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List of Hispanics and Latinos in film facts for kids

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Opportunities for Latino Americans (i.e. those people who are or have family ancestry from Latin America) in the film industry, often mirrors the opportunities, and challenges, facing people of other racial or ethnic identities who work in the industry, behind or in front of the film camera. Historically, actors or actresses of Latino ancestry often found work within certain stereotypical roles, which often reflected broader social attitudes and cultural biases.

Latino men were frequently depicted as being highly aggressive and also with low levels of emotional maturity, i.e. criminals, low-life thugs or the highly passionate, even violent, love interest of the starring character. Latino women, Latinas, were similarly portrayed, but where as Latino men could be in a position of authority, albeit within an anti-social, criminal setting, Latinas were oftentimes characters with much less authority, such as housemaids or domestic servants.

Traditionally, even without the usage of these stereotypes, it was rare for a Latino or Latina character in a film to be the star, unless the film was primarily marketed to a Latino audience. Behind the camera, it is still difficult for a Latino film producer, director, screenwriter or cinematographer to have mainstream commercial success.

However, as the social attitudes and biases change, there has been a gradual improvement in film depictions as well as in career opportunities for Latin Americans.

History

The negative stereotyping of Latinos in film relates to the history of Latinos. Mexican Americans were seen by Anglos as uneducated and lacking integrity and thus unworthy of the rights to citizenship. Early films portrayed these negative stereotypes of Mexicans and Mexican Americans, but as time went on these stereotypes expanded to Central and South Americans. In the late 1890s, few Latinos were involved in filmmaking or appeared as actors in films. The Latinos that did appear in films or produced films were from privileged backgrounds. At this time, the late 1890s, filmmaking consisted of silent films. Myrtle Gonzalez and Beatriz Michelena were among the few Latinos to create silent films. In the 1910s and 1920s, a few film production companies rose to dominate the industry, forcing the depletion of Latinos working in film production. It was not until the 1970s that Latinos reemerged in the field of film production.

Silent western films were the first films to feature Latino characters. The Latino characters often played the role of the rebellious "greaser" opposing the white hero. The term "greaser" is used to describe Mexican bandits and other lazy, untrustworthy Mexican characters. Tony the Greaser and The Greaser's Revenge were two movies that capitalized on this storyline. These films helped to start the trend of establishing Latino characters as "others" in contrast to whites. The Mexican government in the 1920s complained and boycotted Hollywood films. These boycotts and complaints led film producers to disassociate negative Latino characters from identification with any particular country. This led to pan-Latino representations which were still negative, just not associated with one particular country.

The mid-1920s led to a few opportunities for Latino actors and actresses. The popularity of the Italian actor Rudolph Valentino, the original "Latin lover", created opportunities for Latino actors and actresses such as Ramón Novarro, Dolores del Río, Lupe Vélez, Carmen Miranda etc. These actors were cast as major roles as passionate Latin lover types and became international stars in silent films. The Latin lover image still exists today along with Latinos being viewed as villains and servants.

Changing times

Just as the population of Latinos is rapidly rising in the United States in the 21st century, Latinos are also emerging (although not as quickly as the population) in media, including motion pictures, both in front of and behind the camera. Mainstream news media conglomerates are finally covering "Latinos in Film" news, and also offer ground-breaking coverage specifically aimed at spotlighting Latinos in film, such as The Huffington Post's Latino Entertainment page. News not only highlights Latino celebrities, but Latino filmmakers of both studio and independent movies. Additionally, a small handful of organizations have emerged in the 2000s that advocate for Latinos rights and opportunity in the field of entertainment in the United States, as well as raising awareness of these rising talents, including the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP), The Latino Film Fund (LFF) and Edward James Olmos' Latino International Film Institute.

One of the first movies that portrayed Latinos not as stereotypes, but as regular families with their strengths and weaknesses was Mi Familia. The film won the Latino magazine's best picture of the 1995. It starred Edward James Olmos, Jimmy Smits and Jennifer Lopez.

Jennifer Lopez appeared in the Latino magazine's list of Hollywood's most powerful along with producer Nely Galán, writer–producer Josefina López, and Cameron Diaz. She also starred in movies such as Jack alongside Robin Williams, Anaconda as a female lead, and Money Train with Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson.

Moctesuma Esparza is a famous Latino producer who is best known for Selena, which grossed $21.7 million in its first ten days. He started his career in the 1980s with movies like Gettysburg, The Battle of Gregorio Cortez and The Milagro Beanfield War.

Things seem to be changing for Latinos in Hollywood as many Latinos enter and excel in the television and film industry. With movies such as Mi Familia and Selena making a respectable showing at the box office, the future is looking bright for Latinos in film.

