Auditions for ‘Romeo and Juliet’ sparked outrage for asking white-skinned people in Chiapas

An audition for the play Romeo and Julietof William Shakespeare, provoked the indignation of the inhabitants of Chiapas and Internet users on social networks, as discrimination has allegedly been suffered by requesting profiles that are far from the appearance of the majority of Mexican men and women.

The call was made by the director Hiram Marinawho is also a state government official, the work will be carried out in Coordination of Theaters and Congress Centers of San Cristobal de las Casas.

Among the physical characteristics of casting is tez blanca for all characters—including musical number equipment—, bright Eyes both for Romeo and Juliet and for another role, on the other hand, the minimum heights requested range from 1.65 (for the narrator) and 1.80 meters. This phenotype does not match the majority of the Mexican population.

“The most romantic story of all time invades the streets of San Cristobal de las Casas,” the virtual pamphlet read. After the ad went viral, many people and groups, including dark power— broadcast the appeal with indignation.

And it is that the request leads to discriminatory and exclusionary behavior, according to the National Council for the Prevention of Discrimination (CONAPRED).

On this portal you can read the following:

“Discrimination is considered to be any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference, in any public or private sphere, which has the purpose or effect of suppressing or limiting the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, under conditions of equality, one or more human rights. (…) or fundamental freedoms and may be based on race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin.

Despite criticism and outrage from many people, Hiram Marina did not suspend auditions or change the criteriabecause on February 16, he wrote via his Facebook account that he had already found an actress to play Juliet.

Instead, the director of San Cristobal de las Casas made another call for the play palenco redwhere only people with brown complexion and native features.

Among the comments on the brochure of Romeo and Juliet, it read: “Only white people do theater in Chiapas?”, “Really, who would have thought that only white people?”, “In a state like Chiapas, most of us are short with a dark, brown-eyed native ancestry, shouldn’t they just ask for the experience?” and “Above clear eyes, but From where? total discrimination”.

This romantic tragedy is considered a classic play, it is believed to have been staged around 1597, the writer was inspired by the poem The tragic story of Romeo and Julietwritten by Arthur Brooke circa 1562. Although it has had thousands of different performances and adaptations, in this one non-whites simply don’t get a chance to participate, which is an act of discrimination.

More than 80% of young people in the Metropolis define themselves as having a lighter complexion so as not to be discriminated against, according to “The lighter the skin, the better they treat it” a publication of the Gazette of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

In the publication, the specialist of the Institute for Social Research (IIS), Natividad Gutiérrez Chong, assured that in Mexico “they generate chains of privilege or oppression, because just as there are poor indigenous women, there are rich white women.

On the other hand, in the digital publication of the UNAM Official Journal the most common exclusion was reported to be racial; even so, the majority of young people surveyed responded that they perceived this type of discrimination outside of Mexico and as an external situation.