Mabel Cadena, unstoppable as one of the most important Latin actresses, is poised to make her major Hollywood debut as a superheroine in the eagerly anticipated Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

After a degree in psychology, the Mexico-born Cadena next directed her steps to acting, for which she studied at the CasAzul School of Performing and Audiovisual Arts of the University of Veracruz.

Earlier in her life, Cadena, at the age of 12, made her debut on television in the telenovela Rosa Diamante (2012). She continued in such well-known series as Hernán y Monarca (2019) and Señorita 89 (2022.)

Cadena’s first film role was in 2016 with Los adioses (The Goodbye) by Natalia Beristáin. In 2020, she was one of the protagonists of La diosa del asfalto (The Asphalt Goddess), a role for which she was nominated for best female co-acting at the Ariel Awards of the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences.

That same year, she starred in El baile de los 41 (Dance of the 41) with a performance that led her to be nominated again for the Ariel award, this time for best female performance.

In November, Mabel debuts as Namura, one of the protagonists of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the long-awaited MCU sequel to Black Panther. We spoke with Cadena via Zoom.

 

What was it like creating Namora? How did you get offered the Wakanda Forever character?

It was a very constructive and deconstructive thing at the same time. I auditioned without thinking if I had any chance of getting the role. I do the castings that come to me for English roles as an exercise, with no expectation of getting them.

As if to lose my fear and let go of the language. When this one arrived, the truth is that I did not know what Black Panther was. They told me it was a Disney movie, and that’s it. I hadn’t seen Black Panther and I didn’t know that the scene I was asked to do was for that movie.

I was sent several versions of the script, in Spanish, English, Nahuatl, and about three months later, they told me, “Hey Mabel, you’re still in consideration.” I replied, “Am I really still in consideration?”

I couldn’t believe it. I had to send a video demonstrating my physical abilities. I know that one of my strengths is physical. Still, I didn’t think I would get it.

I was just coming back from a vacation when my agent called me and said “Mabel, you’re in.” I could not believe it. There began a journey of fears and vulnerabilities, of recognizing yourself and believing that you deserve it.

It was about facing every one of my fears. When I received the opportunity, I was not ready; by the time I got to the set, I was completely prepared to live up to Namora and give a worthy representation of a Latin woman in the Marvel universe.

Many people are waiting for this movie. How do you deal with that pressure?

The key moment, emotionally speaking, was at Comic-Con in San Diego when they brought us all together while we watched the trailers on the monitor.

Tears came to my eyes and I told my manager, “I don’t know how to explain to you that I feel part of something bigger than a movie. Never in my life had I felt part of something much more important than fiction.”

Of course, fiction is important but that moment for me was like a reality check because I’m not used to being in an environment where Latinos are the majority in the room. That is not normal, and it is something very important, very beautiful, and transcendent. It is what I want to talk about through a superhero movie.

It became super powerful and none of us who were there knew that they were going to show the trailer. When we were about to go on that stage, I held back tears like I had never done in my adult life. It was crazy.

How important is it to feel part of and represent something as powerful as what Black Panther means?

The desire to be worthy grows! Because the importance, for me, lies in the fact that my Mabel, the little girl Mabel in me, when she found out that she was going to be in this project, she didn’t think she was capable of dealing with it. The girl Mabel was told that if she didn’t speak English, she wouldn’t be able to make it, much less play a superhero.

They told her that people like Latinas had a much longer and harder path in the United States. Being able to tell my Mabel girl now “You can!” is a lot. “And now don’t leave, prepare to live up to those works. You can with that and whatever else comes. Keep preparing yourself with the language.”

Yes, what is happening makes sense. It makes sense to me and to a generation much younger than me.

Because if this happens in my closest circle, I hope it happens with all Latinos. I was recently talking to Ismael (Cruz Cordova) who is part of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. He told me that having these types of performances helps.

It is not that stories should not be told where normally Latinos are clichés and stereotypes. Those stories also have to exist. But I think it is very important that Latinos, Mexicans, brown-haired people, and Afro-descendants feel worthy of being people with power, being superheroes, being whatever we want to be.

Until now, the possibilities have been limited. Today, I think there are many boys and girls in Mexico dressed as Namor, a role played by Tenoch Huerta. It fills my heart that these children can feel represented, can feel that their face looks like a superhero and they want to be a superhero.

Many believed that Wakanda was real. Is it possible that Wakanda Forever will now stir curiosity about the Latin culture, the Mexican culture, thanks to Namor and Namora?

I believe and hope so. I have faith that this is the case because, in all this, streaming has allowed us to start reading new narratives. Representation everywhere becomes a reference for these open doors to continue to exist. If they do not exist, there is no way to continue building that path.

I was talking about it to Yalitza Aparicio. It seems like, at least in Mexico, for women like me, a lot of things changed because of her, from the representation she had on the screen on a commercial level.

There are a lot of us wanting to work and that is why representation is important, that we want to see those actors, we can form a community and open these doors that we need to be open for the generations to come. I feel so glad about this.

Many Latina girls, when they’ll see you in the movie, will see it as an example to tell their stories as you are doing it now.

Nothing would fill my heart more and look, my heart is very full of the stories that I have had to represent but nothing excites me more about the near future than much younger generations beginning to feel that those doors that do exist today can be open, and they will be the ones who create those stories. That is even more powerful.

 

Translated by Mario Amaya