The women of El Barrio don't dig 'I'm a Nuyorican' and many of us agreeBy Erasmo Guerra
After flipping channels from an awards show to MTV’s "I’m a Nuyorican," Linda Nieves-Powell, a New York-born Puerto Rican, flipped out — not with pride, but rage.
There was Naizsha, 18, whose mantra seemed to be "Whatevah." There was José, 20, who got kicked out of school, and planned to make something of himself through boxing.
But the subject who set Nieves-Powell off most was the 22-year-old belly dancer, Rose.
"She called her people spics," Nieves-Powell says.
"Nuyorican" is part of the "True Life" documentary series, intended to show "three young Nuyoricans... who are trying to balance the demands of their old-school heritage with the outside influences they experience in a very diverse city," MTV said in a press release.
But the show, which first aired on Jan. 25 and is on MTV rotation and online, has only managed to spark a lot of drama.
Nieves-Powell, who is president of Latin Flavored Productions and a director of short films and videos, complained about the title to show producer Carlos Puga on Facebook.
"You can’t call it ‘I’m Nuyorican.’ You’re making a huge statement. It’s a general statement about all of us," she says.
Nieves-Powell adds that Puga took her number and promised to pass along the complaint, but she hasn’t heard anything since.
The Women of El Barrio, an advocacy group of Puerto Rican women, have also spoken out on the TV episode, calling it "a disgraceful representation of an entire body of people."
At Latina.com, blogger Mariela Rosario wrote, "To showcase Nuyoricans only as a struggling, victimized and ignorant community is a huge mistake on MTV’s part."
An online petition, "Nuyoricans Against MTV’s True Life," calls for the withdrawal of the offending episode and the production of a new one with historical context.
So far, over 300 signatures have been gathered, and a companion Facebook group has signed up nearly 500 members.
An MTV spokeswoman said via e-mail, "At this time we are going to pass on issuing a comment as the episode is a couple of months old and we have not received direct backlash from the Hispanic community."
Katilia Vélez, who started the Facebook group before the show’s final credits had even rolled, says the ugly, sensational and exploitative broadcast brought about "a beautiful sense of unity."
There was Naizsha, 18, whose mantra seemed to be "Whatevah." There was José, 20, who got kicked out of school, and planned to make something of himself through boxing.
But the subject who set Nieves-Powell off most was the 22-year-old belly dancer, Rose.
"She called her people spics," Nieves-Powell says.
"Nuyorican" is part of the "True Life" documentary series, intended to show "three young Nuyoricans... who are trying to balance the demands of their old-school heritage with the outside influences they experience in a very diverse city," MTV said in a press release.
But the show, which first aired on Jan. 25 and is on MTV rotation and online, has only managed to spark a lot of drama.
Nieves-Powell, who is president of Latin Flavored Productions and a director of short films and videos, complained about the title to show producer Carlos Puga on Facebook."You can’t call it ‘I’m Nuyorican.’ You’re making a huge statement. It’s a general statement about all of us," she says.
Nieves-Powell adds that Puga took her number and promised to pass along the complaint, but she hasn’t heard anything since.
The Women of El Barrio, an advocacy group of Puerto Rican women, have also spoken out on the TV episode, calling it "a disgraceful representation of an entire body of people."
At Latina.com, blogger Mariela Rosario wrote, "To showcase Nuyoricans only as a struggling, victimized and ignorant community is a huge mistake on MTV’s part."
An online petition, "Nuyoricans Against MTV’s True Life," calls for the withdrawal of the offending episode and the production of a new one with historical context.
So far, over 300 signatures have been gathered, and a companion Facebook group has signed up nearly 500 members.
An MTV spokeswoman said via e-mail, "At this time we are going to pass on issuing a comment as the episode is a couple of months old and we have not received direct backlash from the Hispanic community."
Katilia Vélez, who started the Facebook group before the show’s final credits had even rolled, says the ugly, sensational and exploitative broadcast brought about "a beautiful sense of unity."
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