Latinx Lens
with Rosa Parra
Introduce yourself.
I'm Rosa Parra. Co-founder and Co-host of the Latinx Lens podcast. I founded this podcast (and website) alongside Catherine Gonzales as our attempt to highlight Latinx representation and contribution in film and tv. But as the podcast has taken off, it's evolved to also reviewing an array of newly released films all through our unique Latina lens. What makes our podcast unique are various factors. First, we are two Latinas reviewing movies (a demographic that's severely underrepresented). Second, we provide a platform to highlight Latinos in front and behind the camera. More often than not we discuss movies that are often ignored or looked upon as "less than" because they originate from a Latin American country. Thirdly, Catherine and myself are Rotten Tomatoes approved film critics who just love film and want to do our part to advocate diversity, and representation not only in film but in film criticism too.
"A lack of engagement isn't a reflection of your talent, creativity & potential. Don't let that get to you. Keep working...keep at it. You've got this."
- Rosa Parra
Share an experience that has shaped who you are today.
I decided to get into film criticism thanks to "Wonder Woman" (2017). I was hearing a lot of buzz behind this movie and its importance due to being the first ever female led live action superhero movie directed by a woman. At the time I was ignorant about the male gaze and why this specific movie challenged years of conventional storytelling. Shortly after I concluded to earn a degree in film if I was going to do film criticism on a serious manner, so I did (I'm still working on it). Taking film classes I've learned so much about the hsitory of hollywood and the birth of filmmaking. I also realized that majority of those films were made by men, telling stories about men and whatever female stories we had was told through the male gaze. In fact, it was a film class that's responsible for the idea of Latinx Lens. While taking the class "Race and Gender in American Film" we were given a 500 page textbook for this course. To my disappointment, there was only 2 pages on Hispanic/Latinos representation and contribution in film history. This left me thinking and suddenly the idea to create a podcast that will respond to those two pages came to mind. And now we are headed to our two year anniversary.
Tell us about your podcast audience.
Our audience varies from movie lovers, to Latinos seeking perspective similar to theirs, to ordinary cinephiles. I'd like to think they come back because we provide a different perspective. We also try to be ourselves and not ponder too much on film history, film terminology so we can appeal to a wider audience from cinephiles to people who don't watch too many films.
What makes your podcast unique?
As previously mentioned Latinx Lens has various objectives. Highlihgting Latino representaiton and contribution in film and tv. Reviewing an array of newly released films and some tv shows all through our unique Latina lens. And now we are venturing into the aspect of discussing movies from the past that bring some form of nostalgia. We normally highlight one Latino a month. We vary from an actor, to director, to actress to female director and what we do is select three films from their filmography and discuss them. The review episodes are only four films that are newly released and we give our thoughts on them.
Vinnie Potestivo, Editor-in-Chief of
I Have A Podcast®
