Rita Moreno and Overcoming "Otherness" |

[@bkrewind]

Before you comment “Penelope Cruz is white” ...please actually watch the video. This is literally a point I make. The intro simply refers to her as Hispanic, which is not a race.

[@peterjamesleeching829]

Before you make a video accept that you will get critique. Why aren't you complaining about the racist black institutions that exclude ALL races AND the fact that because all this Anti white racism yes you racist bigot. Only black people are acknowledged. Please actually stop being a bigot

[@brittaistheworst7523]

@@peterjamesleeching829 A h y e s, the ✨𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙢✨

[@troqueionome]

@@peterjamesleeching829 If you want to critic it's better to make some sense, child

[@ParanoidOwlet]

Latino isn’t a race either, just saying

[@richardlionheart3965]

@@peterjamesleeching829 Please name some of those racist black institutions - I'm sure you must have many on the same scale as the Oscars

[@carolinashoemaker5938]

there's just something darkly funny about a white guy asking the woman he's putting in brown face if she's racist completely unironically when she complains about it, you almost expect it to be a joke but it isn't.

[@charliewalls2750]

It happens SO OFTEN irl. Sometimes you can laugh it off, sometimes you want to punch them in the face.

[@ROBYNMARKOW]

That makeup artist was the racist , not her..

[@mikaelaisraelsson119]

White ppl always do that if you start a conversation about race. Acknowledging someone's color at all is peak racism to the "I don't see color" crowd. It's a great way to derail the conversation and gaslight POC.

[@Kevin-rg3yc]

No surprise at all there’s this weird thing when a person of color acknowledges systematic racism lots of white people accuses them of being racist bc we are acknowledging and being blunt on their white privileges

[@riverbanzachamploo9725]

Yeah it kinda reminds me of a scene in a show called F is for Family, when a guy called the main character the face of racism when he was wearing blackface. I mean yeah what Frank did was kinda messed up and he isn't the most woke guy(it's the 70s what ya gonna do). But the guy in blackface was extremely racist and was just projecting it on Frank whike trying to look like an ally.

[@danjlp9155]

I’m still gagged that Rita Moreno wore that same dress she won her Oscar in to the Oscars a couple years ago. True icon and legend

[@MariaLuisa-oj7dz]

Hi, Just 200th like to this comment. 👀 I agree, absolutely. Rita Moreno, True icon and legend.

[@AH-nr1cw]

@@MariaLuisa-oj7dz SHe was in The Ritz a film about a gay Bathhouse (dont know if mentioned in video didnt't watch) happy to see a latin icon being accepting of the LGBT+ community

[@fruff30]

excuse me but, ''gagged''???? like wtf do you mean by gagged?

[@danjlp9155]

@@fruff30 stunned.

[@billygarcia9885]

I’m half-Cuban, half-Dominican, and my skin color can best be described as “Featured extra in Tim Burton film.”

[@MichaelOBrien71]

He does make good movies 🤡🤡

[@sorceress1986]

@Ana Dìwö You're half right. Ethnicity is not a race, but an ethnicity CAN also be ethnic specificity.

[@bcarlosd]

Thank you Mano! I’m half Cuban and half white. I’ve had to defend who I was to both sides of my family tree. It’s never easy but at least we’re not alone.

[@maggiemcfly5267]

@Ana Dìwö Latino is not an ethnicity either. there are black, asian, white and indigenous people who are latinos. Latino refers to people whose language comes from latin, mainly used to identify people from Latin America, but we all aren't the one ethnicity.

[@orangemascara]

@Prud•Vanilla so? I’m black and I’m fine with that. I love his pasty Johnny Depp vibes. Stop nitpicking. Spike Jones isn’t casting Eva Green anytime soon. Let artist have their aesthetics without pc bludgeoning them.

[@patraydagapioso8116]

Have to say Rita Moreno's Oscar dress was designed by a man of color. Very appropriate. It was designed by another Moreno and a Filipino at the same time, the great Pitoy Moreno.

[@carmengomez3748]

The dress is amazing and the style is timeless. I mean, a woman could wear this dress in 2021 and nobody would know that it was designed more than 50 years ago.

[@elizabarry4]

It's gorgeous!

[@carmengomez3748]

@@jazzvampire Thank you for the information. I've just checked it out and you are totally right, it's gorgeous. She is gorgeous.

[@marypagones6073]

I was just thinking how I was BLOWN AWAY by her dress. And, honestly, lots of Oscar dresses date pretty quickly. I would buy that tomorrow, if I had anywhere to wear it.

[@catalinaperez1078]

Idk why this little fact made me so happy :')

[@alvarocarrasco1025]

Do we all remember when Lea Michele got mad when she wasn’t cast as a latina in the new West Side Story despite she said she has learned spanish?

[@Kevin-rg3yc]

Giving the fact that she was exposed for being racist to her minority cast members on glee this is no surprise or shocker

[@brittaistheworst7523]

that's such a Rachel Berry move in the worst way possible

[@topherpaolucci3774]

Didn’t rachel get mad that Santana then played fanny’s understudy because Santana wasn’t Jewish

[@ColonelGreen]

@@topherpaolucci3774 Yes, and ironically she did so after having herself played Maria in a high school production of _West Side Story_ where Santana was Anita.

[@nicolarose2444]

@@topherpaolucci3774 lol and remember when rachel got mad that they were considering a black woman to play maria in west side story because the role was meant for her (a white woman)

[@outinsider]

Rita Moreno is a legend, and her approach reminds me of the late Cicely Tyson, who would only take roles she felt represented the strength of Black women, and whom always had something to say about opportunities for Black women. I wish the othering of Black, Brown, and Indigenous women would stop in every industry and everywhere. Rita Moreno's story is motivation enough to fight back.

[@cremetangerine82]

R.I.P. Cicely Tyson.

[@AH-nr1cw]

@@cremetangerine82 Woulda wish I had known about her earlier, I did know about Mary WIlson though (from the spuremes and sadly she passed this year in FEbruary) . The supremes reunion tour will never be.

[@Kevin-rg3yc]

The media representation of latin-Americans in Hollywood is largely one of the major reasons why some people don’t think black/indigenous/mixed race Latin Americans don’t exist despite the fact they make up the largest population in their community, it’s always white passing, mestizo or racially ambiguous

[@abandonedfragmentofhope5415]

Asian Latin Americans too.

