Arresting bad guys, protecting her friends, and taking care of her family. It’s what Angela Lopez (Alyssa Diaz) works to do on “The Rookie.” In Season 1, Episode 1, “Pilot,” Angela is introduced as Jackson West’s (Titus Makin Jr.) training officer. She has since been promoted to detective, been abducted by cartel leader La Fiera (Camille Guaty), and faced off against Elijah Stone (Brandon Jay McLaren). She even works cases while on maternity leave. It’s her strength and power that have given her the nickname La Adelita, and it’s a nickname with a lot of history behind it.
Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) mentions the nickname while telling the Metro team that Lopez should be their spotter in Season 5, Episode 14, “Death Sentence.” In a video on “The Rookie” Facebook page, Diaz explained, “It’s in reference to female soldiers who went in to fight during the Mexican Revolution.” According to research from The Strachwitz Frontera Collection of Mexican and Mexican American Recordings at UCLA, while some of these key players in the war supported their husbands as they fought, historians have found that many of these female soldiers joined the war as a way to survive while others were kidnapped to serve men. La Adelita would also become the name of a popular song.
And Angela Lopez is not the only strong female character on “The Rookie.”
The ladies that are leading The Rookie
Angela Lopez is just one of the many female officers who are running into danger on “The Rookie.” That includes Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil), an officer who first appeared as a rookie herself and has since taken on undercover work. And she’s learning from Nyla Harper (Mekia Cox), who leaves undercover work to become a training officer and later a detective. Rookie Cellina Juarez (Lisseth Chavez) is a new addition to the team, using her spiritual insights to solve cases.
Alyssa Diaz and her cast members did a lot of research while preparing to play police officers. Diaz told KTLA 5 that she got to do ride-a-longs with the Los Angeles Police Department. “The first five minutes of one of my ride-a-longs, someone was getting arrested for having a gun in their car. So, we did a high-risk arrest,” she said. Diaz told ABC Action News that getting to play an officer on TV has been a humbling experience. “To really put myself in the shoes of what these individuals do to go above and beyond and to be so selfless … It’s been an amazing gift to experience as an actor, and also what comes with that. You know, especially as a female officer … What is that like with a partner? What is that like when you start a family? What is that like when you have a fight? How do all of these things affect you at work?” she said.
Read More: https://www.looper.com/1288133/rookie-season-5-la-adelita-meaning-explained/
