Disney Announces Its First Latina Princess

Via Disney Junior

Emma Watson has currently been the talk of the Disney town, when it was recently announced that the former Harry Potter actress would don the famous yellow ball gown as Belle in a live action movie of Beauty and the Beast. However, Disney Junior, the TV network focused on children under ten years-old, announced Thursday that a Latina princess will be joining the ranks of Disney royalty.

16-year-old Princess Elena of Avalor will debut in 2016 on a special episode of Sofia the First, the network's hit show for preschoolers. As you may recall, there was initially some confusion over Sofia’s heritage when the show producer called her the first Latina Disney princess, but a Disney Junior executive clarified that she is not. After her introduction on Sofia, Princess Elena will star in her own spin-off series, Elena of Avalor, also set to debut on Disney Junior in 2016.

According to Buzzfeed, here’s what we know about Elena so far:
- She is, according to Disney, “a confident and compassionate teenager in an enchanted fairy tale kingdom inspired by diverse Latin cultures and folklore”.
- She battled an evil sorceress named Shuriki.
- She has a little sister, Princess Isabel, her grandfather Tito, and her grandmother Cici.
- In trying to save her family from Shuriki, she was pulled into her own magical amulet. You know, princess stuff.
- Princess Sofia, who now wears the amulet, restores Elena to her human form and helps her return to Avalor.
- Elena’s best friends are Mateo, who is training to be a wizard, and Skylar, a flying creature.

Dominican Republic-born Aimee Carrero of ABC Family's Young & Hungry, 26, will voice Elena. Fingers crossed Gina Rodriguez, who is a big advocate for the positive portrayal of Latinas in the media, makes an appearance on the show.