[@Kevin-rg3yc]

@@abandonedfragmentofhope5415 yes as well

[@CorHellekin]

@@abandonedfragmentofhope5415 ikr, Brazil has the largest japanese population outside of Japan, for example.

[@JulianSteve]

Exactly. This is why people have a poor assumption on Afro-Latinos. I’m an Afro-Honduran, but since I am a dark skin Honduran, some people would not believe me and use examples of American/Latin America shows only having white-passing, mestizo, or racially ambiguous Latinos (or white people portraying Latinos)... As if a show or movie can be legit about ethnicity, nationality, and race. I also blame the education system in America, but let’s not get into that🤦🏾‍♂️😭...

[@abandonedfragmentofhope5415]

@@CorHellekin 1 in 5 Peruvian has Asian heritage too. I'm like Peru and Brazil have tons of Asians. Why aren't Asian Latin Americans represented or mentioned ever?

[@immortan-valkyrie90]

Correction: Rita Moreno didn't immigrate, as a Puerto Rican she's American. She just moved to the main land.

[@pansepot1490]

Still Puerto Rico is basically a colony of the USA. People in Puerto Rico don’t have right to vote neither for the US president nor for the US Congress.

[@leanntheloutodublin3257]

True, to be fair to the creator of this video, Puerto Ricans are in fact US citizens ( i believe as of 1917) but they still cannot vote for President or for Senators/House of Representatives so their status to many people especially mainland Americans, is quite confusing.

[@kimmykun]

Yeah, we migrate to the mainland, but don't immigrate. But Puerto Rico's status as an American colony makes this confusing. Same goes for the rest of the American colonies, really.

[@gabemcsanchez]

I pretty sure the word "emigrate" was used as opposed to "immigrate"

[@lmaldy14]

They can not vote for president if they arevresiding in PR. Once they move to the "mainland", they can register to vote just as any other American citizen. It's a matter of geography.

[@mystery1317]

As a dark-skinned puertorrican, I kept going “YES, YES” throughout this whole video. Rita Moreno is an absolute icon and we regard her as such! Thanks for making this video and explaining these things in a cohesive manner for those who might not be as aware of these issues!

[@tsuxi11]

After her oscar-nomination, many brazilian reporters asked Fernanda Montenegro if (or when) she was going to work in Hollywood. Her answer is significative: "no, because in Brazil I have a career, in the US I have an accent. They want me as mexican, reading the stars in a pueblo. I'm not that".

[@AH-nr1cw]

Similarly Maria Felix refused to work in the US for the same reasons. She did some films in euope and was pretty successful.

[@olg06]

Never heard of Ms. Montenegro, but reminded me of mexican actress Maria Felix, saying the same thing about Hollywood. She was too proud she snubbed the americans, instead worked in Canada & Europe and used her French speaking skills in film there.

[@joaoluizfonseca6914]

I’m Brazilian… I believe in Fernanda Montenegro’s idea, and it’s true; she was already solidified as a class-act actress here in Brazil, and in Hollywood she’d be considered as nothing more than a “foreigner”. At the same time, she always showed gratitude for her Oscar nomination from 1998, and thanked all the odds that allowed such recognition

[@joaoluizfonseca6914]

@@olg06 she’s a LEGEND… doesn’t really surprise me that you haven’t heard of her, but just know: I’m Brazilian, and here she’s our Meryl Streep 😂😂

[@BemSalles]

​@@olg06she plays the mother of the main character in Love in the time of cholera and she is amazing in it as always. She is our precious gem and all brazilians are proud that we were born in the same country as her.

[@michaelcain9324]

Moreno can do anything: comedy-The Nanny, musicals-West Side Story, gritty drama-OZ. She’s amazing.

[@eamonndeane587]

She can even do voice acting.... After all she was Carmen Sandiego...

[@CPTDoom]

Honestly, I love that she won the Emmy for her Muppet Show hosting - she's absolutely wonderful.

[@katemaloney4296]

The Electric Company. . . .

[@michelle8143]

She was AMAZING on Oz.

[@maurinet2291]

Omg, I KNEW I knew her from somewhere--other than West Side. She was glorious in OZ!

[@rabidheartbeats5953]

Rita Hayworth's transformation always makes me laugh. they basically turned a white girl into a white girl. just redhead. a reverse Ariana Grande experience.

[@nigelhenriques1893]

Not sure if this reliable:www.cracked.com/article_17501_5-celebrity-careers-launched-by-ethnic-makeovers.html But I have seen in other sources that she did have to bleach her skin...which makes it a little less funny, moreso painful.

[@claireindigo1200]

😂😂😂

[@AQuietNight]

Many stars got an overhaul regardless of race. The camera had to love you.

[@auldthymer]

@@nigelhenriques1893 I shudder to imagine: electrolysis in the 1940s... I imagine it was awful

[@pcarebear1]

I remember reading about Heyworth's story when I was younger and how physically painful her "transformation" was. I can't believe how willfully ignorant people are that they prefer to still use white actors for ethnic roles and change actors' appearances to look less "ethnic". Being a pale auburn Latina (only one in my Central American family) her story just inspired me to love myself, if not you end up losing your soul to haters

[@ihateberwald]

"I can't believe it. Good LORD. I'll leave you with that" What a legend omg

[@stevennieves3327]

Rita Moreno is not only an EGOT she’s also a Triple Crown. She and Helen Hayes are the only two thespians to hold both distinctions. To clarify because someone replied but deleted the comment (no shade just the truth): in order to be a Triple Crown you must win an Emmy, Oscar, and Tony in the acting categories and in order to be an EGOT you must win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony regardless of what category each is in. Rita Moreno and Helen Hayes both won their Emmys, Oscars, and Tonys in acting categories and each also received a Grammy. Someone like Whoopi Goldberg is an EGOT but not a Triple Crown because only her Oscar is for acting, her Emmys are for producing and hosting and her Tony is for producing.

[@jblue1622]

What a very successful Indian-Filpino-Latinx-whateverraceweneedyoutobe woman 😜

[@acchuptalaily7353]

doesn’t Viola Davis also have a Triple Crown?

