Elena of Avalor: A Costume and Character with Heritage

By Ayush Kudesia

"The right girl from the multicultural world," is what people say about the newest member in the vast Disney Princess universe. They aren't wrong. From her character to her very looks and costume, Elena redefines the word "multicultural." Taking place in the same universe as Sofia The First, it simply revolves around the Latina princess and her family. The story may seem a little cliched, but it still brings everything you'd expect from a Disney Princess series. The story is set in the spellbinding fairytale land of Avalor. The series Elena of Avalor tells the story of Elena, a plucky and venturesome teenager is encountered with the task of saving her kingdom; a pretty big feat for a princess who is not even old enough to be queen.  Until then, she has to rule as crown princess.

In recent years, Disney has faced a lot of criticism for its lack of diversity in costumes, character development and portrayal of stories. But after the introduction of the Latin-American princess, everyone is appreciating Elena of Avalor for holding up the mix-match of a variety of different cultures together. The portrayal of Elena can be called very positive and feministic. Children, especially girls, are loving her character and costume, and parents are happy with the diversity Disney has brought in. Disney has already announced that Elena will not have a love interest, and her relationship with every male character in the series will be platonic. As they said, "She's her own hero." We definitely will have to wait and see what an impact it leaves on the new generation of kids, but we're hoping it's a step in the right direction.

Elena of Avalor may seem like a streamlined Disney princess's story at first, but surprisingly, it isn't. Elena's character is profoundly influenced by her Latin heritage. And that's not it! The iconic costume that we see our princess wearing isn't a normal one either. The moment we hear the two words "Disney" and "Princess" together, an image of a girl wearing traditional puffy gown and gloves comes to our minds immediately. That's not really the case with Elena of Avalor. Her costume is decisively influenced by conventional Spanish fashion used in Flamenco dance form. Even the Ruby Red color which is so highly used in Spanish and Latin fashion, which is exactly the color of her costume: and that's what makes Elena's character so special and unique from other Disney Princesses.

Not just her character and costume, but the stories are influenced by miscellaneous Latin and Hispanic cultures. We can see it through the customs, food, traditions, and especially architecture. The influence of Latin music styles like Mariachi, Latin Pop, Salsa, Banda and even Chilean Hip Hop can also be noticed in the series. Original songs from these styles have been featured in every episode of the series. The diverse appearance of Princess Elena just brings more and more influence of different heritages and cultures. Her strong personality needed a costume that does it justice. She needed to look elegant, and yet confident, which we can see in her amber-brown eyes all the time. The way the red sleeveless costume blends with her olive skin, red ruby lips and brown hair is phenomenal. It won't be long until her already growing popularity reaches its maximum level and girls everywhere start demanding the same vibrant red costume of her new favorite Disney Princess: Elena of Avalor.