“Everything about you screams virgin. You’re about as sexy as a cabbage patch kid. It’s EXHAUSTING to look at you.” Santana said to Finn in Season 1, episode fifteen of Glee. 

Naya Rivera, best known for the role of Santana Lopez on Glee, was pronounced dead on July 9th, a day after she went missing at Lake Piru. In their tribute posts to Naya, her grieving former co-stars have described her as “a force” with superb talent and impactful kindness and presence, the kind that makes it hard for others to take their eyes off. Her former colleagues had also gathered at Lake Piru, hands in hands as they stood at the edge of the lake in what seemed like a prayer for Rivera to be found. It’s not an understatement to say that she was just as loved and cherished in real life as her counterpart in the musical comedy show, if not even more. 

Santana Lopez was introduced in Glee as the villain because of her snarky comments, cruel attitude, and ill intention to join the school glee club, New Directions. She was also the co-captain of the Cheerios —McKinley High’s cheerleading team—, which conveniently outlined the mean girl archetype. Santana never missed the chance to drag Rachel Barry through the mud about her talent and appearance. For example, she claimed Rachel’s mustache was “as thick as a Middle Eastern dictator’s.” Besides being the source of provocation to drama in the glee club, Santana had proved to be a viable member of the team with her projective and rich vocal abilities. 

On paper, Santana’s purpose in the storyline was no more than to provoke the main characters to overcome their obstacles and move the story along. However, Rivera’s portrayal as the typical “high school mean girl” took on a life of its own. Rivera received recognition and praises for her performance in Glee in the first season, and her character was promoted to a series regular in the second season. This prompted Rivera’s character to become more three-dimensional as the show revealed her background, struggle with her sexuality, and increasing sympathy for the members of the glee club. Her character remained iconic in the face of competition, her pursuit of a career, loss, and love. 

Rivera’s portrayal of Santana made the fictional character, even the show, imperfectly perfect. In the grand scheme of the show, her character perfectly balanced the dynamic between the characters, especially when Rachel Barry was being overbearingly annoying and conceited. To the Gleeks, Rivera’s delivery of those infamous and humbling one-liners was a satisfactory blow to Rachel’s sizable ego and ugly tights. The one-liners were so witty yet insulting, Rivera was practically stating facts! The show wouldn’t have been completed if it wasn’t for Rivera’s portrayal of this headstrong character. 

 In Rivera’s tribute performance to her former late co-star, Cory Monteith who played Finn Hudson in the show, Rivera sang If I Die Young by The Band Perry to honor Finn’s legacy and their friendship. The performance was cut short unexpectedly due to Rivera experiencing an emotional outburst, which rendered her unable to continue the performance. By putting down her sassy façade and permitting herself to be vulnerable in front of her club-mates, she showed us that it is important to let our walls down every once in a while however impossible so that we can confront our grief and feelings with honesty and humility. 

Furthermore, Rivera impacted many young women who grew up struggling to accept their own sexuality. Rivera’s character was an outed lesbian in the show, and to many LGBT fans, Santana was the representation that they looked up to.

 In a BBC retrospective article, Imogen, an aspiring musician, stated that “watching Santana ‘thrive and have respect’ was what showed her it was ‘OK to be gay and be myself.’”

Santana Lopez was not a perfect character. She shone brightly and loved deeply, but in her moments, she could also be excruciatingly vile and wicked. But the life and effort that Rivera gave to her character were perfect. Through her acting and singing, Rivera touched the hearts of Gleeks and beyond, like how she left a mark in the show. Glee would not have been this emblematic if it wasn’t for Rivera. 

So maybe Rivera has found her own version of Fat Elvis, helping herself to a picnic of baby back ribs smothered in butterscotch pudding and tater tot grease. This is for you, Naya.

Image courtesy of BBC.COM