Celebrating a Special Pride Episode of "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" on Disney+

quotThe Quinceamp241earoquot takes a pause from this season39s main storyline of the East High students in rehearsals for Beauty and the Beast to compete with the larger budget productions at their rival school North High Instead it shifts gears to our favorite little choreographer Carlos played by the adorable Frankie Rodriguez pictured at top left with Joe Serafini who is eager to commemorate his 15th birthday but has no plans to celebrate Enter his boyfriend Seb SebLos If you know you know He gathers all their friends to put together an impromptu Quinceamp241earo for Carlos Typically a Quinceamp241eara is a traditional 15th birthday celebration for young Latinas to celebrate going into young adulthood much like a Bat MitzvahquotI think it39s really special that this episode is coming out during Pridequot said executive producer and showrunner Tim Federle before the screening began quotIt39s important not just to be who you are but celebrate who you are out loudquotOnce they finally lure Carlos to Seb39s family barn which they39ve decked out in twinkling lights decorations and a big sign that reads quotFeliz Quinceamp241earoquot the celebration begins Gina Sofia Wylie pays a stunning tribute to Carlos by reinterpreting a dance he posted to Instagram at 13 years old with some fierce Latininspired singing and choreography Followed by one of the sweetest scenes I39ve ever laid eyes on Seb is at a gorgeous white grand piano to play and sing a song to his boyfriend and birthday boy Carlos but before he does he says quotYou39re not just my boyfriend you39re my hero amp8230quot and he plays the first notes of quotThe Climbquot by Miley Cyrus beautifully belting out his rendition of the song All I could think was quotget yourself someone to look at you the way that Carlos looks at SebquotIs it odd to simply call this show quotadorablequot Because it is The way the relationship between Carlos and Seb is portrayed is just so wholesome and lovely In this idealized fairy talelike world at East High everyone is loving accepting and caring of one another Not every LGBTQ story has to be filled with conflict heartache and struggle because not every LGBTQ experience is made of that Sometimes everyone is accepting and that39s what this show and episode beautifully celebratesFollowing the screening of the episode a QampampA with Frankie Rodriguez Joe Serafini and episode writerproducer Emilia Serrano was moderated by Monica Trasandes Director of Spanish Language and Latinx Media and Representation at GLAAD When asked about the importance of representation on screen Frankie said quotThere were not a lot of people who looked and acted like me in film and television The fact that I39m here now and we can get to the representation we didn39t get to see is just the bestquotAfter the QampampA Frankie and Joe reprised the performance of quotThe Climbquot but this time as a duet complete with gorgeous harmonies and Joe playing along at the piano Frankie was then presented with a silver Liberaceesque candelabra a nod to his portrayal of Lumiere in this season39s inshow production of Beauty and the Beast a sparkling pair of party shoes and a stunning Quinceamp241earo tiara That was followed by an incredible performance of the HSM classic quotWe39re All In This Togetherquot from Mariachi Arcoiris Rainbow Mariachi aptly named as they are the world39s first LGBTQ mariachi bandI39d be lying if I said I wasn39t tearing up and just gushing over this episode As a queer Latinx kid it touched my heart to see this beautiful representation on TV I wish this existed when I was a closeted teen but I39m glad I can witness it now and that all the queer kids out there can tooNew episodes of High School Musical The Musical The Series stream Fridays on DisneyClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Celebrating a Special Pride Episode of "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" on Disney+

Author

Publish date

Channel

Archived in

Juan Ayala

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Celebrating a Special Pride Episode of "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" on Disney+

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Juan Ayala

Stay in the know with more from MediaVillage

TAGS:

Cookies