WHAT IT MEANS TO BE "MEXICAN VANILLA"

AKA being a "pale Latina".  
By Kat Flynn (Actor)

So, I was on Facebook when I saw a meme that inspired this blog post, but now that I'm actually ready to blog about it, I can't find it! Oh life.

Anyhoo- Mexican vanilla meme, I don't need you! 

I never really gave my paleness much thought. As far as I could remember, I was never trying to be "white" or Mexican. I was just naturally pale because I despised the sun and didn't want to tan. Truth. In high school, I would wear cardigans in 100ºF weather because I didn't want to tan. But this was only because I liked being pale. It's only now as an adult that I've realised being a "pale Latina" is a thing! 

I read this interview with John Lequizamo where he talked about how there was a time where only "light skinned Latinos" were being cast in Hollywood. I can't speak for the Hollywood experience, but I can say that in the 3 years I've been working here in Britain, the opposite has been true for me, in the sense that I don't look "Mexican enough". Or what the world now perceives Mexicans to look as. For the record, I am officially half Mexican, thanks to my father. In fact, both grandfather's were Mexican, and I would say my grandmothers, and mother, are of Mexican descent.

So, what does it mean to be "Mexican Vanilla"? Well, according to my friends, it makes me more commercial. But what it really means to me is nothing and everything, simultaneously. I am not defined by the colour of my skin, and neither should you be. I am me. I am generations of Latina women who loved, lost, and struggled. I am proud of all that I am, and all that I'm not. 

Viva la raza! 

xoxo

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KAT FLYNN is an American Expat living & working in Great Britain. www.katflynn.com
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