When an executive producer for Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess said that Sofia is Disney’s first Latina princess, he was, unbeknownst to him, setting in motion a multi-layered discussion on Latina identity, what constitutes “Latina looks” and a crush of celebration and criticism.
As the story took on a life of its own, Disney felt they had to come out with a statement clarifying what their make-believe princess is — and isn’t. The end result is that Sofia is not actually Latina.
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“What’s important to know is that Sofia is a fairytale girl who lives in a fairytale world,” Nancy Kanter, senior vice president of original programming and general manager of Disney Junior Worldwide said in a post on the Princess Sofia Facebook page. “All our characters come from fantasy lands that may reflect elements of various cultures and ethnicities but none are meant to specifically represent those real world cultures.”
Kanter said that most importantly, Sofia’s world reflects the ethnically diverse world we live in “but it is not OUR world, it is a fairytale and storybook world that we hope will help spur a child’s imagination.”
Craig Gerber, co-executive producer/writer on the project says, “Princess Sofia is a mixed-heritage princess in a fairy-tale world. Her mother is originally from an enchanted kingdom inspired by Spain (Galdiz) and her birth father hailed from an enchanted kingdom inspired by Scandinavia.” READ MORE
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