Representation Matters: 15 Latinxs I Saw on TV While Growing Up

I didn’t care much for having Barbie dolls when I was little. I had her Latinx friend Teresa (I still have to find out who bought this doll for me and thank them). Maybe it’s because Teresa looked more like me, with dark hair and dark eyes. The point is that it’s imperative that little girls and boys see people who look like them, everywhere — and this includes television and film. On the small screen, among the sea of human Barbies, with blonde hair, blue eyes, no accents, and European names, I felt empowered and seen to witness the presence of a doll such as Teresa. Here are those Latinx actors and actresses whom I saw on television, while growing up in the eighties and nineties. Because representation matters.

11Joe Torres on Hey Dude

Joe Torres Hey Dude

Hey Dude was a cool show that aired on Nickelodeon, from 1989 to 1991. It was different from other shows for kids; it followed a bunch of teens who spent their time at a dude ranch in Tucson, Arizona. It also had a Latino as one of its stars — Joe Torres, who played American Indian Danny Lightfoot.