Camila Mendes, Victoria Justice, and Zoe Saldana on Being Latina in Hollywood
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On Sunday afternoon, ELLE and Netflix hosted an intimate luncheon at Ka'teen in Los Angeles to toast Latinas paving the way in film. This past year alone, the streamer cast 15 Latinas in leading roles—as lawyers, singers, teenage girls, and more—helping to elevate and give space to their voices. In her opening remarks, ELLE editor-in-chief Nina Garcia said, “I want to congratulate each and every one of you, because I know it has taken courage, it has taken to be bold, it has taken to be driven, to work extra hard—to get where you are today.”
Guests included several of Netflix’s leading women, including Zoe Saldana (From Scratch), Camila Mendes (Do Revenge), Karla Souza (Day Shift), and Lee Rodriguez (Never Have I Ever), who noshed on passed hors d'oeuvres and sipped cocktails before being seated for a coastal Mexican lunch. “I think this is the first event of its kind that I’ve been to where it’s a bunch of Latina women celebrating each other, uplifting [each other], and encouraging each other to do more,” Victoria Justice, who recently starred in the Netflix rom-com A Perfect Pairing, told ELLE.com. “I’m hopeful for more of that in the future. Hollywood has become more diversified, and I think it’s so important because our world is so diverse. That needs to be reflected onscreen as much as possible. Latina women: we’re strong, we’ve got a lot to say, and we’ve got a lot to prove, so it’s really exciting.”
Of course, the journey towards representation still has a long way to go. “Sometimes Latino stories get cut short,” Rodriguez noted. “Hollywood can do better by making sure there are more stories that are accurately representing the Latino community.” In addition to Netflix taking the appropriate steps, ELLE has featured seven Latina cover stars, from Ana de Armas to Shakira. “We must elevate our Latin voices,” Garcia emphasized. “We have so much to be proud of.”
“We’re still the most underrepresented group in Hollywood, statistically speaking,” Mendes said. “I think the start is creating more opportunities for Latinas to star. That’s something we don’t see still. I definitely want to be part of that—creating opportunities for Latina women to show their talent.” The event also gave the Latinas in the room an opportunity to finally meet, sometimes for the first time. Rodriguez mentioned that one of her role models is Zoe Saldana, who also attended. “She’s so iconic,” Lee said, unapologetically fan-girling.
As lunch came to a close, one thing remained abundantly clear: now more than ever, diversity really matters. “I grew up not having that many people that I could look up to, that I related to,” Justice continued. “Just the other day I had someone come up to me saying she was so excited to meet me because I was one of the few Latina girls onscreen. That was such a big deal to her and it really touched me. This is something that people need in their lives: someone that they can identity with that looks like them.”
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