Latino actors

Actors Note
Desi Arnaz Born in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
Desi Arnaz Jr. Son of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball
Kuno Becker Is a Mexican actor of German descent
Demián Bichir Is a Mexican actor of Lebanese descent
Rubén Blades Born in Panama City, Panama
Diego Boneta Is a Mexican actor and singer
Benjamin Bratt Is of Peruvian and German descent
Leo Carrillo Was of Mexican and Spanish descent
Pedro de Cordoba Was of Cuban and French descent
Benicio del Toro Is a Puerto Rican actor
Eugenio Derbez Is a Mexican actor
Héctor Elizondo Is of Puerto Rican descent
Erik Estrada Is of Puerto Rican descent
José Ferrer Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Miguel Ferrer Son of José Ferrer and Rosemary Clooney
Andy García Born in Havana, Cuba
Gael García Bernal Born in Guadalajara, Mexico
Jorge Garcia Is of Cuban and Chilean descent
Michael Garza Is of Mexican descent
Alfonso Herrera Is a Mexican actor
Oscar Isaac Born in Guatemala City, Guatemala
Raúl Juliá Was a Puerto Rican actor
Fernando Lamas Was an Argentine actor
Lorenzo Lamas Is of Argentine descent
John Leguizamo Born in Bogotá, Colombia
George Lopez Is of Mexican descent
Mario Lopez Is of Mexican descent
Diego Luna Is a Mexican actor
Cheech Marin Is of Mexican descent
Chris-Pin Martin Was of Mexican descent
Ricardo Montalbán Born in Mexico City, Mexico
Frankie Muniz Is of Puerto Rican, Irish, and Italian descent
Ramon Novarro Was a Mexican actor
Edward James Olmos Is of Mexican descent
Pedro Pascal Born in Santiago, Chile
Michael Peña Is of Mexican descent
Tyler Posey Son of John Posey, his mother was of Mexican descent
Freddie Prinze Was of Puerto Rican and German descent
Freddie Prinze Jr. Son of Freddie Prinze, his mother is of English and Irish descent
Anthony Quinn Was a Mexican actor
Paul Rodriguez Born in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico
Gilbert Roland Was a Mexican actor
Rodrigo Santoro Is a Brazilian actor
Charles Stevens Was of Mexican and English descent
Danny Trejo Is of Mexican descent
Wilmer Valderrama Is of Colombian and Venezuelan descent

Latina actresses

Actresses Note
Jessica Alba Her father is of Mexican ancestry
María Conchita Alonso Is a Cuban-Venezuelan actress and singer
Trini Alvarado Is a Puerto Rican-American actress
Adria Arjona Is a Guatemalan-Puerto Rican actress
Lucie Arnaz Daughter of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball
Bérénice Bejo Is a French-Argentine actress
Sônia Braga Is a Brazilian actress
Barbara Carrera Is a Nicaraguan-American actress
Elpidia Carrillo Is a Mexican actress
Lynda Carter Her mother was of Spanish-Mexican descent
Rosario Dawson Her mother is of Puerto Rican and Afro-Cuban descent
Ana de Armas Is a Cuban actress
Cote de Pablo Is a Chilean-American actress
Kate del Castillo Is a Mexican actress
Dolores del Río Was a Mexican actress
Cameron Diaz Her father's family were Cuban (of Spanish descent)
America Ferrera Her parents, were originally from Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Selena Gomez Her father is of Mexican descent
Eiza González Is a Mexican actress and singer
Salma Hayek Is a Mexican actress of Lebanese and Spanish descent
Katy Jurado Was a Mexican actress
Victoria Justice Her mother is of Puerto Rican ancestry
Eva Longoria Is a Mexican-American actress
Jennifer Lopez Puerto Rican parents
Demi Lovato Her father was of Mexican and Spanish descent
Mía Maestro Is an Argentine actress
Eva Mendes Is a Cuban-American actress
Carmen Miranda Was a Portuguese-born Brazilian
Fernanda Montenegro Is a Brazilian actress
Maria Montez Was a Dominican actress
Rita Moreno Is a Puerto Rican actress and singer
Lupe Ontiveros Daughter of Mexican immigrants
Rosie Perez Puerto Rican parents
Dania Ramirez Is a Dominican-American actress
Sara Ramírez Is a Mexican-American actress
Chita Rivera Is a Puerto Rican actress and singer
Naya Rivera Her father was of Puerto Rican ancestry
Génesis Rodríguez Is an American actress
Gina Rodriguez Is a Puerto Rican actress
Michelle Rodriguez Her mother is a native of the Dominican Republic, her father is a native of Puerto Rico
Zoe Saldana Is of mixed Puerto Rican and Dominican heritage
Roselyn Sánchez Is a Puerto Rican singer-songwriter, model, actress, producer and writer
Catalina Sandino Moreno Is a Colombian actress
Madeleine Stowe Her mother came from a prominent family in Costa Rica
Karla Souza Is a Mexican actress.
Lupita Tovar Was a Mexican actress.
Sofía Vergara Is a Colombian actress
Lupe Vélez Was a Mexican actress.
Raquel Welch Her father is of Bolivian descent
Tahnee Welch Daughter of Raquel Welch, her father is of European descent
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