A Profile of Héctor Lavoe

"El Cantante" is a film based on the life of famed Puerto Rican salsa singer, Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez. Although the movie starring both Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony was critically panned the story of Lavoe is no less interesting or important to Latin culture.



Lavoe moved to New York when he was only 17 years old and immediately began to perform with numerous music groups throughout the city but it was in 1967 that Lavoe's career really began. Lavoe became the lead singer in Willie Colón's band and released several songs that were hits. The improving status of Lavoe's music career was on the rise but also on the rise was his addiction to drugs. Due to the addiction Colón released Lavoe from the band but continued to help him throughout his solo career.

Lavoe's career was strung with controversial hit songs. For instance, his hit song "el cantante" was recorded against the will of the song's writer but later acknowledged as being great by the very writer who protested it. Also controversial was "bandolera," a song that subjects the woman subject of the song to beatings twice and therefore was protested by feminists.

Despite musical success in the 70s, Lavoe battled deep depression in 1978 and went into isolation from friends and family on the advice of a priest. Upon his emergence, Lavoe was drug free and confident but due to the sudden deaths of his father, teenage son and mother-in-law his personal success was short lived. In combination with these deaths was Lavoe's diagnosis of HIV that pushed Lavoe to his limit.

After a cancelled performance in 1988 due to low ticket sales, Lavoe attempted suicide in June of 1988 in Puerto Rico. Lavoe did survive the suicide attempt but due to continuous drug use and shared needles he would never completely recover. Five years late, Lavoe died in June of 1993 without a penny to his name due to AIDS complications.

Lavoe is remembered as one of the great salsa artists and an inspiration to many artists today. Here is one of his great performances of "mi gente."

A New Latin American Icon

A new role model for Latino youth has emerged. America Ferrera is not new to the film industry but with the emergence of the t.v. show Ugly Betty last year, she is quickly becoming a new icon for the Latino youth.

Ferrera grew up in LA but described her youth as a departure from the typical Latino childhood. While many children attend quincineras, Ferrera was more familiar with the Bar Mitzvah.

Still considered a child, Ferrera started her career in television and film. First with the Disney movie Gotta Kick it Up and later with the critically acclaimed film Real Women Have Curves. It wasn't until 2006 that Ferrera got the role that would change her life- the lead on Ugly Betty.

To the left is an image of America Ferrera as herself. To the right is an image of America Ferrera as her famed character in Ugly Betty.

Ugly Betty is show that takes place in many nations around the world but originated in Colombia with their hit, "Betty La Fea." Ferrera recently won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of the nerdy, bushy eyebrowed, unattractive, braces wearing teen, Betty Suarez. After winning the award, the House of Representatives awarded Ferrera for being a role model for young Latina women. Additionally, in the past week America Ferrera has been awarded as the Hispanic Woman of the Year by Billboard and The Hollywood Report.

America Ferrera is a positive role model for young girls of Latina descent and other cultures because she is a girl with a variety of talents and a positive outlook on life. She has not gotten into trouble has many other Hollywood actresses and she has almost completed her college education at USC. For a woman as young as America who has accomplished so much, it will be interesting to see what she can do in the future for the Latino community.

The Father of Latin American Cinema

Born in Santa Fe, Argentina in 1925 was Argentinian filmmaker Fernando Birri. Fernando is generally considered the father of Latin American cinema.

Birri was always involved with the theatre and puppetry but it was not until 1950 that his interests shifted to film. Birri went to Rome to study film until 1953 at Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. After graduation from the film school Birri returned to Santa Fe and established the first Latin American film school specializing in documentaries.

When Birri returned to Argentina his focus was creating film that actively portrayed Argentine life but was met with resistance inside the industry. While at the school Birri created two of his most famous works: "Tire die" in 1954 and "Los innundados" in 1961. Both films were based on the social classes within Argentina and were overall ignored by the public.

Although the contributions to Latin American society were great, he was still forced into exile during the military coup de etat in Argentina. It was during this time that he moved back to Italy and began shooting experimental films.

Awhile later in 1986 Birri was one of the men who helped found the International School of Film and Television in Cuba and therefore chosen as one of the schools first principles. He ha taught in Mexico as well as Venezuela but currently resides in Europe.

Birri has not won many awards in his career, the only known award is the International Film Festival award in 1962 for best first film. However, his contribution and daring style for the times is remembered. Birri established film schools and styles which ha not yet been attempted by the Latin community.

Latino International Film Festival

October 7th-14th is a big week in Los Angeles. It is the week of the Latino International Film Festival. The festival is put on by LIFI (Latino International Film Institute), a non profit organization.

