# Univision Y la falsa imagen de los hispanos que intenta dar a creer.



## Layzie

Yo he sido criado viendo este canal(junto con galavision, telemundo, etc.). Tambien he conocido muchos hispanos aqui en los E.U y he viajado al pais de mis padres y otros paises centro-americanos. Me he fijado en una anomalía. Veo que intentan a esconder la realidad de como viven los hispanos en las Americas. Ni en las novelas ni la mayoria de peliculas no enseñan mestizos o cantones, etc. Aunque la gran mayoria de personas son mestizos, de acuerdo a la tele todos hispanos tienen atributos fisicos Europeos(alto, piel no oscura, y seguido hojos azules). He viajado a Cancun y entiendo que sí hay hispanos que viven en lujo, pero es un a minoridad muy muy pequeña. 
Creén ustedes que deben cambiar la imagen que proyectan los canales hispanos? Corrigan cualquier error porfavor, nunca estudie Español en la escuela.

I've been raised watching the spanish channels(univision, galavision, telemundo, etc) with my family from time to time. I've also met many hispanics here in the U.S and I've travelled to my parents' country and other places in central America. I've noticed an anomaly. I see that they try to hide the reality of the state of hispanics in the Americas. Neither in soap operas or most movies do they portray mestizos, villages, etc. Despite that the vast majority of people are mestizo(with a much stronger indian side than white side), according to to these TV channels all hispanics have strong European features(tall,,light skin, and blue eyes) I mean, I've been to Cancun and know that some hispanics live in luxury, but they are a very small minority. Do you think these tv channels should change the image they try to project? Perhaps more people would care about the poor state of Latin-American countries if it wasn't hidden.


----------



## Eloy1988

Estoy de acuerdo contigo, Layzie. En España, todas las telenovelas que se retransmiten de México y del resto de Hispanoamérica muetran un México "quasi-nórdico" que no se corresponde con la realidad. Yo he ido a México y no vi a ninguna persona como, por ejemplo, Anahí de RBD, o gente rubia y alta de telenovelas viviendo en opulencia. 
Parece que todos sean así. 
En cambio, a los pobres siempre los ponen rechonchos y aindiados.


----------



## fenixpollo

No estoy de acuerdo y pienso que el título de tu hilo no es correcto. Univisión no tiene la culpa de "fabricar" un imagen falso de los hispanos.
_I don't agree with you and I think that your thread title is misleading. Univision is not to blame for "manufacturing" a false image of hispanics._


Layzie said:


> Ni en las novelas ni la mayoria de peliculas no enseñan mestizos o cantones, etc. Aunque la gran mayoria de personas son mestizos, de acuerdo a la tele todos hispanos tienen atributos fisicos Europeos(alto, piel no oscura, y seguido hojos azules). He viajado a Cancun y entiendo que sí hay hispanos que viven en lujo, pero es un a minoridad muy muy pequeña.


 Tus observaciones son correctas: en las novelas y las películas, la piel blanca es la norma, junta con el pelo claro, el dinero, coches caros, casas grandes, etc. Pero lo que venden no es una imagen correcta ni realista. El propósito de la tele y el cine es crear una fantasía que les permite a los videntes escapar de su pobre realidad.
_Your observations are correct: in soap operas and films, light skin is the norm, along with light hair, money, expensive cars, large houses, etc. But what they're selling is neither an accurate nor a realistic image. The purpose of television and cinema is to create a fantasy that allows viewers to escape their sad reality._

Univisión recibe su programación de los canales en el mundo hispanohablante, sobre todo de México y Venezuela, pero también de otros países, incluso Brasil. Univisión ha producido tal vez uno o dos programas que no sean noticias, y ya. Entonces, los que tienen la culpa de promover la imagen irrealista del hispano son las cadenas en los países hispanohablantes.
_Univision recieves its programming from networks in the Spanish-speaking world, mostly from Mexico and Venezuela, but also from other countires, even Brazil. Univision has produced maybe one or two programs that aren't news programs, and that's it. So, the ones who are to blame for promoting an unrealistic image of Hispanics are the networks in the Spanish-speaking countries._

El "porqué" lo dejo para otro post. _The "why" I'll save for another post._


----------



## fenixpollo

Eloy1988 said:


> Yo he ido a México y no vi a ninguna persona como, por ejemplo, Anahí de RBD, o gente rubia y alta de telenovelas viviendo en opulencia.


