Rita Moreno "I Love to Live in America!"

I Like to Live in America

    Since I was a little girl, one of my favorite actors was Rita Moreno.  The first time I saw her was as Anita in West Side Story where in 1962, she became the first Latina actor to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. I was captivated by her role as she portrayed a strong spirited Latina woman during a time when feminism was slowly evolving.

     It took her many years to take another role because she refused to be stereotyped as Latina.  Finally, when she began to be casted in diverse roles, another memorable and influential one for me was when she joined the cast of The Electric Company in the 1970’s.   This was a children’s program on PBS.  There she joined a diverse cast that included actors like Mel Brooks, Morgan Freeman and Bill Cosby.  The Electric Company was an educational show that taught the basics like phonics and grammar thru parodies and life-action sketches.  This became a significant influence in my life because it was a time where Latin women, including my mother were transitioning from unskilled labor-intensive jobs to skilled entry-level jobs in the business industry.

     Over the years, Rita Morena appeared in dozens of movies, television shows and stage productions.  She is one of the most successful Latina women despite the many obstacles she had to overcome as a Latino woman.  Her accomplishments have been rewarded with various awards and honors and as a philanthropist; she constantly contributes and gives back to Hispanic communities.  In an interview with NPR on March 7^th, 2013, she couldn’t have described the Latina woman any better, “"I've always had this image of this strong, sprightly person who is undaunted by anything; on the contrary, I was one of the shyest, most unsure people you ever met in your life. But I have one very specific quality: I'm plucky. I really am. I would say that's a perfect description of my personality. I am able to get up and dust myself off and keep moving forward. I'm very stubborn. I never knew that about myself. But I realize how stubborn I am when I look at all the terrible things that happened to me and how I just get up and keep going."  Wise words to empower all women of today, “dust yourself off and keep moving forward”.  Below is 3 minutes of empowering words by Rita Morena....an Iconic Latina Legend.  She makes me proud to be a Latina.