Cubans, Queers, and Quinces: A Content Analysis of Latina Spirituality and Ritual in “One Day at a Time”

Abstract

U.S television sitcoms capture aspects of lo cotidiano, or the everyday lives, of individuals in our society. In 2017, the streaming service Netflix rebooted the show One Day at Time, which highlights lo cotidiano of a Latina/o family living in Los Angeles, CA. Within this investigation, I argue that the intergenerational relationships between the three Cuban and Cuban-American women, Lydia, Penelope, and Elena, on the show, are forms of spirituality and ritual. I use Chicana historian Lara Medina’s definition of spirituality as the ways individuals relate to themselves and higher beings, as well as, theologian Edwin Aponte’s definition of ritual as a “repeated performance of specific rites.” Utilizing a content analysis, I examine rituals such as mass, the conflicting relationship between la quinceñera and feminism, and the effect Catholicism has on coming out for Latina/o youth. To critically analyze the show I apply Chicana lesbian feminist Gloria Anzaldua’s borderlands theory and mas/caras that show the various worlds Latinas, particularly queer Latinas, cross to navigate dominant structures such as machismo, marianismo, and homophobia. Marianismo, Latinas’ virtue, and machismo, Latino hyper-masculinity, work alongside each other to establish Latino/a gender standards rooted in Catholicism and Spanish colonialism. Additionally, I draw from, Latina feminist theologian Marcella Althaus-Reid’s indecent theology which questions the concept of decency within portions of Latin American society including theology, politics, and sexual desire. I use these theories within the content analysis to reveal how Lydia, Penelope, and Elena use spirituality to navigate their identities, sexualities, and resist structures of power. While media portrayals of Latina/os center bigotry and problematic stereotypes, this show defers from this path. The significance of this study lies in its ability to demonstrate racialized women’s everyday lives or lo cotidiano, that contests the common bigoted representations about Latina/os.