Monday's episode of Heroes finally explained why wonder twins Maya and Alejandro, who we first met running through Central America on the way to the U.S.-Mexico border, spoke with Dominican accents. It turns out they are Dominican, and Maya begins running because she kills an entire wedding party in Santo Domingo (although they dance merengue in what looks like a Mexican village).
This is not the first science fiction venture for the actress who plays Maya, Dania Ramirez. She was Callisto in X-Men 3, where she got to be a little goth with skin-tight outfit and look intense. She's also been on Buffy. In a recent Q&A with Latina magazine, she said the super-power she'd like is "the ability to cook the way the girl did in Like Water for Chocolate. I guess it's a Latin thing—we like feeding people."
This effectively triples the number of regular Dominican characters on scripted TV (Brother Alejandro is played by Shalim Ortiz, Charytin Goico's son). Who's the other Dominican? Judy Reyes' character Carla on Scrubs. Is the writer's strike a secret plot to halt this Dominican advance? I wonder.
In the meantime, enjoy the YouTube video of "For the last time, I'm Dominican!"
Um, even I didn't know Judy Reyes is Dominican. And a fellow Cibaeña, at that.
Posted by: Kiko Jones | November 15, 2007 at 02:21 AM