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“I just decided to start talking about these women that inspired me,” Cortes said. “I felt like they weren’t being recognized or acknowledged. ... I wanted to put their names out there, their stories out there and hopefully connect with someone and have another young Latina find someone that they can see themselves in.”

Cortes began a series on her account called “Bad a— Latinas in History.” In every video Cortes highlights a different Latina and shares how she helped change the world. She began her series honoring Mexican film actress María Félix and has now highlighted nearly 100 influential Latina woman through her videos.

“I've talked about Rita Moreno, how she was the first Latina to win an Oscar, or Sylvia Mendez who and her and her mom helped end segregation in California, which set a precedent to end segregation in the entire country,” Cortes said. “I felt like their stories were so important. ... So I wanted to put them out there and hopefully connect with someone who had never heard about them before.”

@fernandacortesx

Whats your favorite TV show/Movie of hers? 🥰🇭🇳 ##latina ##latino ##tiktoklatino ##americaferrera

♬ Steven Universe - L.Dre

Cortes also hopes through educating others about her culture and influential Latinas, she can help end negative stereotypes about the Latin community and her home country of Mexico.

“I think my culture is so beautiful, and it's so deep and so rich, and my country is so much more than the negative stereotypes and the negative ideals that the media oftentimes puts,” Cortes said.

“I would love there to be accurate education and accurate representation in schools,” Cortes said. “I would love to be able to have a more diverse education about different cultures, because I feel like these kids need to learn about their cultures, and they need to connect with their culture. I fully believe that this country is a melting pot. So I think we need to diversify the history in school.”

@fernandacortesx

Happy pride month everyone!! ❤️🌈 ##ForYourPride ##latina ##tiktoklatino ##marshapjohnson ##sylviarivera

♬ original sound - Fernanda Cortes

Cortes has built a following of nearly 500,000 people with her videos and said while she hopes to educate others she also hopes to bring the Latin community closer to their roots.

“I want to bring the Latin community together. I feel like we’re not as unified as we need to be,” Cortes said. “I definitely have gotten messages with people saying that they appreciate my content because it makes them feel closer to their roots. Those are the messages that mean so much to me, because I believe that it's never too late to get in touch with your roots in any way possible.”

Editor's note: This was originally published on Sept. 20, 2021.

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