Carmen Miranda and Cesar Romero in a press image for Week-end in Havana (20th Century Fox).
I’m so excited to share my 2017 longform article, “Being Latinx in Hollywood,” as a brand new e-book! It’s free for download; just click the image to the side or below this article to get your copy.
I had a lot of fun making this, and I really wanted to keep the stylistic theme of the book similar to the old Hollywood theme of “Being Asian in Hollywood,” which featured Anna May Wong. “Being Latinx in Hollywood” features both Carmen Miranda and Cesar Romero, who is probably best known as The Joker in the 1960s TV show Batman, but before that, he was a 1940s movie star.
I thought it was important to feature these two because in America, these actors in particular are mostly known for broad strokes; Romero is just a comical villain to many, and Miranda is either stereotyped as just an exotic singer and humorous actress or mistaken for the Chiquita banana lady. Instead, it’s important to realize how these actors had to work within the mores of Hollywood’s Golden Age, and how that time period isn’t unlike today, in which Latinx actors still have to work hard to be taken seriously, or make do with stereotypical roles. And, just like back in the day, Latinx actors have to worry about white actors being cast in Latinx parts.
I hope you enjoy the new e-book, and thanks again to Desiree Rodriguez, Editorial Assistant for Lion Forge sci-fi comic book Catalyst Prime and writer for Women on Comics and The Nerds of Color, Janel Martinez, founder and editor-in-chief of Ain’t I Latina, Gerry Maravilla, Head of Crowdfunding at Seed and Spark and writer-director of Cross and Kimberly Hoyos, filmmaker and creator of The Light Leaks and singer/actor Amy Novondo for their insight!
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