Ugly beauty

The title character of the ABC series ‘‘Ugly Betty’’ is a smart, ambitious, endearing Latina who doesn’t give up easily despite working at a fashion magazine packed with superficial, backstabbing beauties. At home in Queens, she speaks English and Spanish, takes care of her father, sister, and nephew, and talks about her quinceanera, or sweet 15th birthday celebration.

In this ugly-duckling character, some Latinas are seeing a positive role model and they’re seeing a little of themselves reflected on the TV screen.

Betty Suarez may not be a looker with her braces, curves, bushy hair, and Guadalajara poncho, but she shines through her humble integrity. She also breaks the mold of the stereotypical Latina hoochie, maid, or gang member so often portrayed on network television. (Slutty desperate housewife Gabrielle Solis, anyone?)

On message boards, at work, and in social groups, Hispanic women are saying the fictional Betty Suarez rings true %in many ways. Not that they see themselves as unattractive women, but they say Betty represents the experience of first-generation Latinas who try to fit %into the mainstream while negotiating a bicultural reality.

‘‘Her persona in terms of her personality is what Latinas strive to be every day,’’ says Ana Pereira, 27, who lives in Roxbury’s Fort Hill and watches the show every Thursday night (at 8 p.m. on Channel 5). ‘‘You want to be a hard worker and be successful and go into any profession you want.’’

Pereira, who is from Venezuela, remembers watching the original Colombix an telenovela ‘‘Yo Soy Betty La Fea,’’ which aired on Telemundo and that ABC adapted for American audiences. A producer at Univision in Needham, Pereira says her fellow chicas talk about the new show and how they’re glad that the character remained a Latina in her crossover to the United States.

‘‘She has all these amazing qualities, and she has these high levels of ethics and morals,’’ Pereira says. ‘‘In that sense, she is the super Latina woman, because she fulfills her professional desires and she’s the good daughter.’’

In case you haven’t met Betty Suarez, she’s a fashion-awkward, portly Latina from Queens who lands a job at Mode fashion magazine with dreams of running her own publication one day. (In the original, Suarez works at a fashion house in Colombia.) In her new Manhattan setting, Suarez stands out immediately in the realm of haute couture and toothpick-thin office women.

Betty has attracted a following because her character is the unlikely Hispanic heroine. With her dark, thick hair and plump build, she bucks Hollywood’s perceptions of beauty — the blond and busty ‘‘Baywatch’’ type or the rail-thin model.

Suarez is average and optimistic, something that endears her to viewers, Latino or not.

‘‘I think everybody, not just Latinas, can identify with her,’’ says Rian Montgomery of Nashua, who launched uglybettyblog.com to gab about the show. ‘‘She is not skinny or super-pretty, and I think that’s why a lot of people like her, for her flaws. She is always cheerful, regardless of what is going on, and happy despite all the problems she has in her life.’’

America Ferrera, the 22-year-old Honduran-American actor who plays Suarez, said in an interview that she connects with her character because of their common struggle to fit in as a Latina in American culture. ‘‘Being in the entertainment industry and not being the picture of what is a stereotypical successful [actress] has made me relate to the character,’’ she told the Globe in September. "My journey in Hollywood parallels Betty’s."

Despite her role as a lowly assistant, Betty is the only Latina character on prime-time network TV who anchors a show. Unlike characters played by Eva Longoria in ‘‘Desperate Housewives’’ or Roselyn Sanchez on CBS’s ‘‘Without a Trace,’’ who are part of ensembles, Betty Suarez is the heart, soul, and namesake of her own show, which is the top-rated new series this season, according to the Nielsen ratings.

"She’s really a metaphor for US Latinos in general and their standing as ‘ugly ducklings’ in US society," says Claudia Milian, a professor of Latino literature at Duke University and an "Ugly Betty" watcher. ‘‘Betty, who is also the only Latina in Mode magazine, is the brains behind the scenes. She is the unacknowledged parenthetical presence that stands for Latinas and Latinos in few positions of power."

Adding to Betty’s appeal among Latino audiences: She seems to be a pan-Hispanic type relatable to many Latinos. That may be because the series is an adapted Colombian soap, created by a Cuban American and produced by Salma Hayek, who is Mexican. In Thursday’s episode, the show finally addressed the fact that Betty’s father came to the United States illegally from Mexico. In the original series, the heroine was clearly identified as Colombian. Her ethnically ambiguous look kept viewers guessing and intrigued about her background.

"It seems like this twist is getting a little magical realist, too, in the sense that US Latinas and Latinos can be from anywhere in Latin America,’’ Milian adds. ‘‘Betty could be anything. That’s why in one episode Betty’s sister can just announce that she’ll eat a flan, as though every Latino refrigerator has one.’’

Ginessa Rodriguez, 32, of Quincy, watched parts of the Colombian telenovela and says she likes the ABC version better because like Suarez, the show stands out in a good way.

"I like seeing strong female characters portrayed and especially a Hispanic/Latina woman,’’ says Rodriguez, who is an engineer. "She could be ‘Ugly Betty,’ but she’s smart, a hard worker, and doesn’t seem to let what other people may think of her affect who she is or what she does. She’s definitely a positive role model."

Johnny Diaz can be reached at jodiaz@globe.com