Minorities and ethnic groups don't always get a lot of attention in American popular culture. Yet, the latino community is beginning to gain more reconginition. The characters listed below are latino or latina.

DC Comics

Bane

If you saw Christopher Nolan's 2012's smash hit The Dark Knight Rises then you definitely remember Bane. The big, gruff character might have been played by Englishman Tom Hardy in the film, but make no mistake, the character's Latino roots run deep. Though TDKR was Bane's highest profile appearance ever, comic book readers know that he's been a key cog in the Batman universe for some time now. Bane was also a minor villain in Joel Schumacher's loveably cheesy 1997 film Batman & Robin.

El Gaucho

El Gaucho also known by his alias Santiago Vargas is a Argentinian crime fighter. The term "Gaucho" refers to groups of people who reside in South America's grasslands and deserts. Vargas is a character of medium importance in the Batman cannon. He's neither a big star or a lesser, role-playing character. He was a part of "Batmen of all Nations," a supergroup not unlike the Justice League. The name of the group was later the Club of Heroes. When the Club of Heroes disbanded for good Vargas decided to strike out on his own. He draws his crime fighting inspiration from Batman.

Wildcat

Not to be confused with the superhero tandem Wildcats, this Latina superhero made her debut in Infinity Inc. #12 way back in 1985. She's still not a household name, but this super heroine still backs a punch.

Blue Beetle

The third incarnation of the Blue Beetle took on a different tone than his predecessors. The Latino Blue Beetle, also known as Jaime Reyes, first appeared in Infinite Crisis #3.

TV Shows

Isaac Mendez

Heroes premiered on NBC in the Fall of 2005. It ran for four seasons between 2005 and 2009. As the shows title suggests, the premise was all about ordinary people gaining extraordinary abilities. The first season was undoubtedly the best of the bunch. Heroes combined bombastic visual effects with a cinema quality musical score. The show was further bolstered by the vast amount of original characters it introduced such as painter Isaac Mendez.

Mendez was one of, if not, my favorite character. He was a brilliant painter, yet he succumbed time and time again to his heroin addiction. Despite the negative effects the drug had on his body, like forcing him to become a recluse, the dashing artist was granted a stroke of genius. By painting under the influence of heroin, Mendez could tell predict the future. Not only were his paintings mad skillful, but the events he predicted came true with a dizzying degree of accuracy. Unfortunately, Mendez was killed off at the end of the first season. Not long after his death, Heroes started to run out of ideas and lose relevancy.

Kennedy

The 1990s was ripe with cult shows and Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the king of them all. While Buffy herself (played by Sarah Michelle Geller) was caucasian, the Latina community was well-represented with Kennedy. Willow's new love interested was introduced during season seven as a replacement for the deceased Tara. Kennedy quickly became known for her tenacity and grit while serving as a bodyguard.

Movies

Spy Kids

Remember Spy Kids? Studio executives didn't realize how much of a hit the 2001 film would become. They figured it would be a modest, one-off success. However, with inventive director Robert Rodriquez at the helm, it exceed all expectations and became a bankable franchise for years to come. The flick starred a lovable brood of semi-retired spies and their precocious children. Antonio Banderas, Alex Vega, and Danny Trejo were among the latino/a stars cast in the film. Alan Cumming, who currently stars in The Good Wife, makes for a great super-villain. If you've never seen the flick it's really good and it still holds up today. Spy Kids also shattered any notion that films with latino themes couldn't compete at the U.S. box office.

Zorro

" ... It's not just one man, damn it, it's ZORRO!" - Don Rafael, (The Mask of Zorro, 1998)

Zorro has a long history in the literature, TV, film and comic book mediums. The character was first introduced in the 1919 novel The Curse of Capistrano. Legendary director Douglas Fairbanks (one of United Artists co-founders) adapted the novel and brought Zorro to the silver screen in 1920. Called The Mask of Zorro, the black and white silent film was a rousing success. Film scholars consider The Mask of Zorro to be one of the most enduring films of the 1920s. Antonio Banderas also portrayed the mask hero in 1998's The Mask of Zorro remake. That effort was followed up by the 2005 sequel The Legend of Zorro.

Dora the Explorer

Everyone's favorite child explorer may not officially fit the label of Superhero, but don't tell that to the millions of children of all nationalities around the world. Dora's the Explorer dropped on Aug. 14, 2000. It's been airing continuously since that time. You can catch up with Dora by tuning in to Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. Dora "was developed to be pan-Latina to represent the diversity of Latino cultures."