Latin Lover

I know that we are young.
 And I know you may love me.
 But I just can't be with you like this anymore.
 Alejandro...

—Lady Gaga, "Alejandro"

In Hollywood, people have more sex appeal if, in their native language, the word for love is 'amor' or 'amore' or 'amour'. We don't call them "Romance languages" for nothing.[1] Latin men are hotter than jalapeños and usually Tall, Dark and Handsome, and Latin women melt butter at a five kilometer radius with their Femme Fatale aura. Plus there's dancing. There's always dancing.

The "Poolboy" or "New Gardener" character fits this role often, which carries the Unfortunate Implication that Latin men are only seen doing menial labor.

The Latin Lover was originally from Spain or Italy, but has expanded to include Puerto Rico, Cuba, Brazil, and other Central and South American countries. Mexicans are usually not considered exotic enough for Americans, but they can also fall under the trope if handsome and smooth-talking enough.

Even though they are not "Latin" in any sense of the word, Greeks, and occasionally Lebanese or Sephardic Israelis, can be pressed into service in a similar role. In Russian pop culture, the "Latin lovers" are generally Georgian.

A related trope to Everyone Looks Sexier If French. The Romantic False Lead may be one. If his mate or children are threatened he may turn out to be a Badass Spaniard Papa Wolf.

No real life examples, please; real people are not defined by a single trope.

Examples of Latin Lover include:

Advertising

  • Played for Laughs in a British advert. A women is in desperate need of help. In comes a very Spanish guy, complete with bad accent, who helps her... clear a stain off the table. It turns out its an advert for Plenty Paper Towels. Their selling point is that they're so absorbent you only need one... so the Spanish guy is Juan Sheet.
  • Played for Laughs in a Dutch McDonald's comercial as well. A woman says goodbye to her Latin Lover. The Dutch pride themselves on being able to speak a lot of languages. The woman thinks she understands Italian too. She does not. He tells her that he loves the fact that she paid a lot of stuff for him and that he is glad that she leaves. She tells him: "Oh dear, I love you too," in English. Then the ad proceeds to say you could better buy a Italian hamburger than go to Italy.

Anime and Manga

  • Spain from Axis Powers Hetalia. It's a meme within the fandom that any discussion about him will invariably turn to "dat ass". The Italy brothers are a subversion: they both flirt incessantly, but Northern Italy apparently isn't very successful (in his very first appearance he mentions being a virgin) and is too much a Keet to really fit the type, while Southern Italy's a strongly Type-A Tsundere who turns on the charm when flirting and is moody and abrasive otherwise.
    • Seborga is very much one also-And apparently much better at being one than the Italy boys.
    • Also, Ancient Rome himself, who pretty much seduced everyone around him when he was alive.

Fan Works

Film

  • One character in the first Police Academy movie deliberately invoked this trope by using a much thicker "Latino" accent than he actually had in order to score with women.
  • Gomez in the Addams Family movies, as played by Raul Julia. (He's actually a subversion, being a Fauxreigner. Gomez, not Raul, I mean.)
  • Puss in Boots from the Shrek films, as voiced by Antonio Banderas.
  • Salma Hayek, whenever she's paired with a white guy. Or a black guy. Or an Asian guy. Or a...
  • Similarly, Penélope Cruz and Paz Vega.
  • In Tin Cup, a woman asks her friend is she's ever been with a "latin lover." Surprisingly, she's got her eye on Cheech Marin!
  • Silent-era actor Rudolph Valentino is considered one of the American Ur Examples, due to his sex appeal and large number of fangirls.
  • Buzz's Spanish mode in Toy Story 3.
  • This trope is extended to Portuguese men in Magic Beyond Words. J.K. Rowling's ex-husband Jorge Arantes falls squarely into it.
  • Enrique, a pool cleaner, in Legally Blonde, who provides an alibi for a woman accused of murdering her husband as she was with him subverted in that he was just covering her, he is actually gay.
  • The Narcoleptic Argentinian in Moulin Rouge.
  • Franco Bertollini in The Gumball Rally.
  • An Enforced Trope to such a degree during the 1940s that an Orson Welles film project entitled It's All True was killed by his studio in part because it showed that instead of being Latin Lovers to a one, at least some Brazilians were actually poor black people.

Literature

  • Subverted by Raphael Kerna in Arcia Chronicles, who comes from a Fantasy Counterpart Culture of Spain (and he is a toreador, to boot) and is the most popular guy among Arcian noblewomen thanks to his looks and mannerisms. However, he has never entered relationships with any of them. Also, his little sister Dariolo is acknowledged as the hottest girl in Arcia and even hooks up with future king Alexander, but is faaar away from a Femme Fatale,
  • Ruy Sanchez de Casador y Ortiz in 1632. This is lampshaded in one book where an "uptimer" character meets Ruy and ruminates on how the fellow bears a striking resemblance to certain Latino actors such as Ricardo Montalban and Giancarlo Giannini whose looks improved as they aged. Ruy is described several times as having an exceptionally fit physique that contrasts strikingly with his gray-haired, lined face.
  • Flaco Jimenez from Rapture Of The Deep counts, even though Jacky only has eyes for Jaimy.

