‘Taina,’ the Latina everygirl, at 20
CHRISTINA VIDAL’S ROLE MARKED A TURNING POINT
TA I N A Morales was a fictional 15-year-old, but she represented the Latina everygirl of the 2000s: a passionate young woman with stadium-sized dreams, big love for her family and a pair of hoop earrings for all occasions.
Created by Maria PerezBrown (“Gullah Gullah Island,” “Model Latina”), the Nickelodeon teen sitcom “Taina” premiered Jan. 14, 2001. It revolved around Puerto Rican diva-in-training Taina Morales at the Manhattan School of the Performing Arts, a stand-in for actual New York fame factory, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.
With a diverse cast of young actors — and cameos by now-superstars Luis Fonsi, Shakira, Kelly Rowland and Solange Knowles — the show marked a turning point for kids’ television in the United States, where Latino characters, and more generally actors of color, were rare. “Taina” arrived after a 1999 boycott of CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox protesting the “brownout” or lack of Latino TV shows and lead characters and just months after Nickelodeon debuted the more malecentric, Mexican American sitcom, “The Brothers García” (which HBO Max is rebooting). Despite the fact that ratings doubled in its second season, “Taina” was canceled in June 2002.
Since then, neither Nickelodeon, nor its parent company, ViacomCBS, has aired the show; it’s only on YouTube, where now-adult fans go to watch reruns and reminisce about memorable scenes. Among their favorites: when Taina sneakily buys a formfitting hot-pink dress for her quinceañera, or her 15th birthday bash; when she botches a love letter to her crush, who could only speak Spanish; and her stint in the girl group Blue Mascara, played by real-life R&B trio 3LW.
Played by Puerto Rican actress, singer and LaGuardia graduate Christina Vidal — now Christina Vidal Mitchell — the role of Taina Morales was her first lead role. Vidal rings from the backyard of her L.A. home, which she shares with husband Marcus Emanuel Mitchell and their two children. At the time, she considered “Taina” just one of many gigs, but 20 years later, Vidal Mitchell, 39, has come to understand her role as a critical milestone in a the history of Latinas in Hollywood.
When she was in her first movie at age 10 — opposite Michael J. Fox in 1993’s “Life With Mikey” — she says, “I used to wish that I could be the main character and not just the friend.” She later played supporting roles in the 1998 skate movie “Brink!” and the 2003 Lindsay Lohan comedy “Freaky Friday.” And last year, she starred in the extendedfamily sitcom “United We Fall” with Will Sasso and Jane Curtin; the series was canceled after one season.
But it’s “Taina” — which came out before “Hannah Montana,” “Victorious,” “Glee” and other shows centered on teen stardom and fame aspirations — that still generates social media love from fans.
“I had no idea that [‘Taina’] would be so impactful,” Vidal Mitchell tells The Times. “Not just for Latin girls and boys, but people of many colors and cultures.”
How did you kick off your real-life acting career?
Some people would call it fate, but it was really my older sister Lisa [Vidal], who is a pretty well-known actress [“The Baker and the Beauty”]. I heard about this audition, for a film [“Life With Mikey”] with Michael J. Fox. They didn’t want an actor; they wanted a real street kid. Lisa coached me through my auditions. I became the first Puerto Rican child to star in an American film.
Were you aware of what that meant at the time?
I didn’t. My first experience with Spanish press was embarrassing, because I did not speak Spanish fluently. I understand why Latinos [feel honored] when you speak their language; you’re keeping the culture alive. But I was hurt that they didn’t acknowledge any other way I was Puerto Rican. We need to support each other, instead of looking for reasons to invalidate someone’s Latin-ness.
Before “Taina,” you didn’t play explicitly Latina roles — you were in “Brink!” and “Welcome to the Dollhouse.” How did you curate the roles you took as a teen?
At that time, there was no emphasis on playing one ethnicity. It was just about being an actor and playing a role. I mean, look at Al Pacino [in “Scarface”]. None of us cared about that awful accent, because it’s Al Pacino! What was important was … my mom wanted me to have a childhood, and was very selective about the roles I took. She let me work here and there, but during the summer, so I didn’t miss school. Spike