[@stevennieves3327]

@@acchuptalaily7353 yes but she’s not an EGOT, she doesn’t have a Grammy. 24 people have achieved the Triple Crown but 22 of them don’t have a Grammy and are therefore not EGOTs, 16 people have achieved the EGOT but 14 of them did not win their Emmy, Oscar, and/or Tony in an acting category and are therefore not Triple Crowns. Rita won two acting Emmys, one acting Oscar, and one acting Tony in addition to winning a Grammy and Helen won one acting Emmy, two acting Oscars, and two acting Tonys in addition to winning a Grammy. If Viola Davis ever wins a Grammy she’ll have both honors but as of now she’s a Triple Crown and not an EGOT.

[@acchuptalaily7353]

@@stevennieves3327 thanks for clarifying!

[@AH-nr1cw]

@@stevennieves3327 Bette Midler has so much potential to be an EGOT and triple crown with the Rose and her early albums and so does Barbra and Diana Ross and Liza, so sad they're not

[@alpe1987]

Rita Moreno is a treasure and should be protected at all cost!

[@osielescalante2785]

I’m a Latino and I’m so happy to see what you’re doing with your platform!! Thank you for bringing attention to these issues, I greatly appreciate it!! ❤️

[@A-G-A-G]

Preach meryl (you’re profile picture is very apt for your comment) 😄

[@abandonedfragmentofhope5415]

Can't wait for your Oscar so white video about South Asian actresses. Finally Merle Oberon gets her due! She's tragically underrated!

[@nigelhenriques1893]

SAME!!! Its a weird story as well because there were also actresses pretending to be south asian to get roles( cue Anna Kafshi) in Hollywood.

[@abandonedfragmentofhope5415]

@@nigelhenriques1893 The situation with Anna Kashfi (Joan O'Callaghan) is deplorable.

[@alisha_1972]

Yes!! Especially considering how booming the film industry is in places like India, yet seem to get nothing but dust in Hollywood.

[@lizd.8655]

I saw a mini-series called Queenie many years ago and I never made the connection to Merle Oberon until a few years back! Yes, the series in full of brownface and exaggerated Indian accents (Sloane from Ferris Bueller plays the lead) but the real life story of Merle is much crazier!

[@elijahsackville-glucksburg]

South, East and Southeast Asians are TRAGICALLY under-represented.

[@LucasLima-ou3sz]

Seeing the case of the Latina in the video in the esrly days of cinema that played many ethnicities, remembered an interview with Brazilian legendary actress Fernanda Montenegro, after her Oscar nomination she was approached with numerous roles to portray Latinas of different countries and people with middle eastern/Arabian heritage, and it's that this happens to this day, and this fact stopped Fernanda to further her career in the US because she refused to play this roles because of that and for not being of the ethnicity/race/heritage that was written in the roles

[@Alinedays]

Caralho, não sabia disso mas infelizmente faz muito sentido

[@juliavargas13]

E ela foi a primeira (acho que até a única) atriz latino-americana a ser indicada para Melhor Atriz no Oscar. Ela ter perdido foi uma das maiores injustiças da premiação.

[@ranisantos6203]

Yeah, but i think she didn't acept because she is a legend here in Brasil

[@guyinmink4068]

The funny thing is that like Anya Taylor Joy, Fernanda Montenegro herself is a white Latina (her parents were Italian and portugese immigrants). It really shows a lot of the ignorance surrounding race v. Ethnicity in the Us.

[@ranisantos6203]

@@guyinmink4068 yeah

[@catherine.marial]

As a latina this is soooo well researched, thanks for saying latine instead of ‘latinx’ (which doesn’t make sense). Love you bk rewind

[@catherine.marial]

And by the way Lupita Nyongo is another latina Oscar winner!

[@marianahernandez4679]

I mean... kind of... she was born in Mexico and they moved before she was a year old and then she lived in Mexico less than a year as a teen so she has Mexican citizenship and speaks the language and while I think she’s a great actress, I feel like calling her Mexican is a stretch... I don’t even call myself Mexican although both my parents were born and raised their, not out of any shame but out of the fact that when I go to Mexico-regardless of having a good handle on speaking, reading, and writing, I am refers to as a foreigner

[@catherine.marial]

@@marianahernandez4679 Being born in a country means that you’re from that country. Nationality and ethnicity are two different things beloved

[@marianahernandez4679]

That’s pretty simplistic, go ask Ted Cruz if I’ve identifies as canadian... Luis Miguel was born in PR but has always identified as Mexican, Rita is legally a u.s. citizen, all I’m saying is it’s a cultural identity and being marketed as a Latina is not that dissimilar from the Anya taylor-joy situation

[@catherine.marial]

@@marianahernandez4679 I need you to google the differences between race, ethnicity and nationality

[@lh9591]

American born Latina here. On dating apps I’ll get messages like “do you have a sexy accent?” It’s disgusting. I don’t even have anything in my profile about my background. They’re just judging by appearance.

[@GothicFrenchLover]

Same! A white guy assumed I had an accent

[@Alephosho]

I'm from Spain and I always have a hard time trying to explain an american that i'm not POC or latino (This include Rosalia or Penelope Cruz too), and now I understand where the misunderstood comes from.

[@abandonedfragmentofhope5415]

Yep. Hollywood!

[@ertfgghhhh]

Ive been saying the SAME THING. Penelope and antonio banderas ase caucasians!!. People are sooo ignant

[@PedroHenrique-ii6mc]

when it comes to identifying yourself as a "latino", it's not totally wrong to say that you're latino if you're spanish. (according to a ton of different definitions of what latino is, every person who descents from a romance language speaking lineage is latino - therefore, if you are in spain and come from a family who speaks spanish or catalan or occitan, you could say you're latino because, historically, you're linked to a latin derived language) the problem is that, in the USA, for a lot people - including latinos themselves -, latino equals latin american. which is not totally wrong, but excludes every person that is not on the american continent. i can say that, as a brazilian person, i do not mind when someone who is not from the same continent as i am identifies themselves as latino. what does bother me is when people who clearly do not struggle with the latin american stereotype try to proclaim latin american culture as their own. (rosalía kinda does that, as i much as i love her, and many other spanish artists do that too, as well as italian artists). anyway this turned out longer that i anticipated but thats what i think as a mixed brazilian guy born and raised in latin america

[@shelbymckinney8888]

You kind of are considering people get upset when a non-spanish actor get cast in spanish roles people get upset.