In their mission statement they say their purpose is "to showcase and nurture existing and emerging creative Latino talent while serving as a springboard and catalyst for the promotion of Latin films and filmmakers."

Films submitted to this festival come from countries around the world. One of the highlighted films this year, "El Camino de los Ingleses" is from Antonio Banderas in Spain. Another highlighted film is "Fuera Del Cielo." This film is presented by Javier Patrón and is a past winner in the Guadalajara International Film Festival from 2006.

The film festival shows a wide variety of film. They range from feature, documentaries, shorts and special screenings. Films shown throughout the festival portray Latino culture and are presented by Latino producers, actors, writers and fimmakers. If you are in the LA area this week, check out the schedule and see if you can attend!

Un Día Sin Mexicanos

A day without Mexicans. What would it be like? Some believe more opportunities would be available for Americans while others think our economy will suffer. While no one can say for sure, filmmakers Sergio Arau and Yareli Arizmendi explored this possibility.

In September of 2004 "A Day Without a Mexican" was released and it portrayed the events of a day in which all Latinos who resided or worked in California disappeared.

The filmmakers say in statement made on their website that "immigration reform is the civil rights struggle of our time. It is a struggle that affects all of us with its impact on the economic, social and cultural fabric of our society."

In the film Arau and Arizmendi show various situations in which not having a Mexican (or any Latino for that matter) around would affect us. And while the situations are exaggerated their point is clearly understood. One man arrives to his restaurant with and finds it a mess because the dishes were not done. In another instance the streets begin to fill with garbage because workers are not there to pick it up.

Whether or not an individual's stance is for or against propositions restricting the abilities of Latinos immigrating to the USA, it forces everyone to pose the question: what would we do without them? Would Americans step up and take the positions they hold or would we fall to pieces without them?

The film is not in theatres any more but I think it is one worth seeing and DVDs are available. Check out the trailer below and decide for yourself!

Movie Trailer

A Movie Worth Seeing

In my past few blogs I've talked about the negative portrayal of Latin characters in film. While all of my facts are true in previous blogs and my opinions stay the same, I recently saw a film that gives a different perspective.

While often times Latinos are shown to be drug traffickers in movies, it is not often that the reasons why they do it are presented to the audience. The 2004 film Maria Full of Grace, however, takes this perspective.

The film is centered around Maria (played by newcomer Catalina Sandino Moreno), a young girl who grows tired of working on a rose plantation for little money and even less respect. After learning she is pregnant, Maria realizes she needs a job that earn more money and receives an offer to work as a drug courier, carrying pellets of drugs concealed in her body from Colombia to the United States. After only one trip and the death of a friend due to the job, Maria decides to stay quit the job and remain in the United States in hopes to find a better future.

The director, Joshua Marston, wanted to do a film about the stories of immigrants coming into the United States and was inspired by one woman's in particular. Although the story is not based on this one woman, it is the story of many. If you want to find up to date figures, facts, or other information about drug trafficking in the US, click here. But if you are curious about Arizona inparticular, click here.

When the film came out in 2004 it was immediatly nominated for prestigious awards and won many of them. Click here for a full list of those awards & nominations.

The Beginnings

To understand stereotypes in film, it is necessary to start at the beginning. For stereotyping of Latinos, the beginning was the appearances in silent western films in the early 1900s.

The term 'greaser' is a derogatory term used to describe Mexican Americans and although it is not one heard very often in 2007, it was openly used in the early 1900s and used in various movie titles. For example, Greaser's Revenge in 1914 and Tony the Greaser in 1911.

Mexican Americans were referred to as greasers in the early 1900s in film and often times everyday life because of the grease that would get into their hair and on their bodies while working with animal hides.

The typical 'greaser' image used throughout the 1900s is shown below:



The role of a greaser in Hollywood was rarely, if ever, a positive one. They played the first role of the bad guy: dishonest and conniving in every possible way. This portrayal appeared typically in the western genre.

The 'greaser' character continues to be reinvented and appears in films today. While the modern day greaser might have migrated from the wild west or frontier into the city, the character is undoubtedly morally deficient in comparison to the portrayal of their white counterparts. Many times in today's films the greaser is involved with gangs or other illegal activity.

However, in the blatent prejudice in the film industry did not occur without any protest. Due to many complaints and boycotts by the Mexican Government in the 1920s, film producers began to stray away from the specifying the heritage of their Latino characters. This, in turn, led to pan-Latino (a 'you're all the same' state of mind) portrayals that were still offensive to much of the Latino population.