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.

7Mario Lopez on Saved by the Bell

Slater Mario Lopez Represenatation
Photo Credit IG @savedbythebellfever

Saved by the Bell was a supercool, super popular show, which aired from 1989 to 1993. What was even cooler about it is that one of its stars was Mexicano Mario Lopez, who played A.C. Slater. Luckily, Lopez is still very much a part of Hollywood’s increasingly diverse ecosystem.