[@may8043]

@@PedroHenrique-ii6mc language and words change as society changes. That is why Latino changed to mean people from the American continents that speak Spanish as a language. Spanish people are considered European based on their continent. Btw, I worked in an international school for 25 years, and students who came from Spain never described themselves as being Latinos.

[@Moribunny8]

Your level of research and respect always impresses me. I have always seen Latina and Hispanic be used interchangeably when in reality they are very different terms, and Americans using Latinx regardless of it being pretty unknown in actual Latin American countries. Thanks!

[@ertfgghhhh]

Not really.....

[@pincmin]

@@ertfgghhhh we have always used to refer to ourselves the term Latin Americans, and it's not a racial term, it has to do with our cultural unity since the times of Independence from Spain. Ethnicity, culture, a history in common. Also, I spoke to a woman from Venezuela and the term "afro-latina" was not part of her vocabulary, not a concept there.

[@KiaRoane]

As an Afro Latina, and former commercial print model, I can say they absolutely will try to change your appearance to match whatever they want you to represent, regardless of what your actual ethnicity is.

[@eamonndeane587]

You have my Deepest sympathies.

[@1Clearwords]

I'm so sorry for your having to go through that.

[@mariannaporto3870]

i had NO IDEA you were half brazilian!! i’m so happy about that, i’m such a fan of your work! this video was incredible as usual. beijos do brasil! ❤️🇧🇷

[@MicaelSG23]

I didn't know it either! good to know other Brazillians watch this channel.

[@annavale3971]

i honest to god screamed when she said so!

[@23deboraoliveira]

same here pessoal hahahaha can we have a brazilian stan account already?

[@mariannaporto3870]

@@annavale3971 omg i screamed at my screen too! hahahahaha

[@rdecf]

I screamed too! Actually, I had to rewind the video a couple of times to be sure about what she had said.

[@rfrolicarts]

The best part about this video was learning that Yalitza Aparecio is filming again. She was brilliant in Roma and it felt like she fell off the map for a little while. I look forward to watching her again.

[@vim-arie]

Rita Moreno did not “immigrate from Puerto Rico to New York City”. She moved. Puerto Ricans are not immigrants. They are US citizens. Let’s get that cleared.

[@aturtlethatisred]

Good point!!! (It may be possible she said emigrated which is moving within country of birth. I only learned this from my geographer SO).

[@maggiekarabel123]

This was bothering me, thank you. They’ve been US citizens since 1917. You don’t even have to have a passport to get from Puerto Rico to the US.

[@user-db2tz9hg8f]

No their not

[@maggiekarabel123]

@@user-db2tz9hg8f Yes they are. A simple Google search will clear that up for you.

[@testing1-2three]

Offended

[@orpheus9037]

Something worth noting about Moreno's career: Her first credit, on IMDB, is listed for 1950, her most recent credit for 2021. At 71 years, her credit list is longer than my arm. Moreno's is one of the longest burning career candles in the business. Whatever its ups and downs, Moreno's career is the very stuff of endurance. She's seen the industry in its post war years from every angle (and likely knows every story). Early on, as a young Latina actress, she may have been seen and cast as an outsider; in the present, as a long standing survivor, she's one of Hollywood's temple deities. She's certainly no outsider now. Guaranteed next time she walks out on an Oscar night stage to present, everyone in the audience will stand. And not merely as a testament to her longevity in the industry, but because of the now-dawning awareness of how important her historical career blazing path is to Hollywood's future and the change the industry must embrace if it's to survive.

[@Cinemallennials]

Rita’s life is extremely sad and fascinating. So glad to see her story here!

[@Me-mb1ex]

She and her career deserved SO much better.

[@BTheTrue]

Sad?

[@colleen4ever]

@@BTheTrue I know, she literally won the EGOT! Plus she;s one of the few Hollywood stars to be happily married! How is that sad?!

[@murceg0electrico]

@@colleen4ever Hayworth, not Moreno.

[@LauraisLoading]

"I'm half Brazilian and my skin color is somewhere between Cullen and transparent." I'm Argentinian and whiter than my American boyfriend. The struggle.

[@marianahernandez4679]

Ok but can we get a whole video on the queen who was Dolores Del Río? She’s so interesting and a her career moves embody the modern “female boss”

[@AH-nr1cw]

Shes also interesting in that she had a succesful carreer in Hollywood and the golden age of Mexican cinema

[@francisco.mrsm.22]

As a Puerto Rican, I'm cool with Latinx or Latine, but I prefer if we move more towards Latine, as it's easier to use in both languages and makes more sense to conjugate. Amazing video about one of my favorite actresses who, yes, was ROBBED for an Emmy for her role in One Day at a Time. I think one of the biggest struggles we have is that while it's important to recognize Latine identities in the U.S. and recognize our shared experiences, Hollywood still conflates us all the time. For the new West Side Story they cast a Latina as Maria which is better than the OG movie, but she's still not Puerto Rican despite the casting crew doing extensive casting in Puerto Rico. Additionally Latine actors are often encouraged to take non-Latine roles; like Lupita Nyong'o and Anya Taylor-Joy, who have tremendous careers but are never cast as Mexican or Argentinean respectively.

[@michaelreilly3513]

I wish there was no term at all and everyone was described as human, from planet earth and born in a particular country and their skin colour is a beautiful shade of, brown, gold, white, pale with freckles, black, orange purple or whatever lol

[@albiegato]

@@michaelreilly3513 There is. The word is 'person'. Or 'human', as you have used. But social construct or not, race and racism exists.

[@michaelreilly3513]

@@albiegato I know, but no harm in trying to change no matter how idealistic I may be :D

[@LittleMissLounge]

@@michaelreilly3513 I get where you're coming from, but "colorblindness" is not the answer. We should celebrate our differences, not hate NOR ignore them.

[@ignazs.5816]

Latine sounds just as absurd as Latinx. No.

[@jonathanvelazquezph.d.2719]

Thank you for this video. As a Puerto Rican, I am happy to be reminded of such a trailblazing, talented, and tenacious artist. If I am correct, Rita Moreno is the first Latin American to EGOT!

[@nazarisreyes6037]

Rita Moreno is absolutely an icon, it bothers me so much that people talk about how there's not old Hollywood stars alive, she's alive, fabulous and still doing amazing work

[@sunshine6423]

could you talk about Carmen Miranda any day? i would love to see your intake about her on this industry. also knowing you’re half brazilian makes me so happy 🇧🇷

[@jackkerouak]

Agree! I don't think her story is familiar to many Americans

[@FOLIPE]

Half-Brazilian... Nothing more American than a Half-Brazilian.

