By: Mexica Movement
The picketing of Disneyland CONTINUES. WE WILL BE AT DISNEYLAND
(Anaheim, California) EVERY SATURAY FROM 8AM TO 1PM, until Disney’s
racist “Zapata” film project is KILLED.
Disney confirmed that it has signed Antonio Banderas
(a Spaniard—a European) to put on brown makeup in order to play
EMILIANO ZAPATA (an INDIGENOUS MEXICAN, a NON-white person).
The Mexica Movement has declared a boycott and picket against
Walt Disney Studios and Disneyland. We are organizing in our
communities of Southern California and across the country to
picket and boycott Disneyland and ALL Disney products. We Demand
a formal [public] and sincere apology from Disney Studios, in
the form of a formal change in its overall racist hiring habits
and how it deals with the Mexican and “Central American” community
as Indigenous people.
When we spoke to Andrea Marozas, senior vice president of communications,
we explained to her that Emiliano Zapata was and IS a Mexican
hero–that he was a full-blood Nahuatl–speaking Indigenous person.
In his lifetime he was specifically disgusted with the was racist
Spaniards treated our people and all Indigenous people. Antonio
Banderas playing him would be to dishonor his memory and to
insult our people—an insult to all Indigenous people. She also
said that they were proceeding with the project, regardless
of our objections, when we spoke with her to confirm this casting
on Friday February 9, 2001.
We further explained our complaint to Ms. Marozas by comparing
this casting to having Brad Pitt play Malcolm X or having Tom
Hanks play Martin Luther King.
[They think our people are so stupid that we would not notice
their racist and disgusting attack on our people.] She was not
impressed with our complaints. We told her that we were going
to picket Disney in order to get her attention on the need to
respect our people. She still was not impressed. 
The director that has been signed to this racist movie is Gregory
Nava, the same vendido (sell-out) who cast Jennifer Lopez (a
Puerto Rican) to play Selena, and who pimped our community with
a false casting call of girls and young women who wanted to
play SELENA.
Hollywood has had the RACIST habit of NOT hiring Mexicans
to play Mexicans in lead roles. In TRAFFIC (a Puerto Rican),
in SELENA (another Puerto Rican), LA BAMBA (more non-Mexicans)
and now the two films on Frida Kahlo with more non-Mexicans
playing Mexicans. Hollywood REFUSES TO HIRE MEXICANS TO PLAY
MEXICANS.
We are encouraging all people of all races and cultures to
join us on the picket line and in the boycott of all Disney
related businesses; and to call Andrea Marozas’ office at (818)
560-4212 or to fax her complaints at (818) 260-9391.We want
to let Disney Studios know that the casting of a European (Banderas)
to play an Indigenous person (Emiliano Zapata) is not acceptable,
that it is racist! The Mexica Movement is organizing this confrontation.
We are an Indigenous rights education organization for people
of Mexican and “Central American” descent. We do not just
picket and confront racism and vendidos (sell-outs), we do lectures
(call us for upcoming dates, or visit our website), we have
a research center library, we have a mural project that teaches
the history of our people at Roosevelt High School, an internet
website (http://www.mexica-movement.org),
and we do constant outreach into our community to teach our
people the great Anahuac heritage that has been hidden from
us, and the Mexica (pronounced MEH-SHEE-KAH) identity that will
liberate us.
