Northeastern University’s Latinx, Latin American, and Caribbean Studies program is introducing a new speaker series called “Latinxs and Comedy”. The series aims to highlight Latinx contributions in popular as well as academic discussion. First up in this series is actress, author, and activist Selenis Leyva, best known for her role as Gloria Mendoza in the popular Netflix series “Orange Is the New Black.” She will talk about Afro Latina representation in comedy and in Hollywood.
Not only will this event contribute to the celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, it will also serve to bring awareness to the contributions of Latinx’s in comedy, which have long been unacknowledged in both the academic and social spheres. Program Director and WGSS executive committee member Professor Isabel Martinez says that “Comedy, as a general field, has pretty much ignored Latinxs. The more contemporary seminal works [that] have been published in the last several years have completely ignored Latinxs.” Through her research she has come to many conclusions both about the history and the present situation of Latinxs in comedy in New York City.
To read more about the Speaker Series and Professor Martinez’s research, click here!