[@analuizamarques4455]

@@FOLIPE what do you mean by that?

[@FOLIPE]

@@analuizamarques4455 That only someone completely embedded in American ideas (ie. An American, not a Brazilian) would think in those terms

[@sunshine6423]

@@FOLIPE I get your point tho, i just mentioned it because I love her channel.

[@marypagones6073]

Anita, for me, is the emotional center of the film, the only person who sees the impossible situation of her community clearly but still seeks out joy in life. And she has all my favorite songs!

[@lunacarmin]

Dolores del Río was so stunning. She had a lot of drama with mexican actor/director Emilio Fernandez, but when they were on screen together was pure 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@jamestyler7697]

I loved her with Pedro Armendariz

[@thehopeofeden597]

I’ve been depressed and sleep deprived all day but seeing the one video I’ve always wanted on actual goddess made flesh Rita Moreno, helps immensely. To quote her Oscar speech: “My Lord! I can’t believe it! I leave ya with that!”

[@carmengomez3748]

I know this video is focused on female actresses, but I couldn't help thinking on Martin Sheen the entire video. He basically had to hide his Spanish heritage (real name being Ramón Estevez) in order to be offered roles. Even if he has blue eyes and no accent, apparently he was not white enough for the industry.

[@bkrewind]

Yes! Oscar Isaac did the same.

[@eamonndeane587]

Emilio is Sheen's Son. Ramon Estavaz is Martin Sheen's real name.

[@carmengomez3748]

@@eamonndeane587 You are completely rigth. I corrected it. Thank you very much!

[@eamonndeane587]

@@carmengomez3748 You're welcome.

[@bradforddillman7671]

I love Rita. She and Morgan Freeman taught me how to read on The Electric Company. If I ever met her, I think I’d start bawling.

[@KiaRoane]

Yes I knew that Rita was a Latina, and when I found out how they treated her, my heart literally broke.

[@hatpeach1]

Two points. First, good writing requires the writer to precisely define her terms. You're better than a good writer. You should not apologize -- and stop the flow of your piece -- to point out that you are doing the thing that good writers do. Second, this just was terrific, and I learned quite a few things. I really hope Ms. Moreno sees it and reaches out to you to tell you so.

[@AllBozosOnThisBus]

I enjoyed that intro, and many people need to see it.

[@yassercastillo2607]

Yes, I prefer Latin Americans over latinx thank you for taking the time

[@bellathom8937]

Love the video. Rita Moreno means so much to so many people. I still remember the first time I saw West Side story with my Abuela and that was my first time seeing someone like me on screen.

[@pillboxmovies]

I am thoroughly engrossed and depressed. Thank you for continuing to tackle less spotlit issues historical and present.

[@Unholywooder]

‘Halfway between a Cullen and transparent’ 🤣 I nearly died. I’m half Uruguayan and I can relate.

[@ImnotassweetasIusedtobe]

"What the hell is a Latinx? Is it a Cuban Kleenex? Is so, it is the best Kleenex!" - Lydia Riera, Rita Moreno's character in "One Day at a Time."

[@olg06]

I wish people would stop saying latinx, it sounds awful!

[@larrydirtybird]

I am first generation Cuban-American. I was born in the USA. I’m a 6’3” male with European facial features and dark skin, dark hair and dark eyes. This is how I self identify, and how I check the boxes and applications: my race is Caucasian, my ethnicity is Hispanic. I am 52 years old, raised in the USA, and I can say the only time in my life that my ethnicity has ever caused me any kind of problems in the USA was in trying to become an actor in New York and LA. Never, in any other kind of job I have had, has my ethnicity been a drawback. In any kind of opportunities, be they personal or professional has being Hispanic been a minus for me. It has never been a drawback in making friends, in dating, and in employment- in fact, it is often been a plus. Not in the world of acting, though. I speak English with an American accent. I can do so many different kinds of accents from across the English-speaking world. And yet, when I’d go on auditions, I almost always had to read with some variation of a Spanish accent. The roles I went up for were usually Thug #1 or Thug #2. Never a 3 dimensional character with interesting dialogue. I can count on my fingers how many times I was given an audition for an English-language commercial, and when I did, it was usually for Hispanic Male. Just about every commercial that I auditioned for was in Spanish. I speak Spanish, but with the nebulous accent that is neither Mexican nor Caribbean nor South American, so as a result, I hardly ever got cast in Spanish language commercials. I can’t express how incredibly limiting my ethnicity was as an actor. I would audition for voiceover work, and see Anglo actors reading the same copy as mine, but in English, and mine was the Spanish version. I would ask to be able to read the English copy, and I wouldn’t be allowed to. For voiceover work! Nobody even knows what you look like when you do voiceover work! I finally quit pursuing acting because it was just too defeating and artistically unrewarding. I find it ironic that the only place I have ever felt discrimination was in liberal Hollywood, and I say this as a liberal myself. An industry run by liberals is, in my opinion, the most racist industry in the USA. I’m grateful to all the Latino actors, female and male, who keep plugging away and fight for change in the industry, as well as trailblazers like Rita Moreno. They are a lot stronger and more tenacious and determined than I.

[@partycentralsales]

Thank you for posting about your behind-the-scenes experience in Hollywood. I know people who work in film who say the freelance nature of the business makes it more racist and sexist than other industries that have a more formalized corporate structure.

[@taniamejia5359]

I'm a mixed Latina. If we want more representation we need to be more involved in Hollywood, we need to have more writers, directors, producers etc. Only our people can tell our stories right and not what has been done to us in the past.

[@Emma-cu8yo]

I remember when watching West Side Story in middle school, the teacher said something like “This actor [referring to George Chakris] knows what’s it’s like to be an immigrant and be an outsider in America because he’s Greek” and I was so confused lmao. She was Greek and always wanted to talk about how she was oppressed.

[@CatHasOpinions734]

That's nonsense. My family's Greek and the only oppression we ever faced on that basis was dealing with people (who mostly only spoke one language, English) treating the first of us who came here like idiots because they didn't speak perfect English the moment they got off the boat, but that's common to all immigrants from non-English-speaking countries. I don't know whether that Greek actor had to deal with that particular struggle, but even if he did that's not a comparable experience to what his character would have had to deal with.

