George Lopez, Edward James Olmos And Jackie Cruz On The First Latino They Saw On TV

*This is kinda’ cool, like a game. Who was the first Latino I saw on TV? It was Desi Arnaz, on I Love Lucy. On a U.S.-made film it was Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez. I liked Pedro better because he was from Texas, like me, also because he had a role in the movie Chisum, starring John Wayne. That was a pivotal film for me because it was the first movie I saw by myself (no one wanted to go with me) – I was all of nine years old, rode the bus downtown, watched the movie at the Plaza theater, then rode the bus home again. I’ve been doing that ever since. Who was the first Latino you saw on TV? VL

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By Vanessa Erazo, Remezcla

Even if Latinos remain chronically underrepresented on television, it doesn’t mean we’re entirely absent from its beginnings. The Paley Center for Media celebrated over seven decades of our involvement in the industry at their first ever gala dedicated toHispanic Achievements in Television. With appearances from titans of comedy like George Lopez and America Ferrera; to kings of drama like Luis Guzman, Jimmy Smits, and Edward James Olmos; and queens of digital programming like Selenis Leyva, Jackie Cruz, and Laura Gomez; alongside stalwart news anchors Jose Diaz-Balart and Maria Elena Salinas; and even the emperor of variety shows, the venerable Don Francisco — the New York event was a powerhouse of Latino talent.

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The Paley Center brought together yesterday’s biggest Latino stars and today’s rising talent to simultaneously exalt and preserve our televisual history. A curated selection of clips from their vast broadcast archive allowed those in attendance to the relive the triumphs of the past and remember the struggle it took to get Latinos on TV shows. It’s a necessary exercise . . . READ MORE

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[Photo by Lucy_Fan/Flicker]

Suggested reading

This critically acclaimed play by Luis Valdez cracks open the depiction of Chicanos on stage, challenging viewers to revisit a troubled moment in our nation’s history. From the moment the myth-infused character of El Pachuco burst onto the stage, cutting his way through the drop curtain with a switchblade, Luis Valdez spurred a revolution in Chicano theater.

Focusing on the events surrounding the Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial of 1942 and the ensuing Zuit Soot Riots that turned Los Angeles into a bloody war zone, this is a gritty and vivid depiction of the horrifying violence and racism suffered by young Mexican Americans on the home front during World War II. Valdez’s cadre of young urban characters struggle with the stereotypes and generalizations of America’s dominant culture, the questions of assimilation and patriotism, and a desire to rebel against the mainstream pressures that threaten to wipe them out.

Experimenting with brash forms of narration, pop culture of the war era, and complex characterizations, this quintessential exploration of the Mexican-American experience in the United States during the 1940’s was the first, and only, Chicano play to open on Broadway.

This collection contains three of playwright and screenwriter Luis Valdez’s most important and recognized plays: Zoot Suit, Bandido! and I Don’t Have to Show You No Stinking Badges. The anthology also includes an introduction by noted theater critic Dr. Jorge Huerta of the University of California-San Diego. Luis Valdez, the most recognized and celebrated Hispanic playwright of our times, is the director of the famous farm-worker theater, El Teatro Campesino.

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