Opportunities for Latino Americans (i.e. those people who are or have family ancestry from Latin America) in the film industry, often mirrors the opportunities, and challenges, facing people of other racial or ethnic identities who work in the industry, behind or in front of the film camera. Historically, actors or actresses of Latino ancestry often found work within certain stereotypical roles, which often reflected broader social attitudes and cultural biases.
Latino men were frequently depicted as being highly aggressive and also with low levels of emotional maturity, i.e. criminals, low-life thugs or the highly passionate, even violent, love interest of the starring character. Latino women, Latinas, were similarly portrayed when it came to their sexuality, but where as Latino men could be in a position of authority, albeit within an anti-social, criminal setting, Latinas were oftentimes characters with much less authority, such as housemaids, domestic servants or even prostitutes.
Traditionally, even without the usage of these stereotypes, it was rare for a Latino or Latina character in a film to be the star, unless the film was primarily marketed to a Latino audience. Behind the camera, it is still difficult for a Latino film producer, director, screenwriter or cinematographer to have mainstream commercial success.
However, as the social attitudes and biases change, there has been a gradual improvement in film depictions as well as in career opportunities for Latin Americans.
The negative stereotyping of Latinos in film relates to the history of Latinos. Mexican Americans were seen by Anglos as uneducated and lacking integrity and thus unworthy of the rights to citizenship. Early films portrayed these negative stereotypes of Mexicans and Mexican Americans, but as time went on these stereotypes expanded to Central and South Americans. In the late 1890s, few Latinos were involved in filmmaking or appeared as actors in films. The Latinos that did appear in films or produced films were from privileged backgrounds. At this time, the late 1890s, filmmaking consisted of silent films. Myrtle Gonzalez and Beatriz Michelena were among the few Latinos to create silent films. In the 1910s and 1920s, a few film production companies rose to dominate the industry, forcing the depletion of Latinos working in film production. It was not until the 1970s that Latinos reemerged in the field of film production.
Silent western films were the first films to feature Latino characters. The Latino characters often played the role of the rebellious "greaser" opposing the white hero. The term "greaser" is used to describe Mexican bandits and other lazy, untrustworthy Mexican characters. Tony the Greaser and The Greaser's Revenge were two movies that capitalized on this storyline. These films helped to start the trend of establishing Latino characters as "others" in contrast to whites. The Mexican government in the 1920s complained and boycotted Hollywood films. These boycotts and complaints led film producers to disassociate negative Latino characters from identification with any particular country. This led to pan-Latino representations which were still negative, just not associated with one particular country.
The mid-1920s led to a few opportunities for Latino actors and actresses. The popularity of the Italian actor Rudolph Valentino, the original "Latin lover", created opportunities for Latino actors and actresses such as Ramón Novarro, Dolores del Río, Lupe Vélez, Carmen Miranda etc. These actors were cast as major roles as passionate Latin lover types and became international stars in silent films. The Latin lover image capitalized on notions that Latinos were innately passionate and sexual. The Latin lover image still exists today along with Latinos being viewed as villains and servants.
Just as the population of Latinos is rapidly rising in the United States in the 21st century, Latinos are also emerging (although not as quickly as the population) in media, including motion pictures, both in front of and behind the camera. Mainstream news media conglomerates are finally covering "Latinos in Film" news, and also offer ground-breaking coverage specifically aimed at spotlighting Latinos in film, such as The Huffington Posts Latino Entertainment page. News not only highlights Latino celebrities, but Latino filmmakers of both studio and independent movies. Additionally, a small handful of organizations have emerged in the 2000s that advocate for Latinos rights and opportunity in the field of entertainment in the United States, as well as raising awareness of these rising talents, including the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP), The Latino Film Fund (LFF) and Edward James Olmos' Latino International Film Institute. One of the first movies that portrayed Latinos not as stereotypes, but as regular families with their strengths and weaknesses was Mi Familia. The film won the Latino magazine's best picture of the 1995. It starred Edward James Olmos, Jimmy Smits and Jennifer Lopez. Jennifer Lopez appeared in the Latino magazine's list of Hollywood's most powerful along with producer Nely Galán, writer–producer Josefina López, and Cameron Diaz. She also starred in movies such as Jack alongside Robin Williams, Anaconda as a female lead, and Money Train with Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson. Moctesuma Esparza is a famous Latino producer who is best known for Selena, which grossed $21.7 million in its first ten days. He started his career in the 1980s with movies like Gettysburg, The Battle of Gregorio Cortez and The Milagro Beanfield War.
