Rico Suave

Rico Suave was a recurring character on Hannah Montana. He was one of the characters that had been part of not just the life of Miley but the Stewart family.

Rico is one of Miley and Jason's schoolmates. He is fairly shorter than the rest of his schoolmates, hence he is often the center of jokes. Yet Rico has an advantage. He owns a food stand at the local beach. Whoever makes fun of him at the school, Rico ensures to get a payback at his food stand.

Another plot that is significant to the story is his relation with Stewart siblings. Jason works at the food stand for Rico, making Jason helpless sometimes. While Rico has a crush on Miley who often requests dates and dance with her. Miley sometimes denies while other times agrees.

The character of Rico did not feel relevant to me back then. But now I understand the significance of this character.

Every school, college, or any establishment, there always is one person who is shorter than most people. A lot of times, they become the topic of jokes. Their height becomes a the center of remarks around them. It is disheartening that even the educated people still indulge in such demeaning behavior. The inclusion of Rico's character in Hannah Montana could have been an attempt to teach viewers to refrain from making harmful remarks towards any person's physical attributes. I believe it was an important lesson in a subtle manner.

Another aspect that I saw with Rico's character was his power. He would tolerate the jokes about him only to respond to them in his own ways at the food stand. These actions taught the viewer that power dynamics may change. If one feels powerful at one place, that power may not stay with them forever. Maybe someone else would have more power at another place or instance. Also, to me it felt like Karma in action. Whatever we do we would reap the fruits of it. Bad behavior with Rico at school resulted in bad service at his food stand. These events were giving a message that we should behave and act in good ways.

There was a negative aspect of Rico too. At various instances Rico has been shown to be a terrible business owner. He underpays Jason. He often adds conditions towards rewards. He is often shown to behave badly as an employer. This was a lesson for the viewers to stand up for themselves and seek justice. It told that bad behavior and injustice should not be tolerated. We must raise our voice to stop the injustice and bullying.

Rico's character was grey in my opinion. However it served as a good character for teaching values of strength, resilience, and justice. His character was the one we would love to hate and hate to love. His character was likable but next moment it would change the way we think.

Though Rico was a part of the sub plot of the series, his character proved to a significant one to teach various values to the viewers.

Readers, what is your take?