Rosalyn Sanchez in Devious Maids

In the reading “Ethnic Ambiguity in the Era of Dark Angels” by Mary Beltran, Beltran discusses the different ways that Jessica Alba and Rosario Dawson are portrayed in films. She explains that based on Jessica Alba’s features she can be perceived without an ethnicity attached and has been casted to play more white roles than Rosario Dawson. Dawson however, is always perceived by audiences with ethnicity because of her phenotype and can only be casted for certain roles in film. After reading these comparisons made by Beltran, I was reminded of Roselyn Sanchez who plays Carmen Luna in Devious Maids. In Devious Maids Sanchez plays a driven, hardworking, Puerto Rican maid who is striving to succeed in her singing aspirations. She’s very motivated and will do anything to make her singing career happen and although devious maids does shed some light on some of the discrimination that Latin women face in real life, typically Sanchez is shown with her attractiveness being a main focus and has only been casted for certain roles similar to Rosalyn Dawson based on her heavy accent and ethnic features.  For instance, she has played a secret agent in Rush Hour 2 and a kidnapped undercover CIA agent in Act of Valor, despite these two similar roles, her ethnicity is something that will always be attached to her the same way it is for Rosario Dawson. Roselyn Sanchez was also featured in Fabolous’s music video for his song Make Me Better  ft Neyo in 2009 and in this video she plays the role of a strong tough women ,which is similar to her role in Rush Hour 2, and she is seen as complimenting Fabolous and “making him better” with her looks being showed in an exotic way which catches an audience’s attention.