Live-Action TV

  • Ricky Ricardo from I Love Lucy.
  • Robin briefly dated one (played by Enrique Iglesias) after she broke up with Ted in How I Met Your Mother.
  • Carlos "the Barracuda" DelGato of Frasier tries to be one of these. How well he succeeds is a topic for another day.
  • In one episode of Blood Ties, they meet a Hispanic incubus.
  • On The Ben Stiller Show, Ben had a recurring character called The Pig-Latin Lover, essentially a stereotypical Latin Lover, but he spoke in Pig Latin.
  • Subverted in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia when a suave latin lover approaches Dennis and gives him advice on how to be a gigolo. It turns out the guy is just a lowly dishwasher whom Frank paid to manipulate Dennis.
  • Noah's Arc: Ricky, though he mostly focuses on the physical side of love, he is very charming, suave, and flirtatious.
  • Franco from Rescue Me.
  • Subverted in Star Trek episode 'Space Seed' and movie 'The Wrath of Khan'. Ricardo Montalban typically played the Latin Lover in his other performances, but on Star Trek, he plays a Sihk, who acts very much like a Latin Lover.
  • Carla from Scrubs doesn't necessarily behave in this way, but this trope is part of what attracted Turk to her in the first place. Later on, Nurse Martinez is mentioned as eye candy for the men around the hospital (and referred to as a 'young Carla').
  • Jack gets on in Torchwood: Miracle Day. It doesn't end well.

Music

  • Pretty much every male singer that rose to popularity during the "Latin Music Boom" of the late-90's was painted with this. Marc Anthony and Ricky Martin were the two most prominent (one of which became Hilarious in Hindsight a few years later.)

Professional Wrestling

  • Eddie Guerrero (RIP), back during his Latino Heat gimmick.
  • Alberto del Rio is the upper class variant of this trope.

Stand-Up Comedy

  • Lampshaded hilariously by Russel Peters in this skit by Russel Peters. He even uses the words "Latin Lover".

Tabletop Games

  • Violet Esperanza from Deadlands.
  • The Shadows of Mexico setting for Vampire: The Requiem portray the Daeva native to that region, called Xoxocti, as priests of the gods. Thanks to centuries of foreign influence, their present day childer don't care about the old ways anymore. Instead, they use their vampiric powers to become sexy Latin pop stars, forcing their ancestors to view them as the children of kings who've been screwing whores. This Cultural Posturing is actually a large part of the setting's plot.

Theater

  • Aldolfo from The Drowsy Chaperone. Sort of. He probably thinks he's greater than he is.
  • Julio from Paint Your Wagon.

"You see how I walk? That's Castillian."

Video Games

Web Comics

  • Enriqué from this Order of the Stick strip. Also, Julio Scoundrél.
  • Irritability had one show up for a one-shot gag, touted by the narrator as "the latin lover". It turned out to be a nerdy guy who really loved the latin language.
  • In Ansem Retort, Zexion sold New Mexico to Spain in exchange for sexy Latin names (ex: Guillermo del Zexiero lo Marquis) to try to invoke this trope. He succeeds with Belle.

"I am so getting laid with this new name."

Web Original

  • Don Sebastiano of the Whateley Universe. Tall, dark, and extremely handsome, he loves the ladies. He has a long string of girls he has wooed, screwed, and abandoned (in the most humiliating way he can arrange). Campus girls still fall for him, even though everyone knows he's the biggest bastard in the entire school.

Western Animation

  • Zita Flores from Kim Possible.
  • Parodied with The Fairly OddParents' Wandissimo Magnifico, who is never in a scene wthout talking about how muy, muy macho he is. He also has a habit of tearing shirts to shreds by flexing his muscles. And then magicing a new shirt into existence. And then flexing that one to pieces. The lady fairies love him (except for Wanda, who is the one Wandissimo wants most).
  • Played with in Generator Rex. The titular character does draw the attention of several female characters, but Rex is the one being perverted.
  • Another subversion is found in 6Teen where one of the characters fall for someone who she thinks only speaks Spanish, although the viewer can see it was his unattractive friend talking in Spanish. Consequently, she attempts to learn Spanish herself. He doesn't actually speak Spanish, though, and he tries to learn Spanish himself to communicate with her. If I recall correctly, the phrase "Latin Lover" was even thrown around in the episode. Jonesy is one of these
  • Alejandro from Total Drama World Tour
  • Paulina from Danny Phantom fits somewhat, as she is the Alpha Bitch whom every boy seems to like.
  • The French dub of Pepe LePew gives him an Italian accent, making him a subversion.
  • Liz from Spectacular Spider-Man
  1. ↑ Although the reason is more that they're derived primarily from Latin, the language of the Romans, than that they are inherently romantic. But that explanation isn't very romantic!
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