Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Undercover Latinos..



In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, here's todays Latino fact..

Shhhhhhhh...This is a list of celebs that aren't commonly recognized as being of Latino descent. Latinos have varying degrees of European, Asian, African, and Indigenous heritage, many of us don't fit the archetype of outward appearance that people expect. We Latinos are like skittles we come in all colors of the rainbow and we’re darned cute too!



Christina Aguilera (Ecuadorian)
Christina is one of the highest rising pop stars today, and regardless of her Spanish last name was seldom categorized as Latina until recently. She was born in Staten Island, NY, her father if from Ecuador, and her mother is Irish-American. In a recent interview with Vista Magazine, she shares her hopes of doing a cross over album - to Spanish.

Laurel Aitken (Cuban)
Looking at Laurel, you'll see a Black man said to be Jamaica's first pop star and the Godfather Of Ska (aka Boss Skinhead). Instrumental on changing and forming the music he took part in, Laurel Aitken was born in Cuba to a Jamaicaan father and Cuban mother, and spent his first eleven years there before moving to Jamaica.

Tatyana Ali ( Panamanian)
Familiar as Ashley Banks, Will Smith's cousin on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Tatyana is a student at Harvard. She was one of the first to sign onto Will Smith's label and currently has a successful singing career. She is usually assumed to be only African-American. Her mother is Panamanian and her father is a Trinidadian East Indian.

Catherine Bach (Mexican)
The original Daisy Duke of The Dukes of Hazzard she is of German and Mexican heritage. Catherine is most famous for the character of Daisy Duke in "The Dukes of Hazzard" television show and for making "Daisy Duke" shorts famous. She also costarred with Robert Mitchum for three seasons in African Skies (1992-1994). She currently focuses on her family, husband Peter Lopez (an entertainment lawyer) and her daughter.

Joan Chandos Baez (Mexican)
While Joan Baez is a staple of American culture, very few people immediately assume she's Latino - even with her surname. Her mother was English-Scottish and her father, Albert Vinicio Baez, was born in Puebla, Mexico. He arrived in the US at the age of seven. He pursued his academic interest in physics and eventually earned his Ph.D.

Jean-Michel Basquiat (Puerto Rican)
Jean-Michel, a dark skinned Latino, was born to Haitian and Puerto Rican parents. He shocked he streets and galleries with his art, and his story recently made it to the screen.

David Blaine ( Puerto Rican)
David was born to a Russian Jewish mother and Puerto Rican father. He is among the most famous and outstanding magicians today.

Alexis Bledel (Mexican/Argentinian)
Alexis Bledel plays Rory Gilmore on the WB's Gilmore Girls and made her feature film debut in Tuck Everlasting (2002). She was born in Houston, Texas to a Mexican mother and Argentine father.

Mariah Carey (Venezuelan)
Because Mariah is an R&B singer, the question is often asked if she has any African-American heritage, which of course falls into other preconceived notions. Her mother is an Irish opera singer/vocal coach who was disowned by her family because of the marriage, and her father is an aeronautical engineer who is half African-American and half Venezuelan. Growing up in Long Island, their dogs were poisoned, family members beaten, and dogs poisoned because of local racial animosity that moved the family over 10 times and eventually broke up the marriage.

Lynda Carter (Mexican)
Lynda Carter is best known for her role as Wonder Woman. Her father is Anglo and her mother is Mexican. Her movies include Rita Hayworth: The Love Goddess (1983), She Woke Up Pregnant (1996) and Family Blessings (1999).

Sammy Davis, Jr. (Puerto Rican)
Sammy Davis, Jr. was born born on December 8, 1925 to the vaudville favorites, Sammy Davis, Sr. and Elvera "Baby" Sanchez. His mother was of Puerto Rican parentage. His first film was in 1933 in "Rufus Jones for President." Sammy Davis, Jr. was an accomplished singer, dancer and author.

Cameron Diaz (Cuban)
Even with a Spanish surname, Cameron is still not usually grouped with Latina stars. Growing up in Long Beach, California, Cameron was exposed to her Cuban family heritage and the local Mexican culture. Because she had fair skin, blue eyes, and was not fluent in Spanish, she experienced some prejudice. Her father Emelio is second-generation Cuban-American and her mother is a mix of German, English, and Native American. She is well known and has starred in suc films as The Mask (1995) and There's Something About Mary (1998).

