Disney’s upcoming series Primos can’t seem to dig itself out of controversy with the Latino community. Aside from claims of racist stereotypes and tone-deaf city names, the show has seen outrage fester over its grammatically incorrect theme song. Latinos on social media demanded answers but were instead greeted by Myrna Velasco, the voice actor behind the show’s main character, basically insulting them.
The situation has escalated now that the Disney Primos pilot has leaked online, causing many in the Latino community to demand the show be canceled immediately before it even airs on Disney Channel and Disney+ this fall.
Before the Disney Primos Pilot Leaked
The mounting tension between Latinos and Disney’s Primos series has been growing for a while. It has not escaped their notice that the show’s entire premise revolves around a Latin-American girl named Tater living in one room with 12 extended family members. She also lives in a place called “Terremoto Heights,” which translates to ” Earthquake Heights.” The Mexican community has called this name tone-deaf as they have a vast history of earthquake disasters.
Further criticism was directed at the opening theme song’s misuse of the Spanish word ”oye” in the ¡Oye! ¡Primos! verse instead of the plural form, “oigan.” Myrna Velasco took to her social media to defend the song but escalated the situation with a response that came across as dismissive and self-righteous. Her exact quote is as follows:
The Spanish language is not a Latin-American language. It’s a language the Spanish conquistadors forced upon Latin American people. The only reason we’re Latin people and not Native American people is because of that distinction. So be mad at me all you want for mispelling words in Spanish. Be mad at me all you want for mispronouncing words in Spanish. That doesn’t take away from the fact that I am a Mexican-American Native-American woman.
What Did the Primos Pilot Leak Reveal?
Someone leaked the Disney Primos pilot online, a setback that has only reinforced the Latino’s commitment to end this series before it even begins. The very first scene of the show revolves around Tater misspelling the Spanish word for welcome, “bienvenidos,” in her diary. She instead incorrectly spells it “benvenidos.” Her sister Nellie points it out to her, and an annoyed Tater reluctantly thanks her before correcting the mistake.
https://www.tiktok.com/@content.cow/video/7246553213380398363
Critics have called out Velasco’s hypocrisy for knowingly recording these lines. A Spanish grammatical mistake is important enough to be corrected on the show, but she instead chose to dismiss it as a language forced upon them by conquerors when addressing the backlash.
THE VERY FIRST JOKE OF THE PRIMOS PILOT IS LITERALLY SOMEONE CORRECTING THE MAIN CHARACTER'S SPELLING OF A SPANISH WORD BRO THIS CANNOT BE REAL https://t.co/7Fjp0FZQCr
— Dr. Storm (@DrStorm44) June 17, 2023
This scene also shows that the main character struggles with Spanish, which is not her first language. She is a Mexican-American child growing up in California and is based on the experiences of Primos creator Natasha Kline. During a recent interview with NEWS x MUSE, Kline revealed this fact:
The main character, Tater, doesn’t speak Spanish. That’s why she says ‘oye primos,’ because it’s obviously wrong.
Detractors question if this is a convenient excuse to explain the mistake, as the drama was allowed to fester for a while before being addressed by the creator. They also further point to the ridiculousness of Myrna Velasco’s hostile response online instead of her explaining the show’s context.
Okay then how come instead of clarifying those intentions the crew immediately jumped to saying “who gives a shit if it’s wrong Spanish isn’t a latam language anyways”
— juli 🧯🐢 (@WEBBYMCGEE) June 18, 2023
The Primos Defenders
While many want Primos canceled, a significant portion of Latin-American people in the United States looks forward to the show and do not see the backlash as warranted. They claim that Primos is aimed towards them specifically and portrays a character who has different experiences with the Spanish language and culture because she grew up in the United States.
Disney has yet to address the controversy surrounding the series. Despite the Latino backlash, Primos will almost certainly have its premiere this fall. Whether it is a success or not remains to be seen, but the additional displeasure with the first episode is not doing it any favors.
