Cubans in Hollywood

A very interesting article from Hispanic Business appeared in my inbox a few days ago courtesy of Echuta. It deals with Cuban and Cuban-American actors in Hollywood, and how they fit - and don't fit - into the Hispanic mold that Hollywood so desperately seeks to create.

More specifically, it tackles the larger issue of skin color and how our culture tries to erroneously lump Hispanics, regardless of national origin, into the same group.

Fortunately, the United States has been good to Cubans, and by absorbing so many immigrant groups over the years, we see the heavily used metaphor of the melting pot in motion. The problem is that so many immigrants do not want their cultures to "melt." Mexico has such a different culture from Puerto Rico, and likewise from Cuba; these groups do not want to be meshed together as one single culture that is viewed by others as "Hispanic" or "brown." In fact, that right there is the origin of the problems that have followed: "being Hispanic" is not a culture; it is many cultures, and now it has become a surrogate culture that stands in for all the others. Americans will differentiate between a European and a Hungarian, but not between a Hispanic and a Mexican.

International stars like Gael Garcia Bernal (ed: he's Mexican) have American fan bases, and Univision and Telemundo have become or are part of major corporations. Occasionally, the American industry will fund a film such as "Spanglish" or "Real Women Have Curves," but there is still an image associated with people of Spanish-speaking origin and how they should look. Neither actress Cameron Diaz nor director George A. Romero meet this stereotype, and as a result, that both are half-Cuban is almost never brought up.

Another example is television star JoAnna Garcia. What is interesting about Ms. Garcia is that not only does she resemble the image of the all-American girl, but her roles, such as the teenaged mother or the cheerleader with coprolalia, play off and then satirize this image. Ms. Garcia was willing to speak with me on this issue. When asked about how being Cuban affects her own identity, she responded: "Looking the way I look, having blonde hair and green eyes, has obviously affected the roles I've been offered. I could easily have changed my name altogether, but I just never considered that, because it's my name and who I am."

Tampa native JoAnna Garcia plays Reba McEntire's daughter in the sitcom "Reba", and as the picture above illustrates, looks far from the Hispanic stereotype (if one actually exists). As this post from a while back points out, it's certainly not impossible for someone of Cuban heritage to have fair features, but that's another topic.

While I don't agree 100% with everything in the article, it's refreshing to see a publication that represents all Hispanics not fall into the "Hispanics are all the same" trap that so many pan-Hispanic organizations and entities fall into. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem considering myself a Hispanic, but trying to gloss over the differences that exist should be as disrespectful to proud Mexicans or Colombians as it should be to Cubans and Puerto Ricans.

I strongly recommend reading the entire thing, it's a bit long but worth it. It sums up with this dead-on statement:

The United States is a mixed bag. It is a difficult place to succeed, and there will always be forms of racism and ignorance, as well as what many would call "a history of imperialism in Latin America." But the sheer number of opportunities and individual forms of freedom that each citizen ultimately has is staggering. Forget the American dream: The values of this country are the human dream. It is absolutely true that despite all the flaws of the United States, Cuban Americans have been one of the most fortunate groups. It is amazing what immigrants and their children have been able to achieve in this system. Yes, they are doctors and attorneys, but perhaps most impressive of all, elected officials of the U.S. And they are certainly no longer strangers to Hollywood.