Disney Is Debuting Their First Jewish Princess And Surprise! She’s Also Latina

Last week we talked about diversity, a word that reminds us that there is no “one way” to be Latinx. Also, that being diverse, or different, can be fun!

As we know, Latinos come in a variety of forms, from Black to white, tall to short. Some of us have Indigenous backgrounds or ones that come from Africa or Europe. We can also have different beliefs. Latinos practice a variety of religions, from Islam to Buddhism to Christianity.

This week on “Elena of Avalor” Elena learns that Latinos can also be Jewish.

During the episode “Festival of Lights” Elena comes to the rescue and saves the shipwrecked princess Rebecca, her brother Prince Ari, and their grandmother Bubbie. She also learns that her new friends are Jewish and from the Latino Jewish kingdom of Galonia and are on their way home to celebrate the holiday of Hanukkah.

After rescuing the royal family, Elena invites them back to her palace to celebrate Hanukkah.

There, she learns about their new traditions which include games, food, and prayers.

Through her new friends, Elena learns how to play the game of dreidel.

In this episode, Elenga gets to eat yummy chocolate coins called gelt and learns why Princess Ari’s family loves their lampstand, called a menorah, so much.

The best part of this episode is that Elena learns that Latinos can be different from eachother too and that’s a pretty beautiful thing.