture both the struggles and accomplishments of these women in our society.