Latinas who conquered “old Hollywood”: two were nominated for an Oscar

Salma Hayek, Xochitl Gomez and Adria Arjona are some of the Latin names dominating billboards in Hollywood.

Recently, film and television productions have opened the doors to diversity, showing that talent can come from anywhere in the world, but the truth is that already in the last century, some Latin divas conquered the stage. in pop culture.

Dolores del Rio

His case is unique, even for our time, because before he succeeded in his native Mexico, he did so in Hollywood.

In the 1920s and 1930s, she starred in titles such as ‘Resurrection’, ‘Ramona’, ‘Evangeline’, ‘Bird of Paradise’, ‘Madame Du Barry’ and others.

Katy Jurado

María Cristina Estela Marcela Jurado García was her first name. She was born into a wealthy Mexican family, so she had offers to become an actress since she was a teenager.

According to the newspaper “El País” in a 2018 note, her parents denied her this assignment, but she went to film recordings without their permission.

Initially, he stood out in the so-called Mexican Golden Cinema with titles such as ‘Internship for young ladies’, ‘Rosa del Caribe’, ‘There’s room for two’ and others.

In the 1950s, he made the leap to Hollywood. Because he wasn’t fluent in English, he only vocalized his lines without actually knowing his lines. Thanks to her work in “Broken Lance” (1954) she became the first Mexican to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Carmen Miranda

Although María do Carmo Miranda da Cunha was born in Portugal, her family immigrated to Brazil when she was just a baby and she grew up in the country of samba.

It was also in this nation where he found success thanks to his voice, but, around the 1940s, he moved to the United States to try his luck.

There he triumphed first on Broadway and then in Hollywood. Undoubtedly, the Brazilian rhythms, colors and dance steps were what made her a diva.

Lupe Velez

He earned the title of ‘Mexican Spitfire’ or ‘The Mexican Flame’, after helming a series of films of the same name between 1940 and 1943.

The truth is, before these films, he already had a hallowed status in Hollywood, thanks to his participation in a long list of silent films and, later, sound films.

On a personal level, she gained notoriety for having fleeting, scandalous and even violent relationships with various leading men of the day.

Rita Moreno

The real name of the actress is Rosa Dolores Alverío, but her fame was such that nobody knows her like that.

Without a doubt, the Puerto Rican’s greatest achievement was her participation in the musical “West Side Story” in 1961, but her career began years before that, in the 50s.

In addition to her involvement in Hollywood, she is one of the few artists with EGOT status, meaning she has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. She won the highest film award in 1961, for the role of Anita in the famous musical. Not for nothing is he one of the living legends of Latin culture.