Rita Moreno and Overcoming "Otherness" |  

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.

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.

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

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

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?

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.

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

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

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".

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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!

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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!

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

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”

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! ❤️🇧🇷

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.

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.

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!! ❤️

"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."

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 🇧🇷

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

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

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.

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

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

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!

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!”

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.

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 🔥🔥🔥🔥

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 👏🏻👌🏻.

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

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

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

I am SO EXCITED to see you featured Rita ❤️

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.

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

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.

Revisiting after Ariana DeBose’s much deserved win. Anita forever ❤️

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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!!

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

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 💖💖

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.

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.

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.

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.

I literally screamed "yaaaaaassss"

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

Let’s add another talent to Rita Moreno‘s roster; the fact that this woman is aging like the finest bottle of wine available

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

Rita Hayworth deserved better. She was and is such an incredible and underrated actress. Yeah film critics and historians adore her but she isn't widely recognized as the world-class actress that she was.

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".

Words can't describe how grateful I am for this video. I've got some stuff/issues going on at the moment. And I don't have the clarity & stamina to do all the research that you did. You're awesome! Muito obrigada & muchísimas gracias. 💞

She won the same year Sophia Loren won. What a great year.

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

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

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!

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

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!!

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

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!

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.

Love love love your videos so so much!! Always leave feeling more informed. Would love to see your take on Marlee Matlin’s best actress win and Hollywood’s portrayal of disability!

Every time you release a new video, I stop what I’m doing and put the world on pause. I can’t hit play fast enough. Every video is top shelf and delicious. Thank you so much for your research and passion. I love watching your content. You are such a light!

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