It is possible that Disney has, yet again, out-done itself. On Tuesday, Disney finally launched its much-anticipated streaming service Disney+, the subscription-based platform that is set to release over 600 titles to their customers for $6.99 a month. The buzz around this service has long been building, with people expressing their excitement at the release of their long-forgotten childhood favorites since Disney+’s Twitter account tweeted out all of the titles that would become available on its launch.

For nostalgic millennials who grew up watching Disney Channel Original Movies, the premiere of this service has been nothing short of life-changing. People are taking to their social media feeds to express their excitement over forgotten favorites like “Smart House”, “Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century”, and “Don’t Look Under the Bed”. But the movie that Latinas are most excited about re-watching? “Gotta Kick It Up”. 

For those of you who need a refresher, “Gotta Kick it Up” was a 2002 Disney Channel original movie that starred America Ferrera.

The movie follows a group of middle school girls who are trying to form a dance team in Los Angeles in the face of budget cuts. Scrambling for a coach, the girls turn to their biology teacher, Ms. Bartlett, to whip them into shape. Like any underdog tale, the aspiring dance team starts off as a mess, but with a lot of hard work, the girls soon start to believe in themselves. Through the course of the movie, the girls learn how to put their differences aside and work together to eventually qualify for nationals. 

The Disney Channel movie was notable for not only having a primarily Latinx cast (which is a rarity even today), but for featuring baby-faced versions of successful Latina actresses like America Ferrera and Camille Guaty. Not only that, but the movie’s climax featured a rad dance scene that little girls everywhere tried to imitate in their living rooms (seriously–look it up).

“Gotta Kick It Up” was groundbreaking for its depiction of Latinx life that wasn’t centered on harmful stereotypes or cliche stories.

The movie was written by Meghan Cole, and was based on her experience as a Teach for America teacher at Nimitz Middle School in Huntington Park, Los Angeles. The decision to make these Latina students normal teens was a deliberate choice, according to Cole. “I wanted to have a Latino movie, with Latino kids doing great things,” she told The New York Times. “Not being stereotypical kids creating havoc”. Cole also expressed her desire for the movie to “portray positive teenage Latino role models and stress the importance of after-school programs”. 

But arguably “Gotta Kick It Up”‘s greatest legacy was teaching a legion of youngsters the phrase “Sí, se puede!” as well as the history behind it. At one point during the movie, the girls are doubting themselves and their chances of winning the upcoming dance competition. In response, Daisy, the movie’s protagonist, tells the girls a brief history of her grandmother’s involvement in the Chicano movement and tells them about how Cesar Chavez’s rallying cry “Sí, se puede!” served to strengthen and unify the Mexican-American community. Throughout the movie, the girls repeat the phrase whenever they’re happy, doubtful, or scared. 

Of course, Latinas on Twitter are not hesitating to shout from the rooftops the the return of “Gotta Kick It Up” to our TV screens.

It’s always exciting to be reminded of something that was so integral to your childhood that you may have forgotten about. The fact that Latinas can watch this movie again, as well as share it with a younger generation, is worth celebrating.

This Latina gave the entire Twitterverse a very informative PSA about Disney+’s movie catalog: 

Not all heroes wear capes.

This person had very specific requirements for the conditions under which they’d pull out their wallet for yet ANOTHER streaming service:

Honestly, the service could cost $50 a month and we would shell out the money for a chance to be able to watch this cinematic masterpiece on repeat.

This person knows that his money is being spent on only the most important things in life:

Sometimes, you’ve got to be honest with yourself and decide what your priorities are in life. And sometimes, those priorities are binge-watching Disney Channel Original Movies all day.

This Latina became emotional about the impact that “Gotta Kick It Up” had on her when she was younger:

Yet somehow, it’s frustrating to know that not that much project has been made for Latinx representation in the media almost 15 years later.

A woman selling churros on the subway, a sight as common as breakdancers, panhandlers, and school children selling candy in New York City’s central public transportation system, was arrested. The incident spurred further public outcry amidst allegations of over-policing on the trains. 

