Nothing will ever deport the reality about Latinos; not even Donald Trump.
In a 12 months clouded by political vitriol and the regular erasure of Latino narratives, the return of John Leguizamo’s important and entertaining collection “Leguizamo Does America” turns into the cultural counterpunch we desperately want.
The second season of his MSNBC docuseries, which begins airing on Sunday evening, sees Leguizamo, 64, exploring new cities, together with Philadelphia, Phoenix, New Orleans and San Antonio.
The Emmy and Tony Award-winning actor and activist has lengthy used his platform to highlight Latino excellence and expose the programs that suppress it. Within the first season of “Leguizamo Does America,” he traveled throughout the U.S., from Miami to Chicago to Los Angeles, lifting the veil on Latino communities typically missed or misrepresented in mainstream media.
With President Donald Trump as soon as once more dominating the political dialog — and along with his administration displaying the xenophobic rhetoric he started in 2016 — Latino communities face renewed each day and moment-to-moment threats. From mass deportations to persistent false claims about immigrant crime and tradition, the Trump-led GOP is once more wielding worry as coverage.
Simply this 12 months, a number of headlines have reported undocumented (and American-born) migrants being kidnapped in border states, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids ramping up and Latino historical past being scrubbed from college curricula in states resembling Florida and Texas. This erasure is now not figurative; it’s changing into institutionalized.
Enter “Leguizamo Does America,” now extra essential than ever. Season 2 continues to have fun Latino id whereas immediately difficult the misinformation driving anti-Latino sentiment. In a media panorama that also underrepresents Latinos — who make up almost 20% of the U.S. inhabitants — the present provides each a actuality test and a rallying cry.
Greater than a travelogue, “Leguizamo Does America” is a considerate political act — storytelling as resistance, pleasure as protest and love as the last word weapon. Leguizamo’s heat humor and unfiltered commentary create house for exhausting conversations — about immigration, id and who will get to outline what it actually means to be American.
In a time when Latino voters are a decisive drive, the present succeeds at what politicians typically fail to do: pay attention. To those that nonetheless view Latinos as nothing greater than gardeners, handymen exterior Residence Depot, or worse — felony aliens bringing medicine throughout the border — you’ll do your self an incredible service to study our vibrant tradition and other people.
With Leguizamo, director Ben DeJesus and showrunner Carolina Saavedra amplifying actual voices from actual neighborhoods, the present reminds viewers — and voters — that Latino communities should not monolithic. Reasonably, they’re wealthy, various and deeply embedded within the American material.
In a second when Latino lives are too typically politicized or erased, “Leguizamo Does America” stands as proof: We’re right here. We’re seen. And our tales won’t be silenced.
The second season of “Leguizamo Does America” premieres on Sunday, July 6 at 9 p.m. ET on MSNBC.