Things seem to be changing for Latinos in Hollywood as many Latinos enter and excel in the television and film industry. With movies such as Mi Familia and Selena making a respectable showing at the box office, the future is looking bright for Latinos in film.
| Actors | Note | |
|---|---|---|
| Born in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba | ||
| Son of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball | ||
| Is a Mexican actor of German descent | ||
| Is a Mexican actor of Lebanese descent | ||
| Born in Panama City, Panama | ||
| Is a Mexican actor and singer | ||
| Is of Peruvian and German descent | ||
| Was of Mexican and Spanish descent | ||
| Was of Cuban and French descent | ||
| Is a Puerto Rican actor | ||
| Is a Mexican actor | ||
| Is of Puerto Rican descent | ||
| Is of Puerto Rican descent | ||
| Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico | ||
| Son of José Ferrer and Rosemary Clooney | ||
| Born in Havana, Cuba | ||
| Born in Guadalajara, Mexico | ||
| Is of Cuban and Chilean descent | ||
| Is of Mexican descent | ||
| Is a Mexican actor | ||
| Born in Guatemala City, Guatemala | ||
| Was a Puerto Rican actor | ||
| Was an Argentine actor | ||
| Is of Argentine descent | ||
| Born in Bogotá, Colombia | ||
| Is of Mexican descent | ||
| Is of Mexican descent | ||
| Is a Mexican actor | ||
| Is of Mexican descent | ||
| Was of Mexican descent | ||
| Born in Mexico City, Mexico | ||
| Is of Puerto Rican, Irish, and Italian descent | ||
| Was a Mexican actor | ||
| Is of Mexican descent | ||
| Born in Santiago, Chile | ||
| Is of Mexican descent | ||
| Son of John Posey, his mother was of Mexican descent | ||
| Was of Puerto Rican and German descent | ||
| Son of Freddie Prinze, his mother is of English and Irish descent | ||
| Was a Mexican actor | ||
| Born in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico | ||
| Was a Mexican actor | ||
| Is a Brazilian actor | ||
| Was of Mexican and English descent | ||
| Is of Mexican descent | ||
| Is of Colombian and Venezuelan descent |
| Actresses | Note | |
|---|---|---|
| Jessica Alba | Her father is of Mexican ancestry | |
| María Conchita Alonso | Is a Cuban-Venezuelan actress and singer | |
| Trini Alvarado | Is a Puerto Rican-American actress | |
| Adria Arjona | Is a Guatemalan-Puerto Rican actress | |
| Lucie Arnaz | Daughter of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball | |
| Bérénice Bejo | Is a French-Argentine actress | |
| Sônia Braga | Is a Brazilian actress | |
| Barbara Carrera | Is a Nicaraguan-American actress | |
| Elpidia Carrillo | Is a Mexican actress | |
| Lynda Carter | Her mother was of Spanish-Mexican descent[1] | |
| Rosario Dawson | Her mother is of Puerto Rican and Afro-Cuban descent | |
| Ana de Armas | Is a Cuban actress | |
| Cote de Pablo | Is a Chilean-American actress | |
| Kate del Castillo | Is a Mexican actress | |
| Dolores del Río | Was a Mexican actress | |
| Cameron Diaz | Her father's family were Cuban (of Spanish descent) | |
| America Ferrera | Her parents, were originally from Tegucigalpa, Honduras | |
| Selena Gomez | Her father is of Mexican descent | |
| Eiza González | Is a Mexican actress and singer | |
| Salma Hayek | Is a Mexican actress of Lebanese and Spanish descent | |
| Katy Jurado | Was a Mexican actress | |
| Victoria Justice | Her mother is of Puerto Rican ancestry | |
| Eva Longoria | Is a Mexican-American actress | |
| Jennifer Lopez | Puerto Rican parents | |
| Demi Lovato | Her father was of Mexican and Spanish descent | |
| Mía Maestro | Is an Argentine actress | |
| Eva Mendes | Is a Cuban-American actress | |
| Carmen Miranda | Was a Portuguese-born Brazilian | |
| Fernanda Montenegro | Is a Brazilian actress | |
| Maria Montez | Was a Dominican actress | |
| Rita Moreno | Is a Puerto Rican actress and singer | |
| Lupe Ontiveros | Daughter of Mexican immigrants | |
| Rosie Perez | Puerto Rican parents | |
| Dania Ramirez | Is a Dominican-American actress | |
| Sara Ramírez | Is a Mexican-American actress | |
| Chita Rivera | Is a Puerto Rican actress and singer | |
| Naya Rivera | Her father was of Puerto Rican ancestry | |
| Génesis Rodríguez | Is an American actress | |
| Gina Rodriguez | Is a Puerto Rican actress | |
| Michelle Rodriguez | Her mother is a native of the Dominican Republic, her father is a native of Puerto Rico | |
| Zoe Saldana | Is of mixed Puerto Rican and Dominican heritage | |
| Roselyn Sánchez | Is a Puerto Rican singer-songwriter, model, actress, producer and writer | |
| Catalina Sandino Moreno | Is a Colombian actress | |
| Madeleine Stowe | Her mother came from a prominent family in Costa Rica | |
| Karla Souza | Is a Mexican actress. | |
| Lupita Tovar | Was a Mexican actress. | |
| Sofía Vergara | Is a Colombian actress | |
| Lupe Vélez | Was a Mexican actress. | |
| Raquel Welch | Her father is of Bolivian descent | |
| Tahnee Welch | Daughter of Raquel Welch, her father is of European descent |