Prominent Latina Pro Athletes Talk “Image” And More On ESPN Platforms
Senior coordinating producer Maria Soares, part of the all-female production, discusses the project that assembled an all-star cast in an NYC salon as part of ESPN's commemoration of Hispanic Heritage Month
While Oct. 15 marks the end of Hispanic Heritage Month, at ESPN, HHM is year-round.
For the past month, ESPN platforms featured a slate of original content and programming built around the theme “Somos” (“We Are”) to highlight the contributions of Latinos in sports.
To tell those stories, the HHM committee focused on producing content around five tentpole projects, one of those being “Image,” which looks at the complex balance Latina athletes navigate between their image as professional athletes and beauty.
Titled “Somos Latinas” and airing across ESPN platforms throughout this week, the project brought together standout athletes as panelists.
Olympic gold medalist and professional tennis player Mónica Puig, Paralympic sitting volleyball gold medalist Nicky Nieves, Olympic bronze medalist and WBC Flyweight Champion Marlén Esparza, SEC Gymnast of the Year Luisa Blanco, and UFC bantamweight Joselyne Edwards shared an intimate conversation about their experiences navigating cultural and societal beauty standards through their athletic careers.
Produced by an all-female crew, the conversation was moderated by ESPN Deportes on-air talent Katia Castorena, and features a candid discussion about body image, cultural notions about hair, and the experience of motherhood, among five Latina athletes who have reached the highest levels of their sport.
In the video above, senior coordinating producer Maria Soares, part of the all-female production, discusses the project.
Jon McLeod produced the video. Melissa Rawlins shot the photos used in the video and below.
“Somo Latinas” will be available soon on ESPN+ within the ESPN+MAS the Latinx gallery.
