Diversity and inclusivity are the cornerstones of Star Trek. The franchise lives on the ideals of "IDIC", which stands for "Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations," and it's often credited with creating meaningful stories for underrepresented communities. Even so, everyone can seemingly have a blind spot, and after John Leguizamo called out the franchise for its lack of Latino representation in its early years, Voyager star Robert Picardo agreed.
As someone who regularly watched Star Trek even before Paramount+ subscriptions made things easier, I think it's fair to say they missed a few characters from the early days, though I still think the point is highly valid and valuable. For those who weren't around to see the Spawn vet's speech amidst the 2024 Emmy winners, here's what went down.
John Leguizamo Commented On Star Trek Lacking Latino Representation In Its Early Years
John Leguizamo gave an impassioned speech that championed the diversity at the Emmys, while also calling for even more steps forward. As he began to talk about the lack of representation he noticed watching television while growing up, the actor surprsingly, took a jab at Star Trek, noting specifically that the franchise was light on Latino representation. As he put it:
I used to watch Star Trek and think, 'Wow, in the future, there ain't gonna be no Latin people.' But at least then the food will suck.
Hey, it's a fair criticism to make in the most general sense, even if not entirely inaccurate. Naturally, a rousing speech like this wasn't going to slide by without at least one Star Trek vet responding, and of course, it had to be one of the actors who played one of the best Trek characters.
Robert Picardo Responds, Citing Voyager As The First The Feature A Half-Latino Main Character
Robert Picardo, who will reprise his role as The Doctor/EMH by joining the cast of Starfleet Academy, praised John Leguizamo for a fair criticism of the Star Trek franchise. He also gave a shoutout to a Voyager co-star in his response, noting just how long it took for the franchise to feature a character with Latino heritage:
Can’t argue with @JohnLeguizamo ! Despite having a groundbreaking reputation for representing diversity in the future, @StarTrek certainly took too long before #Voyager ‘a [half Klingon-half Latina character] B’Elanna Torres. pic.twitter.com/IjSR6vK6p6September 16, 2024
To be sure, I have to think the more specific point Robert Picardo was making was that B'Elanna Torres is a prevalent lead character within the Voyager ensemble, and that it was the first time a Latino performer, star Roxann Dawson, was playing a main character who also identified as Latino.
Speaking to that, actors with Mexican heritages such as The Wrath Of Khan's Ricardo Montalbán and Voyager's Robert Beltran did hold main roles in their respective projects. In those cases, however, the characters they played were not identified as such.
It should be noted, however, that there were characters with Latino origins in Star Trek before B'Elanna Torres came around. Here's a rundown of a few characters that came before her arrival in Voyager, as well as another character in the show:
- Esteban Rodríguez (Star Trek: The Original Series)
- José I. Mendez (Star Trek: The Original Series)
- Sonya Gómez (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
- Ayala (Star Trek: Voyager)
There are other examples, including those that came after, such as Discovery's Hugh Culber and Strange New Worlds' Erica Ortegas. I'm very excited to see Ortegas return in Season 4 of SNW and whatever upcoming Trek shows she's slated for, and also have to bring up a bit of history in significance to her character.
"The Cage," the original unaired pilot for Star Trek that was later released, had a half-Latino character named Jose Tyler. This character was originally meant to be named Jose Ortegas, according to ScreenRant and others, which has led some fans to believe that Tyler is a relative of Erica Ortegas, given they both fly the ship.
So, really, Latinos have had a presence in the franchise since the very start, though it's more than fair to say they could've had a bigger spotlight. That said, can we finally get more Ortegas stories in Season 3 and not have the character in danger of being killed off?
As mentioned, the best Star Trek shows can be found only on Paramount+, though there is a free option to stream if you download Pluto TV. As someone currently making their way through Deep Space Nine, I can't recommend watching it enough!
