Televisa’s Yeka Rosales posted videos of herself on social media wearing brown skin paint in an apparent parody of the indigenous actress

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A television personality for the Mexican-based Televisa network is facing criticism for dressing up in brownface and wearing a prosthetic nose to make fun of indigenous Mexican actress Yalitza Aparicio.

Televisa’s Yeka Rosales posted photos and videos of herself on social media wearing brown skin paint in an apparent parody of Aparicio, who attended the Oscars last week after being nominated for best actress for her role in Roma.



The stunt, designed to promote Televisa’s season premiere of the comedy show La Parodia, highlights the racism some scholars say indigenous people in Latin America still face in the media.

In the photo, Rosales wore a dress similar to the one Aparicio wore at the Oscars, donned a straight, black wig and made exaggerated facial expressions typically used to stereotype indigenous people.



In an email to the Associated Press, Televisa spokesman Alejandro Olmos said the network strongly condemns any form of racism or discrimination. “We do not believe that the production of La Parodia engages in this type of practice,” Olmos said in Spanish, adding that some of the comments were made in “bad taste” and will be edited from the show. Televisa later deleted a tweet with a video of Rosales in brownface mimicking Aparicio.

Rosales drew immediate condemnation on social media in Mexico and the US. “It’s disgusting. I’m kind of shaken up about it,” said Jennie Luna, a Chicana/o Studies professor at California State University Channel Islands in Camarillo, who studies indigenous populations in Mexico. “This just shows how far we have to go and how far Mexico has to go.”

Roma star Yalitza Aparicio: 'I don’t think I am an actor' Read more

Luna said Aparicio has encountered many similar acts in Mexico since winning praise for her performance in the movie Roma.

Aparicio, who is from the Mexican state of Oaxaca, faced racist attacks online and scorn from some Mexican actors. However, she also found strong support among Mexican-American women in the US who identified with her indigenous roots.



William Nericcio, a professor at the Center for Latin American Studies at San Diego State University, said that given Mexican media’s historic treatment of indigenous populations, he is not surprised by the actions of Rosales.



“The Mexican elite disposition has always portrayed indigenous people as funny and ugly,” Nericcio said. “Networks like Televisa profit from this.”

This time, Nericcio said, indigenous people are speaking out, also through social media.

Rosales defended her actions, posted photos of herself in blackface and said she parodies people of all races.

“I do not discriminate,” Rosales wrote in Spanish on a meme of photos of herself in blackface and as Princess Leia from the Star Wars movies. “I interpret people of all the skin colours and races and ages that exist in the world.”

She then asked why no one was offended when she previously darkened her skin and dressed up as black disco icon Donna Summer.

This is not the first time Televisa has faced accusations of insensitivity in portrayals of people of colour. In 2010, the network drew criticism for hiring actors in blackface for a popular morning programme during the World Cup in South Africa.