For years, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) which oversees public transportation in New York, has come under fire as New York City’s subway system has increasingly begun to decay with more trains out of service, delays, mechanical failures, and trains that run slower than they did in the 1950s due to mismanagement and poor maintenance.

Governor Andrew Cuomo’s solution was to hire 500 more subway police officers to combat fare evasion. Following the crackdown, widespread protests have occurred in response to at least two incidents where many felt officers used excessive force to thwart subway evasion and other petty crimes.

Police captured on video bringing churro vendor to tears.

In New York City it is not uncommon to see people selling helpful items or snacks on subway platforms, which is why the treatment of one churro vendor has sparked outcry on social media. Sofia Newman filmed and shared the video on Twitter. In it, the woman is crying as officers handcuff her and take away her churro cart.

Newman doesn’t remain a bystander, she shouts at the cops for harassing the woman. 

“It’s illegal to sell food inside the subway stations,” the officer told her. 

According to Newman, the woman kept trying to speak to one of the officer’s in Spanish, but a plainclothes officer kept interrupting. 

“She kept trying to speak to one of the cops in Spanish, but the plainclothes cop kept rolling his eyes and saying things like, ‘Are you done?’ and ‘I know you can speak English’ Eventually, they cuffed her and unceremoniously dragged her and her cart away,” Newman said. 

The police officers eventually take the handcuffs off of the woman and let her go, only issuing her a summons.

“No matter what the law says, there is no reason why that many officers needed to encircle, demean, and police the poverty of that woman of color,” Newman wrote on Twitter.

According to the NYPD, the woman has been issued 10 summonses for unlicensed vending, however many felt her treatment was excessive for a nonviolent crime. 

New York Comptroller and advocates criticize over-policing.

“Another incident that raises serious questions about the increased police presence in our subways,” New York City Comptroller, Scott M. Stringer tweeted. “This kind of enforcement doesn’t make anyone safer.”

Governor Cuomo seems to have little support for increase in police form as the New York Times notes. Police Commissioner James O’Neil (who resigned a week ago) said overall crime is down and the subway is safe, despite Cuomo’s assertions otherwise. 

AOC has also voiced her opinions on community justice and the subway system.

Transit advocates say the cost is too high and as the MTA’s financial crisis looms, service cuts and major layoffs are being considered. The 20 percent increase in officers would cost taxpayers $663 million over a decade. Some wonder if that money would be better spent bailing out the MTA and repairing the poorly functioning subway.

According to the New York Times, “Transit groups have urged Mr. Cuomo to cancel the plans for new officers, who would work for the transit agency rather than the city’s police department, as the current force does. The governor, they say, should instead focus resources on modernizing the subway, which still relies on signal equipment that was introduced before World War II.”

Protests spawn following allegations of subway police using excessive force.

Others felt that adding more police to the subway would lead to more policing of people of color and criminalizing of the poor who must pay $6.50 to commute to work every day in a city with a $15 minimum wage and where the average one-bedroom apartment cost $2964 to rent per month.

Those fears appeared to be a self-fulfilling prophecy when a video of a cop tackling a 19-year-old unarmed teen, Adrian Napier, for evading a $2.75 surfaced. A few days later another officer was caught punching two teenagers in the face, one of which is suing. 

“There is no excuse for the excessive use of force and hyperaggressive policing we saw in these two incidents,” Jumaane Williams, the city’s public advocate, said at a news conference at City Hall.

To protest the subway police, 1,000 demonstrators marched through the subway and “hopped” the turnstiles, evading the fares together in solidarity. 

“We needed to react quickly because what we’re seeing is this additional 500 cops that Cuomo has authorized are waging a war on poor people of color,” Amin Husain, an organizer with Decolonize This Place, told Gothamist. 

“If the city isn’t going to listen to the people, then the people are going to assert their legitimacy. I don’t think anyone disagrees: there should be less cops and better service for the MTA.”