[@FranNyan]

It depends a lot on the individual experience, where you live, and how well you pass. My Greek-American brother in law has talked many times about when his family was Florida and they were repeatedly pulled over and had the car searched for possible drug trafficking because they had a nice car (aka, the usual "you look like you make more money than minimum wage and I don't think you're white enough for that" BS.) Because they weren't British level White, they were conflated with the Mexican-American population that was the normal target for that sort of profiling. Up in the NYC area, however,they blended in with all the Italians who have been finally accepted as White Enough so nobody looks twice at them. It's kinda mindblowing how much just which area of the US can change how much oppression people face, even before you factor in time period.

[@CatHasOpinions734]

@@FranNyan Gotcha, so not specifically anti-Greek racism, just colorism from being mistaken for a person of color. That makes sense.

[@ivonnemora2839]

Oh god, thank you for doing your research on that whole "latinx" thing. A lot of us hate it and it feels imposed by USA citizens.

[@olg06]

Is imposed by far left liberal democrats

[@ivanlopez2412]

Thanks so much for the recognition to dolores del río, she is still a big star in México ♥️🇲🇽 and also lupe velez, but I would've love to see something about katy jurado, before rita moreno's Oscar win, katy jurado was the first latinoamerican and mexican actress to be nominated for an Oscar (broken lance 1954) and the first to ever win a golden globe (high noon 1952) in a film category and by the way im huge fan of your videos 👏🏻👌🏻.

[@jamestyler7697]

Katy Jurado was robbed of a nomination for High Noon - Rita and Kay were apparently good friends and like Rita Katy refused roles she deemed degrading

[@ivanlopez2412]

@@jamestyler7697 that's true, and is still happening salma hayek, jennifer López, eiza González and other latinas faced the same struggle.

[@lizd.8655]

Oh, I didn't know that! I finally watched High Noon on Netflix a few years back and I recognized her immediately from telenovelas! I couldn't believe how beautiful she was :-)

[@jeffsanders3453]

Would you consider doing a video about Monique for winning in Precious and how she felt that she wasn’t given respect after wining? Seems like it would be an interesting topic

[@dchami]

First of all, I want to say that I absolutely love all of your videos! They've taught me so much of the politics of the oscars, and of the acting industry in general. Now as a Chilean cis woman, I hope to clear up the gender situation a bit. In spanish, all nouns are gendered, which means that, traditionally, there is no gender neutral way to refer to objects or people. For example, "la silla" translates to "the chair", but the prefix "la" is innately feminine. If there's a group of people with multiple genders, then the plural would be instantly masculine ("los"). So, if you have a group of people which is made up of five women you would refer to them as "ellas". A group of five men would be "ellos". But then, if you have a group of five women and one man, the way to refer to said group would be instantly "ellos" , despite the fact that men make up the minority of that group. In response, there have been recent attempts to gender neutralize the whole ordeal. The most popular, as far as I can tell, would be by replacing the "o" in "ellos" with an "e" resulting in the word "elles". So referring to latines is correct! Now, it should be said that official spanish dictionaries, such as the RAE, have rejected the use of gender neutral pronouns and as such you'll see that most official or educational entities still use the bigendered pronouns to refer to objects or people. I can only speak for Chile here, but it seems that most people reject, or even mock, the usage of gender neutral pronouns. The only spaces in which gender neutral speech has become common are with young progressives. Personally, I will refer to people by whichever pronounce they ask me to use, whether that's "el", "la", or the gender neutral "le" . However, in casual conversation, I still default to referring to groups of people by the traditional male pronouns. Hope this helps!!

[@mimimicamica]

as an Argentine women I agree, it's our thing to figure out, I don't mind hispanic people speaking in inclusive language but english speakers shouldn't have place using it

[@olg06]

Why let gringos dictate what to call yourself and how to speak?

[@fanofmusicals]

You know you're a legend when Steven Spielberg/Tony Kushner create a role for you in a remake of a film that won you an Oscar.

[@fredd8556]

Yes, thank you. As much I don't appreciate Hilaria Baldwin, I don't understand why people blamed her for lying about her "ethnicity. She lied about her "nationality" - it's different. European Spanish people (Spaniards) are predominantly white (as is Europe, though there are, of course, people who are Black and French, Asian and Portuguese etc...) Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem are white people. So is Antonio Banderas. They are not "Latine" and they don't belong to a "minority". Same with Italian people: Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida and Anna Magnani are/were white women. Americans confuse "Mediterranean" with "Latina".

[@eamonndeane587]

Rita Moreno is A Puerto Rican Gem. What more needs to be said?

[@mdr216]

Another amazing video. As a PR who really appreciates Rita Moreno's impact Im super glad you did this. Folks still have a lot to learn about the diversity of the latin diaspora. We are not a monolith just like most groups and I think a lack of education and confusion can be attributed to the joke of representation in media. Rita is a legend.

[@russellaguirre8487]

I have never clicked on a video so fast in my life. Also, justice for One Day at a Time. If Netflix bothered to campaign that show correctly, Rita and Justina Machado would each have an Emmy by now.

[@randeeelyse7122]

I am SO EXCITED to see you featured Rita ❤️

[@CESCCVIpr3109]

I have been waiting for this one! As a Puerto Rican, I'm obsessed with Rita Moreno. So excited! ❤

[@alphabettical1]

I've been reflecting on these ideas recently. When I was a child, I treated my looks as though they meant my identity could shift between Indigenous, Polynesian, Hawaiian, etc in the way that Rita Moreno's typecasting would shift her. My mother is Malay (but darkskinned, so Asian and brown, but not South Asian) and my father is white. I wasn't taught any language to describe myself, to the point of never hearing the idea that brown is beautiful until I read it in a children's book at age 16. 16!! That's only in 2015! It is something I grapple with, because although I am young, my parent's conservative sheltering of me had me grow up with ideas that were from much older generations. So seeing things like this video that discuss the nuances of old-fashioned otherness help me understand how I could think that way when no one else my age did. My childhood friends were racist, sure, but the education on race (etc) that I have now assumed I was raised like them, and so started from a place that is much more modern, where they don't explore the specific older dynamics that I needed to unpack. (It is worth noting that a part of this was being Canadian, and thus raised in a society that thinks FNMI people aren't fully real. The cultures I thought were similar to my looks were based on perceiving them as ethnic enough but lightskinned enough, plus Native people being the closest thing to myself in the textbooks, and then being taught that Native people aren't real enough to matter.) It's just so bizarre to reflect on now that I see things as they are - things like how when I was a child, I would draw black people, brown people, and white people in one style, but southeast and east asians in another, because I'd only seen them drawn in stereotypical anime forms. Things like how it was only 6 years ago when I first heard the idea that I could be beautiful AND brown, and didn't need to lighten my skin and tone down my features like I had been doing in highschool until then.

