For those of you who watch Saturday Night Live, I have some good news! In 41 seasons of being on air, Saturday Night Live has never had a Latina cast member—finally they have changed that. Her name is Melissa Villasenor, a Mexican-American from Whittier, CA. She has been doing stand up for 10 years and was also a in the top 16 finalist on “America’s Got Talent,” where she did impersonations of Britney Spears and Kathy Griffin. She also has worked with the Latin comedy network Mas Mejor. 
The show has had Latina hosts including Jennifer Lopez, Eva Longoria, and Cameron Diaz. However, SNL has had only two Latino men as cast members on the show: Horatio Sanz (1998-2006) and Fred Armisen (2002-2013).  And they have never had a Latina woman. Most times, SNL has had non-Latina cast members play Latinas on the show. For example, Cecily Strong (of European descent) has played one character named “Mimi Morales,” a political activist. Latino audiences have spoken about how certain stereotypes portrayed were harsh. 
SNL came under criticism back in November 2015, when writer Tanzina Vega wrote an article #StillNoLatinas for CNN explaining how the show lacks diversity. This is not the first time SNL has been criticized. The lack of African-American women cast members was criticized until 2007, when they hired Sasheer Zamata after a six-year hiatus following Maya Rudolph’s departure from the show. 
Many people are thrilled about Villasenor’s debut on SNL. Twitter users have congratulated her and praise her for her talents. Villasenor auditioned for SNL back in 2009, but did not get the part then. Her response to the rejection was that she was ok with not getting the part, because she had much more to learn and work on.
Villasenor said SNL was one of the main reasons why she had wanted to pursue a career in comedy, inspiring her since she was 15 years old. Season 42 of Saturday Night Live premieres Oct. 1! Make sure to check it out and see Melissa Villasenor!