*In Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” we are introduced to three new characters, such as Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejia), the ruler of Talokan, an underwater civilization descended from an ancient Mayan community that broke away from those on land long ago. He has an extreme distrust of everything that involves that world.
By his side are Attuma (Alex Livinalli), Namor’s strongest warrior with unbelievable skills, strength, and speed, and Namora (Mabel Cadena), a fierce Talokanil warrior determined to protect her people’s land under the sea.
We spoke exclusively with Cadena about what the role means to her as a Mexican woman appearing as a superhero and exploring the topic of Black and Brown communities battling over resources due to outside influences. Cadena shared that the experience was terrific, partly due to how warm and welcoming the cast was with her. She revealed to us that she didn’t speak English when she initially got the role.
“The whole cast was very patient with me,” she said. Cadena believes this was key to her picking up the language quickly, as she felt supported.
OTHER NEWS: Cast of ‘The Calling’ Unpack This Unique New Crime Drama Series | EUR Exclusive
As for representation, the actor said she was happy to be involved in this major studio project as a dark-skin Mexican woman. She noted that “as a Latin American woman with this color, with this, this face, to see for the first time a Mexican superhero, a Latin American superhero, with Namor, Attuma, and Namora every Latin American can see themselves in this movie.”
Check out my full conversation with Cadena and Livinalli via the clip below.
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is now playing in theaters nationwide and features Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o (“The 355,” “12 Years a Slave”) as Nakia, Danai Gurira (“The Walking Dead,” “All Eyez on Me”) as Okoye, Winston Duke (“Nine Days,” “Us”) as M’Baku, Florence Kasumba (“Avengers: Infinity War,” “Wonder Woman”) as Ayo, Emmy and BAFTA award winner Michaela Coel (“I May Destroy You,” “Chewing Gum”), and Academy Award nominee Angela Basset (“911,” “Mission: Impossible-Fallout”) as Ramonda.
*Jill Munroe is a Los Angeles-bred entertainment journalist, producer, and host. You can follow her on all social media @StilettoJill or check out JillMunroe.com
