influential Latino movie characters

peep this

wed 7/30/2008

Ask an American to close their eyes and picture a Latino. Chances are they'll be influenced by one of these movie characters.

Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

Efren Ramirez is Pedro, a lovestruck kid from Juarez. Ineligible for the U.S. presidency, wins student body election.

Various (1978-1987)

Cheech Marin plays the wise fool as Cheech, Pedro de Pacas and Rudy – a Chicano fish out of bongwater.

West Side Story (1961)

Rita Moreno plays Anita, a smart, sassy and classy Nuyorican. Wins hearts, minds and an Academy Award.

La Bamba (1987)

Lou Diamond Phillips stars in the biography of '50s teen rocker Ritchie Valens, aka Ritchie Valenzuela.

Scarface (1983)

Italian-American Al Pacino is Tony Montana, a Cuban refugee turned mobster modeled after an Italian-American mobster.

Tuco from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

Eli Wallach plays Tuco the Ugly in the Italian Western that launched Clint Eastwood's career.

Desperado (1995)

Spaniard Antonio Banderas plucks strings and packs heat as El Mariachi, the sequel to the indie hit El Mariachi.

Selena (1997)

Jennifer Lopez embodies Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, the tragic Tejano star and Mexican-American icon.

Stand and Deliver (1988)

Edward James Olmos reaches the kids of East L.A. in the role of real-life calculus teacher Jaime Escalante.

10 responses to “peep this: influential Latino movie characters”

wow i saw 5 out of those 9 movies in scho0ol !
thats pretty good tho :]

Nelly

7/31/2008

either this guys mentioned..... or they will come up con un narco famoso (arellano felix,pablo escobar ect..) well at least on this side of the country...

(((b3nj@m!n)))

7/31/2008

am i the only one that didnt like napoleon dynamite... and shame on Mun2 wheres
Edward James Olmos and American me
or how about Benjamin brat as paco in Blood In, Blood Out... Bound by Honor !!!

Mrjam7

7/31/2008

I'm sorta with you Mrjam7, I think Napoleon Dynamite is a movie that is more fun to talk about than to watch.

8/1/2008

@ mrjam7: isn't one edward james olmos enough? :-)

benjamin bratt is definitely a latino actor but how many people saw "Bound By Honor"... i've heard Piñero is pretty good.

he was funny - basically playing himself, hot actor, dumb parts - in the movie "Thumbsucker."

jose

8/1/2008

though not a movie role, my first media-influenced latino memory was freddie prinze as chico in "chico and the man" on tv. (yes, as has been established, i am old... haha)