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College senior Vicky Kuora, left, and Anette Salines look at examples of the stereotypes of Latinos in pop culture during a forum at Houston Hall. [Dara Nikolova/The Daily Pennsylvanian]

Lupe Ontivero was born in the United States, went to college and became an actress -- and she has spent most of the last 25 years playing the part of the maid.

The Cipactli Honors Society hoped to explain and discuss this common problem in the "Media Images of Latinos Forum" held last night in Houston Hall, drawing about 20 participants.

"Can any of you think of a Latino character who's not just the large ass or the maid?" College junior Abby Castro challenged the group.

This type of controversial and thought-provoking question is central to the wider message of Festival Latino -- a week-and-a-half long celebration of Latino culture on campus.

Festival Latino includes an array of forums and events, sponsored by the different Latino organizations on campus.

In the forum, the honor society discussed the limited images of Latinos in the media, which members of the group feel shape the way Latinos are seen in society.

"I've noticed that a lot of Americans seem confused when a Latino can speak English," College sophomore Rosann Feller said.

According to Castro, an actress like Ontivero "brings the accent in, and she's more likely to get roles because that's what's expected."

And it was this idea of societal expectations that made many at the forum critical of actors who play specified roles.

"I'm anti-J. Lo," Wharton sophomore Celia Castellanos said. "She's allowed herself to be stereotyped into this Latina image, and I refuse to support her because of that."

Some, including College senior Michael Miyawaki, were less critical of the actors themselves.

"It's capitalism," he said of the motivation for Latinos to take stereotypical roles.

Turning to Hollywood and casting directors as part of the problem, the forum discussed Jennifer Connelly's role as the wife of Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Nash in the movie A Beautiful Mind.

"His wife was actually from El Salvador," Castellanos said. "It made me mad... they made her really Anglo."

"So it could have potentially been an Oscar for a Latina," Castro said, referring to Connelly's award for Best Supporting Actress.

"There's a lack of roles for Latinos," Castro added.

Castro also emphasized that stereotypical roles had been a problem for blacks until the NAACP widely publicized the issue.

"Why is it that it's politically incorrect to have a black maid, but not a Latina maid?" she questioned.

"We're the biggest minority; we can't say, 'Oh, we're too few, we don't have the numbers,'" Castro said. "We have the numbers."

Ultimately, Castro posed several solutions.

"I think these people that are portraying themselves as Latino are accountable to the community.... But maybe we need to speak with our wallets."

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