A common feature of the vast majority of fighting games is the representation of many countries and cultures in their fighter rosters. It is very nice to find a character that shares our nationality or is similar to us when playing. One of these titles is The King of Fighters XV, which has an excellent participation from Latin America thanks to names like Ramón, Ángel, King of Dinosaurs (Tizoc) and Isla. But three of them are from Mexico and one from Chile. What about the representation of Colombia in KOF?
The previous installment of this saga of fighting games did have a fighter from our country. However, his nationality went unnoticed because everything seemed to indicate that his place of birth was a different country from Latin America. It’s time to remember Zarina, the only character from Colombia who has been through the King of Fighters tournament.
Zarina made her debut in The King of Fighters XIV (KOF XIV), released in 2016. In this title he was part of a team with boxer Nelson and ninjutsu practitioner Bandeiras Hattori. Both of them are of Brazilian nationality and we know, from the history of the game, that their partner also lives in that country.
But they are Team South America, not Team Brazil. That’s because, despite his place of residence, Zarina was not born in the land of samba, but in “the country of the Sacred Heart.” The “problem” is that there doesn’t seem to be much in it that represents us.
Colombian or Brazilian
If we take a look at the official page of the character on the SNK website, we will notice that his hobby is dancing samba, the traditional dance of Brazil. His attire wears the colors yellow and green, representative of the flag of that country. Although her fighting style is simply described as “kicking techniques”, seeing her in action makes it clear that she is inspired by capoeira, a Brazilian martial art.
The story of Zarina’s team in KOF XIV it does not make any reference to Colombia, but it does refer to Rio de Janeiro. Nor its end in the same gameni in the of SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy, the other game he appears in. The same thing happens in the end of the gaw team KOF XVin which he makes a cameo.
Due to all this, there are those who believe that SNK did not create Zarina as Colombian. There is a theory that the South American team in KOF XIV actually it was originally called the Brazil team, but it was changed to make it “more international” and that caused them to change the character’s birthplace to another. This is probably false. One of the conceptual art of the game shows her with a hat turned, one of the most representative icons of our culture.
That indicates that SNK definitely did consider including Colombian elements in the character’s design. The truth is that we like this appearance more than the final one.
In defense of Zarina’s ‘Colombianity’
In April 2021, the Colombian player from KOF TxC Khriz posted a thread on Twitter in which she spoke in depth about Zarina and explained which of her characteristics make her a good representative of our land.
Its main argument is in the names of the characters’ movements, which refer to one of the main export products of our country: flowers. The floral effects of his movements show yellow flowers on screen, which may be based on yellow orchids or yellow San Joaquin flowers. Both are common in our country.
Khriz also brings up his pet toucan, Coco. Although many associate this bird with Brazil, the truth is that it inhabits a large part of South America: from southern Mexico to northern Argentina.
Finally, there is a reference to Colombia in Zarina, but it is not found in KOF. The ends of the long ribbon from one of her alternate costumes from the game SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy They have the flag of our country.
On the other hand, her other costume in the same game is inspired by the samba dancers of the Rio de Janeiro Carnivalthe traditional Brazilian festival.
Colombians in video games
None of this is meant to be a criticism of this character. We love Zarina and would love to have her back in KOF XV. We also have nothing against the Brazilian part of his personality and history. However, we cannot deny that we would like to feel something more “Colombian” in it and not have to compete against the elements that it takes from Brazil.
But this is a double-edged sword. We are sadly used to seeing Colombian characters in fiction who fall into the most unpleasant stereotypes possible. How many Colombian drug traffickers, gang members and other criminals have we seen in movies and television series?
We definitely would not want to see Zarina pigeonholed in this way in the clichés that affect the image of Colombia. It is also true that the characters do not have to have a clear distinction indicating their nationality. Would anyone know that Ángel is Mexican without reading her biography?
What we can conclude is that there is a painful lack of characters from Colombia in video games. removing to the villains we eliminate when we go through our country in games like Hitman and the unpleasant protagonist of a certain police game there aren’t many left. We have Tavo ‘Nomad’ Rojas and Sebastian Vargas, from Call of Duty; Emilio Narino, of Rainbow Six; to Zarina and… is that all?
We want more positive representation of Colombia in video games!
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