One Day at a Time Cast
The Netflix original, One Day at a Time is a comedy-drama about a Cuban- American family and how they maneuver the good and bad in life with the support of each other. As a woman with Cuban roots, this is the first time I see myself in a sitcom. My Cuban heritage being portrayed on TV gives me an incentive to watch this show over others. The writer of the show Calderon Kellet does an impeccable job of representing the different aspects of a Cuban household. This ranges from the mother’s daily serving of morning cafè to still living with grandparents.
Many Latin families have their grandparents who live with them. Rita Moreno, a living legend who starred in the iconic West Side Story, plays Lydia, the humorous backbone of the show. She is a controversial and comical grandmother. If you were to ask viewers who their favorite character is I wouldn’t be surprised if the majority said Lydia. Their reason is justified because she handles her lines with precise timing and her facial expressions aid to her theatrics.
Although Lydia is full of life character, I resonate with her granddaughter Elena. She is an activist supporting an array of topics including voter rights, eco-friendly habits, and feminism. She is a high school student who is optimistic and full of courage that I see in many of my college peers who participate in rallies across the country. What hits home for me is that she is a third generation Cuban and she doesn’t speak Spanish.
There is a debate in the Latin community that many are unaware. First generation Latinos and Hispanics believe that it is an issue for later generations do not speak the language. It raises the question if you can still be considered Latino or Hispanic if you don’t speak Spanish. In my experience, people have called me a gringa (Spanish term for foreigner). Elena experiences the same name calling in season 2. But the show uses it as a funny jab because it is her own insecurity with not speaking the language because the family is clearly loving and accepting of her identity. They support her to a point that gringa becomes her fun nickname, another common practice in Latin culture. Prior to that episode, Elena was the only person in the family without a nickname much like she is the only one to not speak Spanish. The nickname turned her insecurity into a loving aspect of her life.
When reading interviews from the cast and learning more about the series I found that this was actually a reboot of the original 1975 series.
1975 Orginal
The cast was very different in comparison to the ethnic identities portrayed in the Netflix original. One Day at a Time sets an example for future reboots of any show or movie for their character selection and method of storytelling
