La Ropa Sucia is a fotonovela produced by ETV and designed to target both Hispanic and non-Hispanic teenagers; the title, which means “Dirty Laundry,” is based on the Hispanic adage, “La ropa sucia se lava en casa.” (“Dirty laundry is washed at home,” or “Don’t air your dirty laundry.”).

The purpose of La Ropa Sucia is to shed light on the issues facing Hispanic teens, such as racism, assimilation, and religious and sub-cultural division, as well as more universal issues such as poverty, domestic violence, access to healthcare and low self-esteem – issues that many teens may face. By examining and dramatizing the distinctions and the similarities between cultures, La Ropa Sucia aims to increase cross-cultural empathy and awareness. The project was funded in part by the Humanities Councils and was produced with the support of the Hispanic arts organization Palmetto & LUNA.

The story was conceived by Marycruz Figueroa, a first-generation American of Mexican and Guatemalan descent. She developed the project while she was an intern at ETV from Columbia College. Through her coursework there with Claudia Smith Brinson, senior lecturer of English, Figueroa discovered her affinity for video production, which led Brinson to arrange an ETV internship for her. At ETV, Figueroa worked with producer Betsy Newman, who shared Figueroa's interest in foto novelas.. Columbia College offers a track for English majors called Writing for Print and Digital Media. This program prepares students for careers in new media by honing students’ skills in research, writing, and editing, as well as print, video, and Web production. The program offers flexible groupings of courses for students interested in writing, editing, publishing, and production careers in print media, public relations, digital video, and Web publishing.

Here’s the link to view La Ropa Sucia:
http://www.knowitall.org/laropasucia/index.html