Cristela: On Authenticity and So-Called Latino Trailblazers

Source by Nicholas Milanes

I am an American of Cuban descent, and I want you to know that I have fairly neat handwriting. Generally, I speak softly and without an accent. I have an appreciation for Latin music, from bachata to salsa, but I’ve also bonded with my girlfriend’s white Minnesotan father over Talking Heads. I think I’m supposed to be excited about this new ABC show, Cristela. It’s named after its lead actress/producer/writer, Cristela Alonzo, who is a comedian. Think—George Lopez, who you might recall also had a show on ABC once upon a time. Cristela’s title card is in one of those kinda-squiggly, crooked-lettered fonts; it reminds me of the burrito joint I went to now and then in college.

Their logo was squiggly and lopsided, too, as if to say, “We sell fun Mexican food.”
The letters in the title give the impression of movement, because Hispanics are vivacious and loud, ostensibly. Like Cristela Alonzo—who is, not coincidentally, loud and Mexican—or at least she is every time she shifts into a thick accent to deliver a punchline (both in her standup comedy and in the new show). Yes, it’s a Mexican stereotype. And as far as it being an overall Latin thing, well. I’m not sure.

The Dominicanos in my neighborhood (Washington Heights) can go either way. Cubans have a tendency to be loud, admittedly. For a couple of summers I worked as a landscaper at my old high school (do with that information what you will); I worked with a Venezuelan, a Puerto Rican, a Guatemalan, a Mexican, a Cuban, and on and on—the volumes were as well-mixed and varied as a Timbaland album. The Mexican fellow was a bit of a mumbler. At any rate, I don’t think I’ve actually met anyone like Cristela Alonzo.

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