On Thursday, January 29, Disney announced its newest princess, Elena de Avalor. A few things about Elena: according to the press release, she is 16 years old, a “bold, caring, funny and clever” character and will make her debut in 2016 on Disney Junior’s TV series “Sofia the First”. However, there has been controversy on whether or not Elena is really Latina or if she is even the first “Latina” princess.
It has been noted that Sofia’s mother has a darker skin complextion and many viewers sent in their questions to Disney of why the mother was darker than Sofia. Jamie Mitchell, the executive producer for “Sofia the First”, said in a 2012 statement that, “She’s Latina”. This enraged the Latino population, claiming that if Sofia’s mother is indeed Latina, Sofia herself does not look “Hispanic enough” due to her fairly light skin and blue eyes. So is Elena then not the first Latina Disney princess?
While many Latinos and diverse advocates rejoiced at this annoucement, they may not want to get too excited just yet. Apparently there has been a misinterpretation in what “inspired by diverse Latin cultures and folklore” means.
Nancy Kanter, one of the senior vice presidents at Disney Junior, cleared the air by stating that Disney never officially stated that Elena was Latina. Instead, she was just an inspiration by Latin culture, making a huge difference since the press release never said that Elena was actually from Latin origins. On the “Sofia the First” Facebook page, Kanter clarified, “All of our characters come from fantasy lands that may reflect elements of various cultures and ethnicities but none are meant to specifically represent those real world cultures.” This statement suggests that Elena would technically not be from a Latin background.
As Elena de Avalor continues to make headlines, this is not the last that will be heard of her. After her debut on “Sofia the First”, she will shortly then be given her own animated series called “Elena of Avalor”, the English translation of Elena de Avalor. She will be voiced by Dominican-born actress Aimee Carrero, who is currently starring in ABC’s “Young and Hungry”. An unofficial statement declared that the series will focus on Elena’s journey to taking her rightful place on the throne in the kingdom of Avalor.
Get ready to see more of Elena de Avalor on the Disney Junior network sometime in 2016.