 ¿No saliste de tu hotel, entonces? En todas las ciudades grandes de México, hay zonas con mansiones, BMWs y gente rica. También se ve gente con rasgos europeos y rasgos indígenas. La idea de que no existan Mexicanos con facciones europeas es una tontería. Además, Anahí _es_ mexicana.


----------



## JGreco

I get upset when I see this false image also. Yes there exists diversity in Latin America but the only thing represented in the Latin American media are a sea of white faces. Even in the major news broadcasts on channels such as Telemundo and Univision you mostly see white faces. By the way it is not just Anahi of RBD I think they all look white to me. I think American media is much more honest with the image of Latinos eventhough there are many stereotypes in America also.


----------



## Namakemono

Yo creo que más que preocuparos de la imagen racial que dan esos canales, deberías preocuparos por la imagen cultural. En los noticieros de Telemundo que he visto en España, la mitad de las noticias que tratan son avistamientos de OVNI y apariciones marianas en alimentos.


----------



## DCPaco

As a Mexican, I don't feel too represented by Univisión. I think that channel portrays more of what Florida is and Floridian-American culture (or the lack thereof ).

You are right in the sense that telenovelas portray white people that live in either wealth and luxury but they also portray some cases of extreme poverty. The novela is based on the Cinderella story so it's not supposed to be an accurate depiction. There is a sense of oligarchy in all of Latin America and I think the soap operas convey that as well; the people of the telenovelas are an elite group just as the white people with money are an elite group in Latin America. But is it that different from what you see on soap operas (by Proctor & Gamble)? Not really. In the soap operas you have wealthy blonde people that have exotic affairs, travel to remote places, and get involved in the most fabulous (as in fable) situations. It's not that I'm defending Univision, because I think that every time I watch American Spanish TV I feel a bit stupider. 

When I go to Mexico, I watch lots of educational programs that I could never even imagine that Univision or the others might include. Now, I must say that Telemundo is better quality TV than Univisión.

The Hispanic world suffered a great loss when Raúl Velasco's show (Siempre en Domingo) ended--and now with his death.

Yes, "American media is much more honest with the image of Latinos" [JGreco] that they usually have them as servants, gardeners, errand boys, or high maintenance crooks (Tonio Reyes on As the World Turns, for example).

I wish Univisión didn't exist. I wish we just got programming directly from all the countries. I think Univisión does a disservice to all the countries because I've seen shows from Venezuela put together by Venevisión on Univisión and they are horrible...their depiction of the people is that they are stupid. My vision of Peru is corrupted by shows like Laura en América.

I think American Spanish TV is targeted at three major groups: Poor Mexican immigrants, Cuban-Americans, and New Yorikans. And the quality of TV is all thanks to Nielsen TV Ratings' *wonderful* collection of data on the viewing patterns of Hispanics.

Best to all!


----------



## Saimon

I watch those stations to try to improve my Spanish and my overall impression is that whether it's _Sabado Gigante_ or _Mundo de Fieras_ or _Despierta América,_  the producers of these shows seem to think that their audiences are stupid. 
In terms of telenovelas, I've seen a few and besides the seemingly endless recycling of plotlines and character types (the Long Lost Parent, The Wise Old Woman, the Scheming Vamp, etc.), the farther down the social scale  the characters are, the less European they look. Except, of course, when a working-class character is one of the protagonists -- the Beautiful Orphan or the Honorable Studmuffin, trying to work their way up from poverty. Needless to say, they do not much resemble the folks I see in the Latino neighborhoods in my city.


----------



## danielfranco

In the twenty years I've lived in the USA I have always made the effort of NOT watching Univision et al. for the reasons already stated...

