Ay Caramba, Disney!

   I love everything Disney. My kids can guide me through the Disney World parks blindfolded. We sailed on the Disney Dream cruise ship, which has everything Disney except all the walking. I even wear a Mickey Mouse watch.

   However, the latest news coming from Cinderella’s castle troubles me. Disney, the world’s largest media conglomerate, welcomed this week its latest princess, Sofia, into the fold. Sofia the First is an upcoming television series featuring the Disney princesses, and introduces Sofia as a young girl on the verge of becoming a princess. With her fair complexion, blue eyes and auburn hair, Sofia will have no problem fitting in with the animated Ya-Ya sisterhood.

   There’s only one problem: Sofia is Latina.

   When news first hit in December that Disney would introduce its newest tiara-toting diva, there was no mention of her Latina background. Until now.

   “We never actually call it out,” says vice president of Disney Junior Original Programming Joe D’Ambrosia. “It’s sort of a matter-of-fact situation rather than an overt thing.”

   Really? Sure it’s not just a company trying not to ruffle the feathers of the masses ready to plunk down dollars at your nearest Disney resort? No doubt there are some Latinas who are fair-skinned, blue-eyed and auburn-haired. But the outrage also lies in the fact there is no mention of her background, and that Sofia’s mother is from a “place with Latin influences.” So are 16.7 percent of the the U.S. population of Hispanic or Latinos, the largest ethnic or race minority in the nation.

   I applaud Disney’s efforts to reflect our diverse culture and racial makeup. In 2009, Disney took the bold step of introducing Tiana, the first African-American princess, in “The Princess and The Frog.”

   “We wanted (Tiana) to bear the traits of African-American women and be truly beautiful,” Peter Del Vecho, producer of the movie, told the New York Times.

   Someone in Disney Junior Original Programming didn’t get the memo.

   A spokeswoman for Disney released the following statement about Sofia to CNN: “The range of characters in ‘Sofia the First’ — and the actors who play them — are a reflection of Disney’s commitment to diverse, multicultural and inclusive storytelling, and the wonderful early reaction to Sofia affirms that commitment. In the story, Sofia’s mother, Queen Miranda, was born in a fictitious land, Galdiz, a place with Latin influences. Miranda met Sofia’s father, Birk Balthazar, who hailed from the kingdom of Freezenberg, and together they moved to Enchancia, where Sofia was born.”

 Nickelodeon’s Dora the Explorer and her counterpart Diego are both Latinas who embark on a trip every episode with the help of a map. They both look the part.

Give Disney the map, please.