Turn on a Mexican television news program nowadays and the chances are you won’t see a man telling us that it’s going to rain tomorrow.
Most likely you will see a young woman, attired in a slim-fitting mini-skirt, dispensing information about temperatures, cold fronts, wind patterns and other meteorological phenomena.
If you live in Monterrey, you’ll be able to admire Televisa’s Yanet Garcia, a weather presenter who has become an internet sensation in a matter of months, obtaining more than 700,000 followers on her Instagram page. She’s already a subject of interest for gossip magazines on both sides of the Atlantic thanks to a curvy figure that has been likened to celebrity Kim Kardashian.
Garcia, 24, was training to be a model before she was plucked to go before the cameras as a weather “expert.”
In a recent article in Spanish daily El Pais, Garcia explained how she had a “great responsibility” to present herself in the most attractive way possible. “We are women who others want to aspire to.”
The fierce competition for ratings between rivals Televisa and TV Azteca dominates the country’s broadcasting industry and has led to both networks battling for the hottest “chicas del clima” (weather girls).
“At the end of the day, we’re a commercial network. If the sponsor has a beautiful woman at the helm, the impact of their product will be better,” said Mauro Morales, chief of weather at Televisa Monterrey.
Garcia credits Morales for teaching her about meteorology and how to be “pleasant on camera.”
But El Pais wonders whether such “education” also includes walking in tight dresses with her back to the camera, or bending over provocatively to point out markings on a weather map.
For many females observers, this kind of television simply reinforces the prevailing stereotype in Mexico that the value of a woman is still dependent on her looks.
“Machismo in Mexico is part of the national identity. It comes from the Revolution and persists in rural communities. Television is just a reflection of the reality of our country,” well-known anthropologist Marta Lamas told El Pais.
Supporting this view: When a major climatic phenomenon such as a hurricane hits Mexico, male presenters with backgrounds in weather are usually wheeled out in front of the cameras to replace the women.
In interviews with gossip magazines, Garcia has admitted her good looks certainly helped her get the position but stresses that keeping up appearances is not easy and that she has to work hard to keep in shape by jogging, boxing and doing yoga.
How long Garcia will stay on our screens giving us tomorrow’s forecast? As her fame and social media status grow, new avenues are certain to open up. In her latest coup, she posed in lingerie for a men’s magazine.
Kim Kardashian watch out!