Okay, I lied a bit: I do watch them, but only when I feel like catching up on the latest beer commercial ad and to look at buxom ladies in revealing outfits that appear in EVERY single show (even the news broadcasts!!!!) for no apparent reason at all.
[I mean, really: when have you seen a female news anchor wearing a mini-skirt, crossing and uncrossing her legs every so often, and sitting in a tall stool in newscasts from CNN, for example?]

Anyway, the other twenty years I lived at Mexico City I did see everyday in many places people who looked just like in the soaps or the TV shows. You just have to hang around in the right neighborhood, is all. I used to live in San Angel, and you do see a fair sampling of every ethnic variety in Mexico right there.
I guess it has to do with the size of the gargantuan Mexico City: whatever you want to look for, you'll probably find it.


----------



## DickHavana

En cuanto a lo dicho por Namakemono, estoy de acuerdo. Dan una imagen un poco casposa que no se corresponde con la realidad y que al menos en España encaja poco (a no ser para reírte un poco  una noche tonta con la cervecita en la mano y no volver a verlo).

Pero bueno, a título de anécdota, en la ETB (canal de televisión del País Vasco) he visto varias veces un capítulo de *MacGyver* en el que unos presuntos etarras *vascos* con rasgos *indios* y disfrazados como *Rambos* secuestraban a una *geóloga* para que creara un *arma nuclear* (así de listos eran) y usaban el *irrintzi *como grito guerrero, como los indios de John Wayne. En otra película estadounidense de los años 50, unos supuestos *colonos vascos del Far West* utilizaban también el grito folklórico vasco del *irrintzi* como si fuera un lenguaje para decirse cosas como "Nos vemos a las 5 en Houston" y se defendían de los *indios* tirándoles *piedras* con los cestos de *cesta-punta* (pelota vasca). 

Debe ser que no acaban de ubicarnos del todo


----------



## Layzie

fenixpollo said:


> _The purpose of television and cinema is to create a fantasy that allows viewers to escape their sad reality._



That was my point. Sure, big mansions and fancy cars are anyone's fantasy, but having Europeans features shouldn't be. Being mestizo or Indian shouldn't be part of the "sad reality".


----------



## fenixpollo

Layzie said:


> That was my point. Sure, big mansions and fancy cars are anyone's fantasy, but having Europeans features shouldn't be. Being mestizo or Indian shouldn't be part of the "sad reality".


 So, you're blaming Univision for perpetuating the racial and socio-economic prejudice that exists in every society on this continent. Don't forget to include, then, all of the major film and television studios, regardless of their language.


----------



## Edher

Layzie said:


> I've been raised watching the spanish channels(univision, galavision, telemundo, etc) with my family from time to time. I've also met many hispanics here in the U.S and I've travelled to my parents' country and other places in central America. I've noticed an anomaly. I see that they try to hide the reality of the state of hispanics in the Americas. Neither in soap operas or most movies do they portray mestizos, villages, etc. Despite that the vast majority of people are mestizo(with a much stronger indian side than white side), according to to these TV channels all hispanics have strong European features(tall,,light skin, and blue eyes) I mean, I've been to Cancun and know that some hispanics live in luxury, but they are a very small minority. Do you think these tv channels should change the image they try to project? Perhaps more people would care about the poor state of Latin-American countries if it wasn't hidden.



Hola Layzie 

    It really depends on how you see the network. In other words, do you see it as an honest source of information, or as a business. I see it strictly as a business and thus to get high ratings, you got to give the people something they'll find appealing. In Mexico, like in many other Latin American countries, the image of "true" beauty, being that of European features, were established by the conquistadors. Therefore, that perception of beauty has been there for centuries, the only thing that Univision, as well as other networks, is marketing that image. And do remember that a fair part of Univision programming come from other Latin American countries. In fact, I think the programs actually produced by Univision are much more open-minded with the perception of the average Latin American image. Just look at the noticieros, most of the reporters are predominantly Meztisos, something that is not that common in Televisa. 

Edher


----------



## Westerner

fenixpollo said:


> So, you're blaming Univision for perpetuating the racial and socio-economic prejudice that exists in every society on this continent. Don't forget to include, then, all of the major film and television studios, regardless of their language.



