Marvel executive Victoria Alonso is happy about the work Marvel has done to expand representation in its projects.
Most recently, actress Xochitl Gomez will make her debut as LGBTQ and Latine superhero America Chavez in the sequel Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which hits theaters Friday (May 6). It’s a character Alonso wishes she had when she was a kid.
“What it would’ve meant is to have had a tad more understanding of the person that I was and that I was growing into being was not invisible,” Alonso told Deadline at the film’s premiere Monday evening (May 2). “I think visibility at any age is incredibly important whether you’re 10, 20, 30 or 80.”
Alonso, who is an LGBTQ and Latine herself, said that a character like Chavez was important to include in the Marvel Cinematic Universe because it shows people that there is power in representation and that it matters to people when they can see themselves as part of the story.
“To have…someone who says…’I am, and I belong’…I think any young adult [who] could have that today, [specifically] the 42 percent of LGBTQIA adults that consider suicide or those that do it, would probably think twice that maybe they’re OK [as they are],” Alonso said. “My hope today is that…if there are any kids out there thinking even minimally that their lives are not worth it, I can honestly tell you their lives are worth it, and we will celebrate it with them.”
In the past, Alonso has been vocal about the need for Marvel to increase representation. In 2018, she told the BBC that she didn’t think they had done enough to represent the Latine and LGBTQ communities.
“I think that’s something we have to do better,” Alonso said at the time. “I’m Latin, I can tell you that I’m longing for that. The gay community has not been represented whatsoever. I’m gay, so I can tell you that I would long for that. We are determined to have everyone represented in our films in some way, at some point in time.”
With Chavez now in the Marvel mix, it looks like that time has finally come.
“It’s huge that I get to represent these communities that maybe haven’t felt seen before,” Victoria Alonso told Deadline. “And you really do see her. I mean, how do you miss her? She’s on the poster! How crazy is that?”