Dalia Xiuhcoatl in Bacalar, Mexico Lensed by Raul Tovar for Vogue Mexico & Latin America

The December 2023/January 2024 issue of Vogue Mexico/Latin America [IG] takes us to Bacalar, a town in southeastern Mexico near the Belize border. Bacalar is also called the Lagoon of Seven Colors due to its blue and turquoise hues and dreamy landscape.

The fashion story features actor Dalia Xiuhcoatl, styled by Tanya Ortega and lensed by Raul Tovar [IG].

AMAZON PRIME VIDEO’s New Zorro Series

Actor Dalia Xiuhcoatl has a supporting role in Amazon PRIME videos remake of the story of Zorro. The new Zorro series incorporates the Native American aspect of Zorro's mythos, making Diego an outsider as the masked hero.

The PRIME series is a Spanish production that does some major retelling of the original Zorro story — an improvement we can appreciate now that we are all more ‘woke’ on the inherent flaws of historical storytelling from the white person’s perspective only.

The series is set in 1830s California, which joined the United States in 1850, and is on Amazon PRIME America now.

Playing Nah-Lin, a member of Cuervo Nocturno’s tribe and the sister of the previous Zorro, Dalia Xiuhcoatl’s character is named for a real-life famous warrior, a female who is a legendary figure in the oral history of the region’s Indigenous people.

The story begins with Diego de la Vega returning from military training in Spain after learning of his father’s mysterious death, following the story line of the original Zorro. Back home, he sets out to investigate how his father died. 

Nah-Lin is the sister of the murdered former Zorro and feels she is the rightful heir to the title. But the spirits choose Diego instead. Tension between the new Zorro Diego and Nah Lin is pervasive in the drama.

Dalia Xiuhcoatl said she loved the script. “The series goes beyond stereotypes about Indigenous people and really shows that the white man’s justice isn’t always the justice of the oppressed.”

The screenwriter and creator of the series, Carlos Portela was committed to opening the Zorro world to Indigenous characters, as well as the Chinese, Russians and English who populated 19th-century California. This is the real history of California.

Miguel Bernardeau, a Spanish actor playing the new Zorro, hired his sister’s history teacher to gain insight into California’s history. “It was teeming with all sorts of people. The culture clash is very interesting, and the script reflects that.”

And now, my friends, we know why the beautiful actor and activist Dalia Xiuhcoatl was featured in the pages of Vogue Mexico’s December/January issue.