I believe he has a right to blame Univision, as they are the ones perpetuating this false image. Saying "everyone does it too" isn't an excuse for doing something wrong. This is somewhat related to the thread I started on social status as a function of the lightness of one's skin. Yes, maybe it's true that many media outlets globally play a hand in this. But that is irrelevant here, since we aren't talking about "every media outlet", but Univision. For the sake of comparison, there are far more "white" people in the US than there are in Mexico, yet there are far more "colors" visible in US television and in US telenovelas than there are in their Mexican equivalents. It *is* a false image that such networks (Univision, Telemundo) foster, and it only results in more and more people desperately denying their heritage and castigating those around them in order to reach an unreachable status of "whiteness".


----------



## fenixpollo

Again, I disagree that there are more European faces on Mexican television than on US television, because American television does not do a good job at representing non-whites. Likewise, it is inaccurate to say that all of the faces on Mexican televsion are European, because there are mestizo faces all over Mexican TV.  Now, we can argue all day about the degrees to which US & Mexican programmers include minorities, but basically, these statements are true. 





> In Mexico, like in many other Latin American countries, the image of "true" beauty, being that of European features, were established by the conquistadors.


 The standard of beauty in Mexico was not established by Cortez, but by hundreds of years of economic domination by European families.  Since the rich people viewed poor people as uneducated and unclean as well as dark-skinned, then the elite associated all of those traits together and "indio" became an insult. The exact same thing happened in the US. 

I'm not defending Univisión or any other network. I pointed out that Layzie seemed to be accusing one company of perpetuating (if not engendering) racial stereotypes, when in fact it's all networks that perpetuate the stereotypes. I never said that those stereotypes are good, just that if we're going to accuse, let's get our facts straight.


----------



## DCPaco

I agree 100% with what Fenixpollo has posted.  It is not just Univisión but all television and magazines; and it is often thought that if anything is non-european, it is exotic and should be marketed as such--like national geographic.  It's like on The Chappelle Show:  National Geographic Presents:  Third World Girls Gone Wild.


----------



## Cereth

fenixpollo said:


> ¿No saliste de tu hotel, entonces? En todas las ciudades grandes de México, hay zonas con mansiones, BMWs y gente rica. También se ve gente con rasgos europeos y rasgos indígenas. La idea de que no existan Mexicanos con facciones europeas es una tontería. Además, Anahí _es_ mexicana.


 
Tu lo has dicho fenixpollo!
en México la diversidad es enorme...!!! la gente del norte suele ser de piel más clara y son más altos, mientras que la gente del sur más morena o inclusive mulata y más chaparritos...claro no por regla general
En el centro del país encuentras gente de todos colores y sabores....Anahí de RBD dices?...ve a Guadalajara Mex y vas a sorprenderte! 
Aqui hay mucha gente de piel blanca o clara...el pelo? bueno ese se tiñe no?
Yo sí soy una mexicana típica (ve mi foto en mi profile) y no tengo la piel quemada ni soy chaparrita...

por cierto existen muchos mexicanos no ricos que son blancos ...sobretodo aquellos descendientes de colonias alemanas o francesas en Jalisco que aun se dedican a la venta de lácteos...y ciertamente no tienen BMW´s


----------



## GONTA

fenixpollo said:


> Univisión recibe su programación de los canales en el mundo hispanohablante, sobre todo de México y Venezuela, pero también de otros países, incluso Brasil. Univisión ha producido tal vez uno o dos programas que no sean noticias, y ya. Entonces, los que tienen la culpa de promover la imagen irrealista del hispano son las cadenas en los países hispanohablantes.
> _Univision recieves its programming from networks in the Spanish-speaking world, mostly from Mexico and Venezuela, but also from other countires, even Brazil. Univision has produced maybe one or two programs that aren't news programs, and that's it. So, the ones who are to blame for promoting an unrealistic image of Hispanics are the networks in the Spanish-speaking countries._


