Latin Lovers & Swarthy Swindlers
 Tavo Amador - Bay Area Reporter
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| | Today, the political issues regarding immigration are primarily a reflection of the mushrooming Hispanic population, spurring new efforts in the arts to capture the complex stories of a diverse population and bring them to wider audiences than ever before. |
In 1973, the Nixon Administration divided Americans into five "racial" categories: White, Black, Asian/Pacific, Native American/Eskimo, and Hispanic. Previously, Hispanics had been a subset of each of the other classifications. Suddenly, they were grouped in a way that suggested a uniformity of culture and racial heritage that didn't — and doesn't — exist. The same is true of the other "minority" categories.
The Nixon Administration was reacting to the country's growing Latino population, its increasing political clout, and xenophobia. Further proof of the politics behind the decision is provided by the dreadful miscegenation laws that once barred marriage between whites and blacks, whites and Asians — but didn't prevent marriage between whites and Hispanics. (This reporter's parents were Cuban and Panamanian, and his birth certificate lists their race as "white," which is how they saw themselves, because they happened to be of European descent.) Recent statistical comparisons of ethnic groups refer to "non-Hispanic whites," state that Hispanics can be of any race, but still group them together.
These evolving perceptions of Hispanics have been reflected in popular culture, and confirm the link between art and politics. In the 1920s, Hollywood embraced Latin Lovers. Audiences saw little differences among Rudolph Valentino (Italian), Ramon Novarro (Mexican), Antonio Moreno (Spanish) — all three, incidentally, gay — and Ricardo Cortez (born Jacob Krantz in Austria). Mexico's Dolores Del Rio, whom the hypercritical Marlene Dietrich called the most beautiful woman in Hollywood, made the transition from silents to talkies, but, despite playing Madame du Barry (34), was typecast as an "exotic," probably because of her accent. Silent screen stars Vilma Banky (Hungarian) and Pola Negri (Polish) also saw their careers end due to their accents. On the other hand, Sweden's Greta Garbo became an even bigger star in talkies.
In the 40s, New York-born Margarita Cansino changed her name to Rita Hayworth, and triumphed as the era's Love Goddess. By then, assimilationist pressure made her name change necessary. Otherwise, she might have been typecast in "spitfire" parts like Portuguese-born, Brazilian-reared Carmen Miranda.
The similarities between Hispanics and other European nationalities were re-enforced in the 50s, when Cuban Desi Arnaz starred as Ricky Ricardo in TV's landmark I Love Lucy series. Neither his television nor real-life marriage to Lucille Ball was controversial, although both would have been had he been black or Chinese-American, for example. Interracial romance was dramatized in Imitation of Life (59), in which Susan Kohner (daughter of Mexican movie star Lupita Tovar) played a beautiful young light-skinned black woman who "passed"; Bridge to the Sun (62), about the marriage of a Japanese-American (James Shigeta) and a white woman (Carroll Baker); and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (68). In real life, black entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr.'s marriage to Swedish actress Mai Britt generated horrifying hate mail, including death threats, pressures which contributed to their divorce.
These perceptions meant that many Hispanics benefited from "color-blind" casting. Puerto Rican Jose Ferrer became the first Latin actor to win an Oscar, playing the French Cyrano de Bergerac (1950). Two years earlier, he had co-starred as the Dauphin opposite Ingrid Bergman's Joan of Arc. Mexico's Anthony Quinn kept his Irish surname and thrived, winning two Oscars and playing every imaginable type: Spaniard, Mexican, Italian, French, Jew, Arab, and Zorba the Greek (64), although his ethnicity varied more than his performances. On the other hand, actors who looked or sounded more stereotypically Latin, like Rita Moreno and Gilbert Roland, had to fight against type-casting and didn't become top stars.
The color blindness often allowed non-Hispanics to be convincingly cast as Latinos. In West Side Story (61), only one of the three leading Puerto Rican characters was played by an Hispanic, Rita Moreno. Natalie Wood was Russian-American, and George Chakiris Greek-American. Jeremy Irons, Vanessa Redgrave, and Glenn Close effectively portrayed Chileans in House of the Spirits (93) because most upper-class Latin Americans are or appear "white" or European. Since most Argentines are descendants of Spanish and English, Italian, and German immigrants, Madonna looked believable as Evita (96).
Latin America's social stratification based on color is a genuine, politically and economically charged issue, as it is in India, the Far East, and here. With few exceptions, like Peru's Alberto Fujimori, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, or Panama's Manuel Noriega, most Latin American leaders, who usually come from the upper classes, are or look white. This ugly reality has long been reflected by Hollywood, resulting in schizophrenic casting: heroes (Zorro ) look European, criminals (The Treasure of Sierra Madre) are swarthy.
In the 60s, Chicago's Raquel Welch changed her surname from Tejada and became the biggest Hollywood Latin sex symbol since Hayworth. But as the Hispanic population, fueled by high birthrates and significant immigration, has grown, assimilationist pressure has decreased, at least regarding surnames. Jennifer Lopez, Cuban-born Andy Garcia, Cameron Diaz, and Benecio del Toro have enjoyed successful film careers, as have Spain's Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz and Mexico's Salma Hayek. This fall, a new television series, Cane, about a South Florida Cuban-American family, stars Hispanic actors, including Hector Elizondo, Nestor Carbonell, Jimmy Smits, and Moreno, the only Latin actress to win an Oscar.
In pop music, singers as varied as Jose Iglesias, Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony (nee Marco Antonio Muniz), Linda Ronstadt, Gloria Estefan, and Ricky Martin (born Enrique Martin Morales in Puerto Rico), have made their Hispanic heritage a critical element of their cross-cultural success, a tradition that goes back to Xavier Cugat and his orchestra in the 1930s, and Miranda in the 40s. In the 50s and 60s, however, songstresses like Vicky Carr and Edie Gorme revealed their Hispanic roots after achieving success, an indication of the assimilationist pressure they may have felt.
Today, the political issues regarding immigration are primarily a reflection of the mushrooming Hispanic population. The Nixon Administration's classification system has had an unintended consequence — it helped Latinos focus on their similarities and how xenophobia affects them all, regardless of class, color, or national origin. It has also spurred new efforts in the arts to capture the complex stories of a diverse population and bring them to wider audiences than ever before. |
Vallarta Weddings
Entertainment | September 2007 
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