Telemundo's novela Sangre de mi
Tierra (Blood of my Land) features a transgender character
played by Hector Medina, who was born in Cuba.
The nighttime soap opera revolves
around two families, the Castanedas and the Montiels, who are living
and working in the vineyards of Napa, California. Crisanto Castaneda
and his wife Mercedes have achieved the American dream and are
running their own vineyard after thirty years of hard work. They
have four children, including Leonardo, who is played by Medina.
Leonardo is exploring her gender
identity. Creators have said that the character will be sympathetic
to transgender rights, specifically that it will promote
understanding of transgender people.
Medina has previously portrayed a
transgender person in El Rey de la Habana (2015). In the 2015
Cuban film Viva, Medina played a young hairdresser who dreams
of becoming a drag performer.
GLAAD points out that while Medina has
expressed his support for the transgender community, transgender
rights activists believe such roles should be played by transgender
actors.
Telemundo is the second-largest
provider of Spanish language content in the United States. It is
owned by Comcast.