A Love Letter to Jane the Virgin

This summer, I beat the infamous South Florida heat by spending the majority of my time binge-watching Jane the Virgin. I started the series towards the end of the last school year with my friends during a free period and immediately got hooked. A telenovela-style show set in Miami with insane cliffhangers at the end of every episode? How had I not watched it before? I willed the standard-issue academic clock to tick to the next day so I could keep watching, but once summer began, I sat on my couch and took my Netflix account into my own hands.

I watched seasons 1 through 4 in one month, and season 5 in one week when it was released on Netflix in early August. Needless to say, I loved it. The show evokes laughter, tears, and dropped jaws every episode while reinforcing the importance of family and love. Sure, it got a little too dramatic at times, but it's a telenovela-- that's the point.

Perhaps I was so attached to the show because it felt like I was seeing myself on television for the first time. As a teenage Venezuelan female, I rarely see empowering Latinas in films and television shows. Not only are Jane's main characters Latina; they are Venezuelan! Jane regularly eats her abuela's arepas, and her abuela offers heartfelt advice using Venezuelan slang. The Villanueva women are empowering and emotional, feminine and fierce. They explore topics from religion to sex positivity while experiencing trials and triumphs. They show what it's like to be a Latina in the United States during the 21st century, radiating confidence and success along the way. Seeing Venezuelan women as the protagonists of a major cable network show makes my heart glow (*wink*) with pride.

One of the best crafted characters on modern day television is the series' titular star, Jane Villanueva. Jane proves that it's possible to chase your dreams while staying grounded, never giving up her writing career despite the many obstacles thrown her way (even the most outlandish twists of fate, from an accidental artificial insemination to a husband coming back from the dead-- spoiler alert!). In all honesty, her writing career partly motivated me to start this blog. Jane's resilience, determination, and decisiveness combat the notion that love makes one weak; she can be a hopeless romantic AND a badass, working Latina mother! To have such a complex character lead an American television series is a massive inspiration to all Latinas of any age.

Jane the Virgin has been the first show I have come across that casually mixes Spanish in with the English dialogue. Alba Villanueva, the protagonist's grandmother, speaks almost exclusively in Spanish throughout the course of the series, with subtitles dashing across the screen while she speaks. The Spanish doesn't interrupt the narrative; it enhances the story's meaning and draws the viewer further into Jane's world of magical realism. With Spanish being the second most spoken language in the United States, it's about time it becomes more commonly heard in American shows.

Although I began watching the series while season 5 was airing live, it premiered at a time when the world so desperately needed it. The show sheds light on immigration issues, racism, and the LGBTQ+ community, encouraging viewers to take action. In the past decade, Hollywood has become increasingly diverse and politically charged, but Jane the Virgin provides a refreshing perspective on these topics through subtlety and class.

Thank you, Jane the Virgin, for bringing Hispanic culture and strong Latina characters into mainstream television. As a young Latina, it means the world to see myself and my country represented on the small screen.