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Latinos in film have gone a long way. For
decades there were seldom significant Latino roles in any aspect of the US media, with
the exception of the occasional comic, like Ricky Ricardo. It may have been in part
because Latinos were seen as too exotic; they made up such a small part of our
population. All of this began to change as the Latino population approached and then
surpassed the African American population.
In the 1960s and 70s, while
Latinos were largely absent from film, their population had grown large enough to have
their own stars like Celia Cruz, an Afro-Cuban salsa singer. In the 1980s, Latin stars,
such as Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam, hit the pop waves, and Gloria Estefan came out with a
style that was a mixture of Cuban and American. In the early 90s, Latin stars like
Antonio Banderas and Rosie Perez began showing up in supporting roles in films.
When Selena, a tejana star, was on the cusp of a major breakthrough, it
brought major media attention to her work. The movie Selena, produced by her
father Abraham Quantanilla, cast Jennifer Lopez as Selena. It made Ms. Lopez the first
Latino to make one million dollars for a movie, and Selena made Ms. Lopez into the
actress/singer that she is today.
A number of Latin films are currently
coming out. One example is Chasing Papi, which is about a man being confronted by
his three girlfriends. Jaci Vasquez, who is also a singer, plays one of the girlfriends.
Perhaps the most controversial upcoming Latin film is the film about the
Queen of Salsa, Celia Cruz. Three years before her death in July 2003, Ms. Cruz sold the
rights to her life story to actress/producer, Whoopi Goldberg. When this news was
publicly released after Celia’s death, some of her fans expressed displeasure at the
fact Ms. Goldberg, a non-Cuban, would be playing Ms. Cruz. Celia’s husband, Pedro
Knight, signed off on the deal, and said Whoopi should do the project on the grounds that
it was her idea, and that she was an excellent actress. Cristina Saralegui is producing
the film. Her husband, Marcos Avila, is the screenwriter.
Latinos in the
industry have come a long way. From being almost invisible, Latinos are now mainstream
in film and other media. Their contributions are further enriching our cinema and other
artistic scenes.