Bueno, (qué triste es SABER esto) pero UNIVISIÓN sí es ahora productora de muchas novelas que se hacen en países como Venezuela, pero con el propósito de ser transmitidas en esa cadena (en especial, durante el problema que tuvieron con Televisa, pero bueno, basta de información inútil). 
La cuestión es que sí representan una realidad falsa y yo considero que muchos, no todos, los que han emigrado a Estados Unidos son personas que no tenían oportunidades en sus países de origen o de una educación muy baja (o inexistente), por lo tanto buscan atraerlos o perpetuar la "cultura" latina de una forma básica y hasta exagerada, todo con el fin de proveerles de cierto sentido de arraigo. 
Yo realmente no disfruto para nada la programación de esas cadenas para latinos en Estados Unidos que nos hacen lucir como personas dramáticas o personas que viven al  son de la salsa o cantando estupideces en cualquier momento (vease, sabado gigante) o, peor aún, que resuciten la tradición de los 50's de meter los comerciales a mitad del programa.

MY POINT IS: I HATE THE WAY UNIVISION PORTRAITS THE LATIN COMUNITY.


----------



## GONTA

Layzie said:


> He viajado a Cancun y entiendo que sí hay hispanos que viven en lujo, pero es un a minoridad muy muy pequeña.
> Creén ustedes que deben cambiar la imagen que proyectan los canales hispanos? Corrigan cualquier error porfavor, nunca estudie Español en la escuela.


Layzie, sólo quería decir que es "una minoría"....   y, como ya dije, estoy de acuerdo contigo, hay mucha desigualdad en Latinoamerica y rara vez se presenta en la television el contraste que en países como el mio, El Salvador, existe: pocos tienen mucho y muchos tienen poco. Y esta realidad se trata de disfrazar con construcciones elegantes, grandes centros comerciales y construyendo carreteras que, a la larga, benefician sólo a los inversionistas y empresarios que pueden darse el lujo de destruir la fauna y flora de mi país, tomar su helicóptero e irse a otro lado donde no hayan destruido tanto (pero eso es otra cosa, lo siento).


----------



## ayaram7700

Hola a todos, foreros,

Aunque es posible que esté fuera de tema,  creo que tan mala o falsa es la imagen latina que se proyecta no sólo en Univisión, sino en todos los canales latinos, como la horrible ortografía de los avisos, en realidad, a mi me da un poco de vergüenza ver esos canales, por la vulgaridad, el mal gusto y los errores de dicción y pronunciación. Creo que para que un canal merezca dirigirse a nuestra comunidad, debiera cumplir con algunos requisitos, ser en realidad un vehículo de cultura y educación para nosotros. 

Saludos,

Ayaram7700


----------



## SuperCholo

Eloy1988 said:


> Estoy de acuerdo contigo, Layzie. En España, todas las telenovelas que se retransmiten de México y del resto de Hispanoamérica muetran un México "quasi-nórdico" que no se corresponde con la realidad. Yo he ido a México y no vi a ninguna persona como, por ejemplo, Anahí de RBD, o gente rubia y alta de telenovelas viviendo en opulencia.
> Parece que todos sean así.
> En cambio, a los pobres siempre los ponen rechonchos y aindiados.


 

mmmm - ¿ y es malo estar rechoncho y aindiado? chin, y yo que me creía tan carita....


----------



## SuperCholo

I am not as bothered by the perpetuation of a specific, shallow norm of beauty, as I am by the promotion of ineffective ways of coping with everyday issues, such as the crying, slapping, screaming, lying (and this is what the "good ones" do!).
 
*Let's change the channel!*  
 
I don't know about UNI and GALA vision, but if you receive Azteca America you should look for opinion/editorial shows like "En Contexto" o "Entre Tres" - You wil find both "fresas" y "nacos", but beyond looks they are mostly educated, intelligent, articulate men and women adressing serious, interesting issues. These shows by the way are usually around midnight, so get your Tivo ready!


----------



## Inx

Completamente de acuerdo. Acaso es malo ser moreno o no tener ojos azules? Yo soy morena. 

Bueno.. es por eso que aun existe el recismo en partes del mundo.


----------

