Gordita Chronicles

The cancellation of this show was a hot topic, and for good reason. I can say with great confidence this show did not deserve to get cancelled. I understand that HBO did this in an attempt to "pull back on live-action kids and family programming" and I also understand that this happens in this industry all the time. People can claim that it's being turned into a race issue, but honestly that's exactly what it is. The sparsity of shows with an entirely-Latino leading cast is a blatant issue, and Gordita Chronicles was one of the only ones on at the time. We need all of the representation we can get, and choosing to cancel the show as if it was nothing is erasing the importance that shows like these have on our community. This goes for all minorities that are constantly having their representation ripped away from them. People can try to claim that it's not that deep or try to push it as a business decision, but all this is doing is directly feeding into the closed mindset of Hollywood and pushing a less-diverse agenda.

While I did genuinely really enjoy this show, there was one little detail that really stuck with me. I always find it odd when they make characters speak English in situations that they would clearly not speak English in. For example, the show begins with them saying goodbye to their family in the Dominican Republic before they move to Miami. But, they are speaking in English. They are in a Spanish speaking country and speaking to a group of people who most likely don't all speak perfect English. Realistically they would be speaking in Spanish, so why can't they just do that in the show and use subtitles? My Spanish isn't perfect by any means, but I would still prefer to struggle understanding without subtitles and have it be more authentic. Another example of this is when they were speaking to one another alone at home. It just didn't feel as realistic to see them speaking in English 90% of the time. They even made it a plot point of CuCu working on her English with her English-speaking friends, but she had shown no issues with the language prior and continued to have no issues after. I understand trying to force yourself to speak in English to try to accustom yourself to new surroundings, but in instinctual situations I felt more Spanish should've been involved. This is obviously just one minuscule complaint however, and I would have loved to have seen the rest of their journey if the show hadn't been cancelled.