Post-2019 edit: I decided to keep this blog post up because it’s well written, but I no longer support nor like Gina Rodriguez following her

multiple anti-Black, ignorant faux pas.

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In the name of diversity and unity of underrepresented groups, I am writing about one of my favorite shows, which features a Latin American female lead. Jane The Virgin is not a Black narrative, but I would call it a Latinx one.

I honestly had my doubts about this series – it seemed corny and overdone from the previews. Nonetheless, I saw the first season available on Netflix two years ago and decided to give it a try. I subsequently fell in love!

As I myself have Hispanic heritage, I an enamored by the fact that the show incorporates a huge facet of Latin American culture – the telenovela. These Spanish-language soap operas are overwrought with dramatic storylines and overt passion. Jane The Virgin’s narrator – referred to as the “Latin Lover Narrator” in closed captioning – starts each episode with an overview of the last one, which is a technique frequently used in telenovelas. After recounting the wildly colorful story he points out that it’s, “Crazy, right? Straight out of a telenovela.”

The show is a delicious blend of comedy, drama, romance, and crime taking place in Miami, FL. We learn about culturally relevant issues like immigration laws as well as the ubiquitous power of the rich, which are emphasized through on-screen hashtags. The narrator voices a lot of the unspoken feelings that the characters have, while additional scene context is literally typed out on-screen.

One of my favorite aspects of the show is the editor’s use of audio overlap between scenes. The audio is matched to the subsequent scene, and often relevant to that which is preceding, making for a smooth and thought-provoking transition. (Sometimes you have to ask yourself how exactly the next scene’s audio can relate to the preceding scene.)

And make no mistake, for a show with ‘virgin’ in the title, there is plenty of sex. I like that it is often implied as opposed to explicitly shown. For example, another great transition technique was used in the first episode when the character Petra is introduced. She is first shown having a conversation with her husband which leads to her dropping out of frame, with her husband looking down at her, and in the next scene we see an extreme close-up of her reapplying her lipstick, suggesting that she had been performing fellatio.

Although culture is a main tenet of the show, race is not quite highlighted. We see a very diverse cast of characters and interracial couples are frequently shown. The main antagonists, Petra and Sin Rostro, are white, turning the white savior trope on its head. Some villains are people of color as well, so there is a healthy balance of good and bad shown for everyone as opposed to only one race or ethnicity being portrayed in a negative light.

Jane Gloriana Villanueva, the protagonist, is my favorite character. She is smart, focused, uplifting and brave. Due to haunting advice given by her grandmother, and her mother being somewhat of a cautionary tale, Jane takes a personal vow to remain a virgin until marriage. Her world is turned upside down when a medical mistake renders her pregnant.

Prior to that life-changing event, Jane led a life as a hard-working hotel waitress putting herself through school. She planned to become a teacher even though she was truly passionate about romance writing, drawing on her adoration for the timeless love stories shown in the telenovelas she watched with her mom and abuela.

Jane’s most admirable quality is her virtue. Sometimes she needs an extra push of encouragement from her mom and/or grandmother but she likes to be honest about her feelings and is confident in her intentions. Her mother once tells her, “...the way you live your life...it's inspiring, I swear, and I don't know how you do it.” I wholeheartedly agree.

Rafael is a privileged hotelier who is accustomed to living life in the fast lane. He married Petra after sweeping her off of her feet whilst she was engaged to his arch nemesis. Prior to some medical bouts and ultimately becoming Jane’s baby daddy, he indulges in women and money, although his real aim is to make his critical father proud. Rafael grapples with a lot of familial issues that usually render him emotionally unavailable to the women in his life.

Petra is a series-described man-eater from the Czech Republic with a manipulative, conniving mother who persuades her to use her lack of morals to scheme. As the series pans out we see that Petra is not necessarily as devious and money-hungry as her mother; more so, when Petra’s mother is around the bad behavior naturally rubs off on her.

During an interview, actress Yael Grobglas who portrays Petra states that she was hesitant to step into the villain role but show creator, Jennie Urman, expressed that she wanted to keep the character very complex. Petra does at times do noble things, but I still cannot stomach her. I guess first impressions are truly lasting.

Michael is my second favorite character. He loves Jane so much! His love is undying and faithful. He is very noble and concerned with justice, which is why he works as a detective. He also respects Jane’s desire to wait until marriage and never pressures her to do anything that she would not want to do. They eventually get past several betrayals to get married and live happily ever after. Just kidding!

Alba AKA Abuela is the ever sage and pious voice of reason who holds together the Villanueva household. She emigrated from Venezuela with the love of her life and had one daughter, Xiomara. Her husband, Mateo, passes before granddaughter Jane is born. She convinces Jane is an almost unsavory manner that her virginity is like a delicate flower – it is not to be “crumpled” before marriage.

Xiomara AKA Xo is Jane’s mother. She is an unabashed sexpot, much to the dismay of her conservatively Catholic mother, Alba. She became pregnant with Jane at the age of sixteen and told her mother that Jane’s father was “some army guy”. Xiomara is a part-time lounge singer who moonlights as a dance teacher. Alba is less than impressed by her daughter’s inconsistent career as a struggling artist. Although Xiomara likes sex (like a lot) her mother urges her to keep her legs closed so that she can find the loving husband she so desperately wants.

Rogelio is an acclaimed, self-absorbed telenovela within a telenovela star. In spite of his strong love and passion for himself, he is very dedicated to his daughter. He definitely serves as comedic relief throughout the show. His family and bromances are of the utmost importance to him.

Luisa is Rafael’s sister, an almost functioning alcoholic who works as a gynecologist. Luisa is an entire mess who often leans on extreme spiritual practices to seek healing, which actually makes me like her character. She means well – most of the time. In line with the over-the-top nature of the telenovela, we meet Luisa in the middle of a nervous breakdown while she also happens to be having an affair with her stepmother. Bananas. As the story plays out it becomes apparent that Luisa is loving to the point of acting unethically – sometimes she’s forced to chose between the divergent wishes of her loved ones.

Lead actress, Gina Rodriguez, has spoken about racial and ethnic stereotypes in several interviews and social media posts. She often discusses how she held out for her breakout roles in Jane The Virgin and Filly Brown for about four years because she did not want to take one of the many stereotypical Latina roles that were being offered such as a part on Devious Maids. Yes, Gina, yes!

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Post-2019 edit: I decided to keep this blog post up because it’s well written, but I no longer support nor like Gina Rodriguez following her multiple anti-Black, ignorant faux pas.