Last week, I put on my mask and walked shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of people into AT&T park to watch In the Heights. The film was billed as the second coming, a first-of-its-kind Latinx Hollywood utopia, but I had my doubts. As Felice León from The Root asked, “In sum: Where are all of the leading dark-skinned Afro-Latinx folks?” In the Heights, while pitched as the answer to all of our Latinx representation needs, does not meet the mark. And while it is disappointing, what is more frustrating is there already is a show that did what In the Heights promised and more.
Coincidentally last week also brought us the end of Pose, a television show that did not receive nearly the acclaim or recognition it deserved. Pose gave us three seasons of pure queer Black Latinx excellence, every episode crafted by queer Black Latinx people. And guess what, it’s centered in the heart of New York City too.
Since it premiered in 2018, Pose was and remains the most diverse queer cast to ever grace television screens. Despite being nominated for multiple Emmys, Billy Porter is the only one to win for the show, making history as the first openly gay black man to be nominated, let alone win an Emmy for lead actor.
Janet Mock and Steven Canals created a world where each character had the space to live their true and authentic lives, free from stereotypes and in pursuit of their greatest hopes, dreams, and fears. Whether it was Blanca’s journey to becoming a nurse and finding love, Angel’s struggle with sobriety, Pray Tell’s sweet goodbye to his first love, or Electra’s final acts of generosity, Pose was refreshingly honest, funny, and inspiring.
What I love most about Pose is how it gave space to the Lainx community. It centered an Afro-Latina as it’s star and imagined a world full of earnest care and empathy, and Elektra’s iconic wit and humor. Mj Rodriguez, Indya Moore, Angel Bismark Curiel, and the insanely talented writer and director Steven Canals gave us what we didn’t know we needed – a new Latinx TV family.
First we have the incomparable Mj Rodriguez as Blanca, the mother, the heart, and soul of the show. As Electra said in the final episode, “my heart, my Blanca,” like every Latina mom she was fiercely protective of her children and their dreams. Whether it was helping Damon get into dance school or her season two empty nest syndrome, Blanca is very much our slightly overbearing lovable mamá. No matter how much her children challenge her, test her, or disobey her, Blanca’s love is endless. The final season gives Blanca what she truly deserves: time to focus on her dreams. Not only does she become a full-fledged nurse, she meets the love of her life who encourages her and loves her just as she is, and did we mention he’s a doctor? Blanca gets the fairytale ending she deserves. All we’re missing is the Emmy Mj deserves.
Out of all her children, Indya Moore is arguably Blanca’s first and favorite. Her Angel has transformed over the last three seasons, from working the piers to winning a modeling contract, from struggling with addiction to finally finding love and joy as a mother. Angel’s journey is one of self discovery and self acceptance, one that many sex workers on television have not been allowed to have. Embodied by Indya Moore, their performance deserves all the praise for creating a character that honestly feels like the big sister we always wanted.
Then there’s our favorite brother Papi, who took on traditional machismo with grace and a little corniness. Angel Bismark Curiel as Papi gave a masterclass in what it means to be a man and elevated the representation of Latinx men in television for the next generation. Talking about one of the final episodes of season three, Angel said “I see a young Dominican who prizes family and loyalty over all. I see a groom serenading his bride in front of their chosen family. I see a new possibility for what love looks like in the world for Black people, Latinx people, queer people and trans women and femmes.” In the final episodes of season three, Angel’s monologues about machismo moved us and showed us a dream for a new latinidad. Particularly the one he makes to his best men before his wedding:
“Latinos talk a lot about how important family is but only if you color in the lines… I never had men that would stand for me, stand by me. Until I met you all… Y’all gay, and the whole world thinks you less of a man but y’all taught me what it means to be a man. Y’all are real men. Cause you gotta be tough to love who you want when the whole world tells you something’s wrong with you.”
“Latinos talk a lot about how important family is but only if you color in the lines… I never had men that would stand for me, stand by me. Until I met you all… Y’all gay, and the whole world thinks you less of a man but y’all taught me what it means to be a man. Y’all are real men. Cause you gotta be tough to love who you want when the whole world tells you something’s wrong with you.”
– Lil Papi
In a couple of lines, Papi shows us why he is the strong, loveable brother anyone would be proud of.
These Latinx characters give us a complete family. A family that made mistakes, got angry, but at the end of the day loved each other. The Pose team built this while centering and featuring queer Afro-Latinx folks. While we should demand representation from productions like In the Heights, let’s also support those who are already doing the work, and doing it exceptionally. Pose deserved to be centered and hyped just as much as the latest Lin Manuel Miranda production. It deserved to have the whole Latinx community rooting for it, watching it, and lifting it up. It’s clear that not all of us did. Scrolling through Twitter I saw so many friends sharing their reactions and excitement for In The Heights. I didn’t see that for Pose.
Pose excels where In the Heights falls short because it celebrates the beautiful facets of our community and our community is anything but basic. It is because Pose centered our full and unapologetic Latinx community that it pulled at my heart strings in a way that no other show featuring Latinx folks has. Because Pose did not serve us the white-washed Latinx Disneyland-parade version that Hollywood has painted and convinced us we need to be, it showed us as we are and more importantly how we should be.
