TENORIO: Latinos on-screen build self-esteem

When the ocean of fans cheered in the opening scene of "Selena," I wanted to cheer with them.

The first time I saw it, I was at the dollar movies with my mom. I laughed and cried. We loved it so much we saw it twice that day.

She was glamorous, in her sparkled purple suit with wild brown hair. She was talented, dancing and singing the way I'd always dreamed of as a little girl. She was beautiful, and everybody loved her.

This movie meant so much to me because it was the first movie I'd ever seen where the star was Latina, like me.

Before her, the females I adored on-screen were blonde starlets such as Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen and Shirley Temple. I looked up to them. I wanted to be just like them, but I could never be blonde, and my eyes aren't blue.

Now here was someone like me: a brunette with dark eyes and tanned skin, a Tejana, who kind of sort of spoke Spanish. And she was a star.

Seeing Jennifer Lopez on the big screen made me realize that blonde hair and blue eyes weren't the only beauty out there; that maybe I might be considered beautiful, too. Soon after, I'd learned all of Selena's songs by heart, I'd imitate her performances from the movie, and I'd even learned her entire biography after convincing my mom to buy me a documentary that had been made about her. I was fascinated because she gave me hope.

Seeing a Latina in a mainstream movie boosted my self-esteem.

Movies have always been my main source of leisure and entertainment. I enjoy going to the movies, and I enjoy renting them. Whenever I want to relax, I pop in a DVD. And I'm not alone.

In CNN's special report, "Latino in America," which first aired last week, Soledad O'Brien reported that "Latinos go to the movies more than any other ethnic group." She went on to state that while Latinos make up 15 percent of the population, in 2008, only 6 percent of the roles in Hollywood were given to Latinos.

So many of us love to watch movies, but it's a rare treat when we find the leading character to be someone like us.

I was 9 by the time I saw "Selena." Before then, I remember admiring the blonde girls in my class. If only I could have blonde hair, too, I'd imagine. I'd be like Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. I'd be normal.

As for the 6 percent of acting roles given to Latinos last year, you can imagine what kind of roles most of them were.

Lupe Ontiveros, who was Yolanda in "Selena," is far too familiar with the typical roles given to Latinos. Featured on "Latino in America," Ontiveros claimed that she's spent most of her 30-year career playing a maid. I flinch at the sight of stereotypical roles in some movies. Sometimes, they're just too darn obvious.

However, in the past few years I've noticed a slow but definite shift. I consider Jennifer Lopez to be one of the female pioneers in the movement, whether intentionally or not. She has been around for a while, and she's starred in many mainstream movies. In our generation, she's definitely become a household name.

America Ferrera became my next on-screen icon. I first saw her as Yolanda in Disney's "Gotta Kick It Up!" The movie was about a middle school dance team in a predominately Hispanic community. I later saw her in "Real Women Have Curves" and adored her. Not only was this girl making movies that I could relate to, movies with plots and scenes I could find in my own life, but she was also slowly breaking the mold many leading ladies fit. She was not a size 0, 1 or 3. She was a voluptuous young lady, who made movies that many Latina teens could relate to.