[@pincmin]

As a Latin American I can say: YES!! Finally a video that I can use against people every time they try to use Hollywood Ethnicity parameters to define us.

[@DegrassiInstantStar]

BKR calling it for what it is: #OscarsSoWhite Rita Moreno is ICONIC!!! And then being educated! We love an educated channel! Thank you for bringing light to Ms Moreno and all you do for us with this channel.

[@colleen4ever]

What do you mean? Have you SEEN the Oscar nominees this year?! This is THE most diversified Oscars in history!!

[@3yp233]

Yasssss MISS RITA MORENO. Thank you for covering her story.

[@maggiemcfly5267]

I love Rita Moreno, so nice to see her as a subject in one of your videos

[@tigerlillysbookcorner4492]

Something of note, when Catherine Zeta Jones did an interview for her role as Griselda Blanco discussing how in previous roles where played Latina, she has beat actual Latinas for those roles which just speaks volumes. I will support Jennifer Lopez’s portrayal of Griselda once it comes to the big screen. Unfortunately Jennifer’s snubs for Selena and Hustlers more than 20 years apart speaks volumes to how little has changed. I wish people would understand that Hispanics and Latine aren’t the same. I do hope things will change and I admire Rita so much since her story in a way is similar to Cicley Tyson

[@myytchanneldinakoha8498]

Catherine Zeta Jones was great casting there.

[@anaclgarcez]

I am confused, isn't Catherine Zeta-Jones Welsh?

[@nazarisreyes6037]

@@anaclgarcez yes, and some of her most popular roles, specially early on her career, are playing Latinas, she doesn't even speak Spanish

[@anaclgarcez]

@@nazarisreyes6037 that's why I was confused. Nobody confused Hispanic with Lantine, in the case of Catherine, because she is neither, she is just a white actress and her roles were whitewashed, right?

[@nazarisreyes6037]

@@anaclgarcez very much, the way she has responded to criticism about it makes it sound like she doesn't have much respect for the cultures she keeps profiting off of either

[@ArtemisScribe]

Rita's "Making Breakfast" scene in One Day At A Time is probably one of the finest moments of physical comedy that I have seen on television in a very very long time. My mum actually paused the episode and rewound it to watch it over.

[@stevennieves3327]

I’ve been waiting for this!!! Thank you so much! I’m Puerto Rican and Rita along with Jose Ferrer and Benicio Del Toro make me proud but it’s so disheartening that they and Anthony Quinn are the only Latin Americans to win Oscars. We, Black actors, and Asian actors need more representation and roles in Hollywood.

[@abandonedfragmentofhope5415]

What about Anthony Quinn?

[@stevennieves3327]

@@abandonedfragmentofhope5415 oh crap! I can’t believe I forgot him! Thanks

[@himanshisobti6937]

Rita Moreno is a great actress, I have not seen everything she has been in but in the ones, I did see she is great. She represents her heritage so proudly and has inspired many. Also, why is no one talking about how she is 90 and was playing a lead role for the past 4 years in a primetime television show that is One Day at a Time (would highly recommend). She is literally my idol

[@branagain]

I first knew of Rita Moreno from Electric Company, when I was a child. That show also gave Morgan Freeman a start. It was swimming with Oscar talent.

[@pansypresents2103]

only 16 people have an egot. reno moreno is an international treasure.

[@kaybeeva]

This is got to be the absolute earliest I've ever been to your videos. We appreciate all the efforts put in your videos.

[@SoulKnightKing]

Something overlooked about Rita is that she also has a Triple Crown of Acting. An Emmy, Oscar, and Tony for competitive acting categories. To this day, she is the only person aside with Helen Hayes to be an EGOT with a Triple Crown in Acting. She is a legend.

[@Nkanyiso_K]

*I think my soul temporarily left my body when you said you used an eraser to make thumbnails*

[@LandgraabIV]

Great video! I am a white Brazilian and when I went to the US for the first time it was during Trump's administration and I was very anxious about being a Latino there. My surprise was that because I don't have an accent and have fair skin I could navigate through whiteness very smoothly. I feel like "Latino" ignores the very complex racial structure of Europeans, Africans, Asians and indigenous peoples in Latin America. I see a lot of "first Latino this, first latino that" but they're all ultimately white. I recomend BadEmpanada's "'Latino' is not a useful category", he does a great job too.

[@conservativedestroyer4056]

Hi it’s not as unusual as you think here in America. Whenever you fill out paperwork here, there is a category called non-white Hispanic and white

[@colleen4ever]

@@conservativedestroyer4056 Where is that? In all the papers I've ever filled it it was 'White' or 'Hispanic' No 'Non-White Hispanic'!

[@js7dragon]

I literally screamed "yaaaaaassss"

[@ferand1396]

I love your channel. It makes me happy everytime I see that you uploaded something new. I'm glad you talked about this subject, because I'm Latino myself. Rita Moreno presented the Oscar for best foreign film in 2018, which was won by Chile, the country where I'm from.

[@fiig5196]

As a Latina , I am both saddened by the past and encouraged by the future. Thank you for this video. As a movie watch, I just wanna add a fun fact : Michael B Jordan (Creed, Black Panther) has made it a point going forward to audition for roles written for white actors. And I’m here for the dominos like that that Moreno set in plaxe

[@Mizuki101Ikuto]

14:57 she's playing a SOUTHEAST Asian woman, not East Asian, since The King and I is set in Siam, modern day Thailand which is in Southeast Asia (there's a whole other debacle about east asian and southeast asian colorism and how we, brown people in southeast asia aren't "valued" as much for our skin colour and southeast asia is very much different from east asia)

[@Rhasher]

Another amazing video and I can't wait to see more. But when you mentioned you're half-brazilian, I got so surprised! As a brazilian, I was so happy one of my favorite youtubers has a foot here. Você é incrível!

