Elena of Avalor crowned Disney’s first-ever Latina princess

Last time Disney tried to unveil a Latina princess, it didn’t turn out so well. The outrage was that the alleged first Hispanic princess was too white and didn’t look like most other Hispanics. The criticized the lack of diversity already among the pantheon on princesses. SEE ALSO: Meet the venturous and colorful flock of ‘Rio 2' This is Sofia The First: There was a lot of confusion about whether “Sofia the First” was the first Hispanic princess; however, Disney’s producer Jamie Mitchell, said that he misspoke. Mitchell also said that “Disney Junior has an exciting project in early development that does have a Latina as the heroine of the show.” Those early developments have now grown into a full fledged character with a name and a picture. Now, meet Elena of Avalor, Disney’s real first Latina princess. According to Buzzfeed, here’s some of the things that we know about her: She’s 16 She comes from the Kingdom of Avalor She is, according to Disney, “inspired by diverse Latin cultures and folklore” She’ll be introduced in a special episode of the Disney Junior series “Sofia the First” in 2016 She’ll have her own series, “Elena of Avalor,” also kicking off in 2016 She battled an evil sorceress named Shuriki She has a little sister, Princess Isabel, her grandfather Tito and her grandmother Cici In trying to save her family from Shuriki, she was pulled into her own magical amulet. You know, princess stuff Princess Sofia, who now wears the amulet, restores Elena to her human form and helps her return to Avalor Elena’s best friends are Mateo, who is training to be a wizard, and Skylar, a flying creature. Some people had reactions, criticizing the ambiguity of her ethnicity and questioning why her origins were in a made up land instead of an actual nationality. I guess it's cool that Disney is making a Latina princess but it's weird they're making up a place instead of choosing a nationality — fatty ding dong (@katrevalo) January 29, 2015 So Disney is finally debuting a Latina princess. But she's not getting her own movie she is guest appearing on a tv show. I call bullshit — christian torres (@CTpunk) January 29, 2015 #DisneyLatina? I mean, I guess. Just another way #Disney can capitalize/commodify our culture. I won't be watching. Thank you, though. — Máximo (@blurbsmithblots) January 30, 2015 Nina Terrero an Entertainment Weekly reporter even had her fun with the announcement I'd also love to learn if any Latinos helped design Disney's first Hispanic princess and if any will be involved in the series production — Nina Terrero (@Nina_Terrero) January 29, 2015 I'm also frustrated that Disney's Latina Princess is set in some bygones era. That means our Latina princess won't go to college. Go figure — Nina Terrero (@Nina_Terrero) January 29, 2015 Maybe Disney's Latina Princess will meet her Prince at church. He'll be either Catholic or Pentecostal …right? — Nina Terrero (@Nina_Terrero) January 29, 2015 Elena will be voiced by ABC Family’s Young & Hungry actress Aimee Carrero. SEE ALSO: Voyage with the cast of ‘How To Train Your Dragon 2' Disney has yet to confirm Elena as the first Latina princess, but rather described her as “inspired by diverse Latin cultures and folklore.” The blog post doesn’t even specify ethnicity in the title just say “Disney’s newest princess;” however, there are significant hints that point to a SI, she’s Latina alright!The post Elena of Avalor crowned Disney’s first-ever Latina princess appeared first on Voxxi.