Someone sent out a racist casting call in an ad for Mexican airline Aeroméxico, but most of the parties involved are passing the buck. The casting call for an airline commercial raised tempers earlier this week for specifying that the audition people were looking for actors with a "light complexion" and adding that "no one dark-skinned" should apply for the opening. In response to the ensuing outcry, Aeroméxico has issued an apology, but cast the blame on Catatonia, the agency to which it contracts out advertising work. Catatonia, in turn, posted on its Twitter account that it regretted the situation and said a third company had sent out the call containing "inappropriate" language.
Aside from specifying what skin color applicants should have, the airline had said in the call for actors that it was going for a "Polanco look" -- a reference to Mexico City's wealthiest, whitest and most exclusive district. According to the Associated Press, the casting call also said producers didn't want anyone with blond hair or blue eyes. See the original casting call below.
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"We offer our deepest apology and reaffirm our respect for all people, without regard to their gender, language, religion or skin color," Aeroméxico said in a statement. It blamed Catatonia for what it qualified as a "discriminatory attitude."
"We regret this situation, which in no way reflects our thinking as a company or as individuals," Catatonia said on its Twitter account.
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The controversy has renewed debates over racism in Mexico, a nation of strong indigenous roots where most people are of mixed ancestry. According to La Jornada, some 6.7 million Mexicans -- of a nation of 112 million people -- speak an indigenous language in addition to Spanish. Discrimination in hiring on the basis of race is illegal in Mexico, but in a June survey of 5,200 Mexico City residents by the capital's government, 93 percent of respondents said they believed discrimination against indigenous people in Mexico exists. Skin color actually came in second in the list of most frequent causes of discrimination in that survey, behind poverty. But the two may be related -- across the nation, the indigenous population constitutes between ten and 15 percent of the population, but 80 percent of indigenous live below the poverty line.
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The airline's call created a firestorm on social media, where news of it first spread. Blogger Tamara de Anda told the AP on Friday that she had been taken aback when she saw it.
"I always get these racist ads, but they've never been so explicit," she said.
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