[@belle-ashton2167]

Rachel Zegler should have been nominated in the Best Actress category at the Oscars. She was incredible. I’m glad Ariana DeBose was nominated though.

[@izzyc127]

I come from the future, Ariana Debose has won an Oscar for best supporting actress and is also another Oscar winner who has won an award for playing the same role in a movie.

[@yo_gabygabba]

What I love abt Rita is she didn't take those stereotypical roles after WSS. That's why after WSS she didn't make another movie for 7 years. At first people saw her as the "stereotypical latina" and after WSS since she thought it was gonna change in her favor and people would see her as more then that but people still thought of her as that. She didn't give up. She knew her worth and is now one of the most influential actresses of all time. Ily RM 💖💖

[@peytonpupstar7931]

Her version of "Fever" on The Muppets.. Iconic. Truly iconic.

[@christopherbower3828]

Rita Moreno is such a legend of the stage and screen. As a huge fan of both comic books and much of the classic Hollywood era, I often prefer casting in adaptations to more accurately reflect the source material. But, the casting of two beautiful and multi-talented Latina/Latinx actresses, Sasha Calle and Leslie Grace, in the traditionally white roles of Supergirl/Kara Zor-El and Batgirl/Barbara Gordon, is so important and much needed. These actresses will do amazing jobs and bring so much to the roles. Both of their reactions to being cast are so moving and Grace has been quoted as saying that she feels this is really important representation for "people who look like" her. Rosario Dawson also voiced Batgirl/Barbara Gordon in the Lego Batman Movie and, in the film, the character's look was changed to reflect Dawson's darker skin. At a toy fair, I once heard a Latina little girl, upon seeing a Lego Batgirl mini figure, exclaim to her mother "See, I told you Batgirl is brown, like me!" I know that may sound corny or forced, but it really happened and made me think more deeply about representation and how far Hollywood has come, in regards to roles and ethnicity. Obviously, there is still so far to go and diversity is often forced and still lacking in much media. But, despite what some people say and while every person of each ethnicity will, obviously, not feel the same way about casting, representation matters. Thank you for uploading these really informative and entertaining videos. 🙂

[@janethayes5941]

I think you do a wonderful job in the sensitive and respectful way you present all of your podcasts. You are one of my very favorite channels. Please continue and thank you for all your hard work.

[@hazet13]

Freaking love Moreno! She's such a skilled and iconic actress. I only hope her career continues with varied and interesting characters

[@EclecticDD]

Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, and Antonio Banderas are from Spain.

[@AllGreyEverything]

This. It was the first thing that jumped out to me in the video. I'm just going to pretend she said Lupita N'yongo.

[@jibrilleo]

Well in the introduction BKR defined the points of Latino and Hispanic including the inclusion of Spain.

[@oberonyronwood5657]

As a Spaniard this is so incredibly interesting to watch, thank you so much for the hard work! And all my love to the Latine community too! I really hope you get the representation you deserve!

[@bluferret2480]

BKR: "I was erasing it... With an eraser..." Me: Oh no.... oh dear.... Oh you poor sweet person, oh no.

[@anasofiadasilvateixeira2968]

Good video, but there is one inaccuracy: Carmen Miranda was not brasilian, she was portuguese, she emigrated with her family to Brasil when she was still a child.

[@sampa2nyc]

Dorothy Dandridge was originally cast as Tuptim in "The King and I" but later turned it down. It's interesting to note that the role didn't open doors for Rita Moreno either.

[@marialeticiaborges7761]

omg I didn't know that you are half brazilian! I would love if you could do a video about brazilian cinema or brazilian actresses, I feel like it needs a little love. Even we brazilians don't recognize the amazing movies that we have here. Loved the video! 🥰🇧🇷

[@shvddvy]

love this channel, gives me so much insight into the film industry that I never knew. also interesting with what Rita said at 18:08, when in a recent interview about the "In the Heights" film where the main cast was of lighter tones (except one black actor) and in short she basically said that "people should just wait" and "it wasn't that big of an issue". if possible, in the future would love to see a video about the film's industry choices for casting lighter-skinned individuals, whether that be black, asian, latine, etc.

[@stepawayful]

"if you have no idea what I'm talking about..." is exactly why she needed to make this video!

[@ROBYNMARKOW]

Love Rita Moreno. She was fantastic in West Side Story & I watched her when she was on "The Electric Company" back in '70's( "Hey you GUYYS!") Finally she looks great for 90.! 👌

[@andy2645]

I really appreciate your research about the use of inclusive language in Latin America, it's nice to see someone take into account that we prefer latine over "latinx". Really goes to show that you put a lot of effort in details that may seem unimportant to some

[@yeojin9642]

as a latin non-binary that speaks spanish everyday, the all gender inclusive term is latine!

[@majo77]

This is purely out of ignorance so please be patient with me. Why is Latine and not Latin? At least in English; I get why in Spanish as a Spanish speaker myself. Latin sounds neutral enough, doesn't it?

[@SarcasmGuy091]

Latine and Latin American are better to identify myself and our community. It is as inclusive as it can get. Latinx doesn’t do justice due to EXCLUDING Trans, Intersexual individuals, and Afro-Latinos. So, I puke at the word “Latinx”

[@yeojin9642]

@@majo77 i actually dont know😭 but its a good question tho, it might be bc latin is in singular and u cant call a group of people by that? or you could say latins but it doesnt feel right

[@lh9591]

I was always so confused why Anita looked so old in West Side Story. Now I know it’s pounds of makeup. She looks so young at the academy awards!!

[@minorka2]

it was definitely the caked up makeup

[@ImnotassweetasIusedtobe]

Her abusive marriage pisses me off so much as well. She deserved way better than the abusive scrotes that she got. I hate that SO many women get abused by men through being forced into this "my abusive male romantic partner has also self-appointed himself as my manager and I'm his cash cow" like Whitney Houston, Helen Reddy, Tina Turner, and countless other women, including Rita Moreno. Domestic abuse makes you not even realize you're being abused; the gaslighting, the forced isolation from others, and the mistreatment increase and become so normalized by the abuser that before you know it, you've been in a decades-long marriage with your abuser, who also "manages" (aka. controls) your career, controls your MONEY, and essentially controls you in every way.