![]() Anita is a central character in this musical. One of her first movie breaks was playing Zelda Zander, the extravagant OTT actress in ‘ Singing in the Rain’ (1952), but real fame finally reached her when she was cast as Anita in the 1961 version of West Side Story. ![]() Rita Moreno with Bill Cosby, Morgan Freeman, Judy Gaubart and others in The Electric Company.įrom the start, despite initially struggling with a feeling of inferiority, due to her early experiences as an immigrant in New York, Rita Moreno was clearly a trailblazer, opening doors not only for herself but for all Latinas and Latinos in the America of the 1940s, 1950s and even the 1960s and beyond. On one occasion she was rescued in tears, from one such event, by a pair of Mexican gardeners: “ The first gentlemen she had met that evening.” Many top people could be unspeakably crude and unpleasant. Harry Cohen, who ran a huge whisky distillery, simply announced upon meeting her at a huge event:- “ You know I would like to fuck you!” These were not one-offs. At that time, Latinas were seen as illiterate sex objects which Rita found deeply hurtful. While she was still a teenager she was raped by her agent, but, realizing that, as a Latina, her options were limited, she was pragmatic enough to keep him on, regardless, as she knew he would get her the work she needed. Louis B Meyer apparently gasped: “A Latin Elizabeth Taylor!” and signed her on the spot without a screen test or an audition.īut things were still not easy. She can sing, she can dance, she can act… and she looks good, what more could you ask for? She obtained her first MGM contract at the age of 18, by dolling herself up to look as much like Elizabeth Taylor as she could. No mean feat, but versatility and resilience are Moreno’s second names. By her early teens, she was also dubbing films into Spanish and, by 16, she was working in nightclubs and had become her family’s main breadwinner. When President Obama awarded her the National Medal of Arts in 2009, he said: - : “In America, no matter what you look like, where you come from or what your last name is, you can make it if you try.”Īnd try she did! Her mother wisely took her to dancing lessons, and still a child of only 11, she was already beginning to dance her way to stardom. Rita Moreno as Valentina in Stephen's Spielberg's West Side Story Moreno had to make do with being cast as a native American, in The Deerslayer (1957) or Tupti, an Asian in The King and I (1956), and usually having to don thick skin-darkening make-up for the roles. This personality shines through and it is painful to think, that despite her overwhelming talent, she had to fight so hard to make it in the prejudiced and sexist Hollywood of the 1930s, 40s and 50s, when young Latin actresses were perceived as only worthy of minor ethnic roles, or worse, mere arm-candy for well-known male actors, their talents and versatility going to waste and ignored. She has a disarming ability to laugh at herself and her situation at all times. ![]() As always, she is very funny and overflowing with vitality. Now, at 90 years old, Moreno is still as lovely as ever, maintaining her lithe figure and amazing energy which truly belies her age. ![]() Already, she was expressing the bright sense of humour that has coloured all her life and has probably been a factor that kept her going, despite the many drawbacks. Is it an omen, she wondered? Being a young child, Moreno was fascinated by the sight of the statue of liberty, thinking it must be the President of the United State holding a giant ice-cream cone. She was not to see her brother again till 2021. They arrived in New York on a freezing February day on a boat called the SS Carabobo, which literally means ‘Stupid Face’. Not long after, her parents divorced, leaving her brother behind with the father, her mother took her to New York hoping to give her a better life. Her mother Rosa María Marcano, was a seamstress and her father, Francisco José ‘Paco’ Alverio, a farmer. Rosa ‘Rita’ Dolores Alverio Marcano was born in the small town of Humacao in Puerto Rico on December 11th,1951. From her humble beginnings, Moreno rose to stand among distinguished artists like Whoopi Goldberg, Audrey Hepburn and Mel Brooks, who are also among the few Egot winners. Having had to face down rampant racism, sexism, and even sexual abuse, she never gave up and struggled up the showbiz ladder to stardom, winning the EGOT, (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards), the ‘ Grand Slam’ of performance awards. It is no coincidence that when we first think of Rita Moreno, we envisage her unforgettable performance as Anita singing and dancing “America” in the original version of W est Side Story (1961) for her life story turned out like a blueprint for the ‘American dream. Rita Moreno in West Side Story, then and now.
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