Few game releases can completely dominate the conversation both online and offline quite like Grand Theft Auto 6. But among all the talk about returning to Vice City, ridiculous world-building details, and whatever crimes we will inevitably commit, there’s another reason some fans are excited. GTA 6 Extended Look Trailer 3 on Netflix seems to have captured that enthusiasm particularly well.
“Dominican! Dominican, Dominican mentioned in GTA 6!” yelled the popular Dominican content creator Fanum. In another clip, he was seen dancing and chanting along to the tune of Se Me Nota (Agarrame) as Jason and Lucia entered Megamundo Corp’s swanky party. The Latin urban music from Dominican artists Chimbala and Omega itself has hit more than 817,000 streams on Spotify.
It’s a small moment, but one that showcased just how far Latin American representation in games has come. And how much potential Rockstar has with its newest GTA 6 protagonist.
Of course, Latin American characters aren’t anything new to video games. They’ve appeared across countless franchises over the decades. From the Matsudas of Street Fighter and Tekken‘s Christie Monteiro to Lucio and Sombra in Overwatch or the loyal Jackie Welles in Cyberpunk 2077. But as you might have noticed, they’re not the main draw for each game.
The GTA series has long featured characters from different Latin American backgrounds, too. Especially in its Miami-inspired Vice City, such as the Colombian drug lord Ricardo Diaz as well as the Bolivian brothers Armando and Diego Mendez. Perhaps, Ballad of Gay Tony‘s protagonist Luis Lopez, can be seen as a trial for Rockstar to delve further into this rich heritage.
But, again, none has occupied the position Lucia now does in a modern mainline entry.
She’s one of GTA 6‘s two protagonists, sharing the spotlight with Jason across Rockstar’s marketing. Unlike Ubisoft’s often flip-flopping approach to male-female lead, Lucia is always side-by-side on the artwork and trailers. Sometimes even straight front and center. When millions of people eventually boot up GTA 6, they’ll no doubt be experiencing part of the crime epic through her perspective. A perspective written with her Latina background as its base.
That sheer scale of audience matters. After all, this isn’t a niche passion project like South of Midnight or an experimental indie game like Never Alone (Kisima Inŋitchuŋa). Which, let’s be honest, won’t have as much mainstream or commercial impact as GTA 6, the follow-up to one of the best-selling games ever made.
There’s something different about seeing a character who shares part of your culture or background at the center of a massive AAAA release. As someone who’s a native of a country most people won’t be able to point to on a map, I can relate to Fanum’s or other minority gamers’ zeal. It’s always amusing when Balinese representation appears in Western or Japanese-made works, even if I’m not particularly nationalistic.
Then, there’s her position as the series’ main female lead. Not saying that the games have never had important female characters. Catalina practically fueled Claude’s entire revenge road trip, while Amanda and Michael’s dysfunctional marriage was integral to GTA 5‘s plot. Sure, you could say that “Ackshually, 2D era GTAs had playable female characters,” but do top-down palette swaps really count for representation?
Nevertheless, Rockstar doesn’t seem interested in turning Lucia into another caricature of the ‘strong female character.’ The GTA 6 Netflix trailer certainly establishes that she can handle herself. Lucia can throw punches, bench press, and get her hands dirty alongside Jason when things go south. But being tough doesn’t make her invincible super badass. When armed robbers suddenly ambush her, Lucia still gets her wind knocked out and has to struggle to fend them off.
Lucia being Latina, though, doesn’t automatically make her a good representation for the Latin American community. Just as being GTA‘s first actual female protagonist doesn’t automatically make her a well-written character.
Perhaps that’s where Rockstar can push things further as GTA 6 has the kind of reach no game could ever dream of. Lucia could help normalize the idea that the face of a gaming blockbuster doesn’t always have to fit the same familiar mold. Just like movies or books. If the character fits the world and, more importantly, is actually written well, the audience will have someone worth caring about.
Meanwhile, her background can be used to put cultural references most won’t know about at the forefront. I don’t think GTA 6 can accomplish that alone. But with an audience this enormous, Rockstar has all the opportunity to move things much closer in that direction.
Representation isn’t only about putting someone different than the majority on the box. It’s giving them enough room to be an actual character once they’re there.
