Latinos in movies and TV: laughter, thought provoking and beauty

Today’s post will focus on a famous Latinos in movies and TV. It was very hard to pick just three because there are so many great actors and actresses who deserve to be celebrate as the talents they are. To me, they are amazing people, talented actors who just happened to be Latino. Actors who made us laugh, who made us think and mesmerized us with their beauty. Actors who helped paved the way for future generations of actors. Individuals who came from nothing to rise above and become beloved and revered actors. Two of the names you will recognize as they are household names but one you may not know. My hope is that you learn something that you didn’t know about these individuals and see them beyond their profession, beyond their characters and see the person behind the famous name.

First, Desi Arnaz otherwise known as Ricky Ricardo from I Love Lucy (1951-1957). Born Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III on March 2, 1917 in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. I featured Arnaz in a post year and learned a great deal about the man. While I tried to find someone else to profile, I could deny his influence on TV, so I wanted to feature him again. Leaving Cuba as a young man, he came to America with nothing. And he learned to deeply love his adopted country. He was deeply patriotic and devoted to the United States. He wrote in his memoirs that he knew of no other country in the world where “a sixteen year old, broke and unable to speak the language” could achieve the success that he had. It is amazing to me that somewhere in the world, at any point in the day, I Love Lucy is still on the air and being enjoyed by millions of fans who weren’t even alive when the show first aired. Arnaz had a successful career after I Love Lucy. Toward the end of his life, he owned a horse breeding farm and raced thoroughbreds. He contributed to various charities and nonprofit organizations including San Diego State University. He also taught classes in studio production and acting for television at San Diego State. He died December 2, 1986 at the age of 69 from lung cancer.

Second, Edward James Olmos is an accomplished actor of both TV and movies. Born February 24, 1947 in Los Angeles, acting wasn’t his first choice. He really wanted to be a baseball player. At 13, he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers farm system playing as a catcher. He left at 15 to join a rock and roll band. He would later pursue acting as he took classes at the East Los Angeles College. He starred in Miami Vice (1984-1989) as Lt. Martin Castillo and Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009) as Admiral William Adama. He is most famous for his movie roles. In Stand and Deliver (1988) as Jaime Escalante, the teacher who taught math to Latino students that everyone else had written off. In American Me (1992) as gang leader Montoya Santana and in Blade Runner (1982) as Detective Gaff, a role he will be reprising in the upcoming sequel Blade Runner 2049 (releasing October 6. 2017). He is also well known for his activism where he devotes most of his time to causes particularly involving children especially at risk kids. His main message is that we all have a choice about where life takes us. He also stresses the importance of education, the risks of gang life and tries to promote taking responsibility for one’s actions and happiness in life. He once was quoted, saying “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Third, Dolores del Rio had a successful career in TV, movies and the stage. Born August 3, 1904 as Maria de los Dolores Asúnsolo Lopez-Negrete, del Rio is considered to be the first Mexican actress to crossover to Hollywood and have a successful career in the 1920s and 1930s. She was a silent film star who was among the few who could continue in talkies. She is considered one of the more important female figures of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema of the 1940s and 1950s. She was, at first, billed to be the female Rudolph Valentino, the female Latin lover. However, her beauty and elegance shined brighter than that image. She embraced her Mexican heritage and enjoyed playing roles which allowed her to showcase it. Her film debut was in the film, Joanna (1925) and her first talkie film was The Bad One (1930) in which she could speak and sing in English “with a charming accent.” Del Rio was one of the prototypes of female beauty in the 1930s. She was never played the stereotypical Latin bombshell. Her image included words like “sophisticated, aristocratic, elegant, glamourous lady” by her contemporaries such as Marlene Dietrich and Joan Crawford.  Dolores del Rio died on April 11, 1983 at the age of 78. She is still celebrated as royalty in Hollywood as well as in Mexican cinema. She had appeared in over 50 films, none of which, I am sad to say, I have heard of or seen. I hope I can get the chance to see one of her films.

In conclusion, Desi Arnaz is one of my favorite actors. His character of Ricky Ricardo is a part of lexicon that when my husband speaks in rapid Spanish, I always tease him and call him “Ricky.” Although he is always remembered as Ricky Ricardo and the man who was married to Lucille Ball, he was also a man who did great work in and out of Hollywood. Edward James Olmos is an actor that has been an icon for many years and will continue to be held in high esteem. Dolores del Rio was an actress who broke the image of a Latin bombshell with her grace and beauty. While she has faded into obscurity for most of us, she still is remembered as the talented actress of American and Mexican cinema. Three amazing actors who opened our eyes to amazing characters and stories through the magic of movies and TV.