Rita Hayworth (Spaniard)
Rita Hayworth was born Margarita Carmen Cansino and was discovered by Fox while dancing in Mexican-American night spots at the age of thirteen. Her father was the Spanish-Andalusian dance master, Eduardo Cansino, and her mother was Volga Hayworth, his partner in the Ziegfeld Follies. She played opposite of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly in the golden age of film. Her career ended in the 1970 as Alzheimer's disease impaired her ability to remember her lines. Her second daughter, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, used her position to raise awareness about the disease.


Laura Harring (Mexican)
Laura Harring was born Laura Elena Martinez Herring in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico. Fame found her when she appeared in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive. After that, she appeared in other movies, which include John Q, The Alamo: Thirteen Days to Glory, Little Nicky and The Forbidden Dance, Lambada. Often, she is more recognized as a policewoman on the television series Sunset Beach.

Frankie Muniz (Puerto Rican)
Frankie has enjoyed very quick success, which started in local stage theatre. Francisco Muniz IV (his given name), has since starred in My Dog Skip(2000) and the hit TV series Malcolm in the Middle. Frankie's father is Puerto Rican, and his mother's heritage is Italian and Irish.

Maxwell (Puerto Rican)
Maxwell, who goes by his middle name, was born to a Puerto Rican father and a West Indian mother (from Aruba, Haiti, Trinidad). His albums include Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite and Embrya.

Freddie Prinze, Jr. ( Puerto Rican)
Like all juniors, there must be a senior. His father was the great Puerto Rican comedian Freddie Prinze who starred in Chico and the Man. The senior Freddie Prinze's mother was Puerto Rican and his father Hungarian. He referred to himself as Hunga-Rican, the child of a gypsy and a Puerto Rican. Unfortunately, he committed suicide just as his career was launched. Freddie Prinze, Jr. found fame after several films, but became a star with I Know What You Did Last Summer". Recent television appearances include Scooby Doo - the movie.

Linda Marie Ronstadt ( Mexican)
Linda Ronstadt has over 30 records that are gold or platinum and has recorded everything from ranchero music to opera. She inherits her Mexican heritage and musical talent from her father Gilbert, who was also a singer and Arizona rancher.

Mercedes Ruehl (Cuban)
Merecedes Ruehl can trace her roots back through her Cuban grandfather who immigrated from Zalto, Spain. She also has German and Irish heritage. She plays a Latina matriarch in What's Cooking (2000). She has also been in The Amati Girls (2000), Warriors (1979), Lost in Yonkers (1993) and many other movies. She won an academy award in 1993 for Fisher King.

Madeleine Stowe (Costa Rican)
Madeleine's father is a Oregon civil-engineer and her mother is of Costa Rican parentage. Madeleine studied cinema and journalism at the University of Southern California and later studied acting. Her earliest appearances include an episode of Little House on the Prairie (1974). She would later star in Closet Land (1991), Last Of The Mohicans (1992),Twelve Monkeys, The General's Daughter (1999) and Imposter (2000).

Christy Turlington (Salvadorian)
This green eyed, auburn haired bilingual beauty is the face of Calvin Klein and Maybelline Cosmetics. She graced the cover of Latina magazine in 1999. Her mother is from El Salvador and her father is American born. She was raised in Danville, California and later moved to Miami in her youth.

Raquel Welch (Bolivian)
She was born Raquel Tejada, of Bolivian parentage, and is still one of the leading sex symbols in Hollywood. Her films include Roustabout (1964), Bandolero! (1968), The Wild Party (1974), Mother, Jugs and Speed (1978), Cinderella (1985), and Chairman of the Board (1998).

Ted Williams (Mexican)
One of the greatest hitters in baseball was born to a Mexican mother, May Venzor.

Martin Sheen ( Spaniard)
Real name Ramon Estevez, his mother, Mary Ann Phelan, was an Irish immigrant with IRA connections, and his father, Francisco Estevez, was a Spaniard who came to the U.S. by way of Cuba.
Captain Benjamin L. Willard in Apocalypse Now (1979). Frequently plays a Presidential or political character involved in the White House. See the "West Wing," "Dead Zone," "Kennedy," "Missiles of October," "Blind Ambition." He also did the narration in JFK and is active in politics.



Posted by @ 1:12 PM
1 comment from:  Just Jane,