CANNES, France - Getting older in Hollywood and being Hispanic there are no longer the limitations they once were, say Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek.
After all, they wonder, when have Hispanic actors ever landed such big feline roles as the leads in the animated adventure "Puss in Boots"?
."When I started out, Hispanic roles were very limited," Hayek said Wednesday at the Cannes Film Festival, where she and Banderas joined DreamWorks Animation overseers to show off footage of "Puss in Boots," a "Shrek" spinoff coming this November. "Roles were very limited. There were one or two kinds of characters you used to do. Now we get to play the cats! It's OK to be a Hispanic, even if you are a cat."
"Cats were British, normally," Banderas added at a question-and-answer session alongside Hayek after the footage screened.
"I feel very proud, actually," Banderas said of his role in expanding the types of parts open to Hispanic performers. "I never pretended when I first went to Hollywood to be a guy from Oklahoma. I am what I am. And fortunately, the Spanish community in the United States has grown in the last 22 years that I have been there. There has been an explosion in Hollywood, which is a reflection of the society in which we live."
After the footage showed, Banderas and Hayek headed to a pier along the Mediterranean beach, where they posed for photos on a giant pair of boots bearing the movie's title.
Banderas reprises his voice role from the last three "Shrek" films, providing the voice of Puss in Boots, the tiny cat with the big heart, big ideas and bigger ego.
A prequel chronicling Puss' adventures before meeting ogre Shrek, the movie has the cat as an outlaw, looking to pull off a big score.
But his scheme is interrupted by another calculating cat, Kitty Softpaws (voiced by Hayek), who is in league with Puss' pal-turned-foe Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis), as they try to swipe the magic beans of the "Jack and the Beanstalk" fairy tale from beastly bandits Jack and Jill (Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris).
Age is another Hollywood barrier Banderas and Hayek feel they have skirted.
Banderas proudly called out his age, 50, while Hayek, 44, said this is the best time in her career, with four movies in the works this year and the work more enjoyable than ever.
"What makes you feel old is when you are not excited about life. You are not excited anymore about what you do, and you cannot do it as well," Hayek said. "I do feel my body beginning to - like, I need glasses now when I read my scripts. I wear them, but I'm happy to wear them and happy that I still get to read my scripts.
"So it's not been so bad. They scared me. They told me, 'Forget it. At 30, it's over for you.' And it has not been the case. It feels great to age in Hollywood."
National Museum of the American Latino Commissioners Eva Longoria and Emilio Estefan join Secretary Salazar, to Celebrate Release of Final Report. Washington, D.C. — During separate ceremonies today at the White House and on Capitol Hill, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar joined bipartisan members of the National Museum of the American Latino (NMAL) Commission and activist/actress Eva Longoria and Emilio Estefan to celebrate the delivery of the NMAL Final Report to President Obama and Congressional leaders.
“Today marks a milestone for the rich and diverse history of our nation, and is a proud moment for the Latino Community,” said Secretary Salazar. “With the creation of a national museum rooted here, in our nation’s capital, the contributions of Latinos will forever be recognized and woven into the American story. I thank the Commission for their thorough report and service to our country.”
Under the leadership of Chairman Henry R. Muñoz III, the congressionally-established and presidentially-appointed NMAL Commission was tasked to study the potential of a national museum dedicated to the art, culture, and history of the Latino Community in the United States. In the course of its work, the Commission consulted with the Smithsonian Institution, the National Capital Planning Commission, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, and the Department of the Interior
“We provide to you a plan for a national museum that preserves and shares a vital part of our nation’s heritage for the benefit of all people interested in the richness of the American experience,” said Chairman Henry R. Muñoz III. “Over the past year, we have undertaken an exhaustive process to prepare and deliver a comprehensive report in response to the Act of Congress that created the Commission. We have done this with the assistance of a long list of experts across the nation.”
Following the Commission’s first meeting in 2009, the 23 members held eight public forums across the country to engage communities in a conversation which generated valuable input, ideas, and sentiments regarding the feasibility of an American Latino museum in Washington, D.C.
Since its conception, the creation of the National Museum of the American Latino has been a bipartisan effort. The authors of the original legislation in the House were U.S. Representative Xavier Becerra of California and U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, and in the Senate, former Senator Ken Salazar of Colorado, now serving as the Secretary of the Department of Interior and Senator Mel Martinez of Florida. The legislation was signed into law by former President George W. Bush on May 2008 and is being implemented by President Barack Obama.
The Commission’s Final Report includes:
o a plan of action for the establishment and maintenance of a national Latino museum in Washington, DC; o a fundraising strategy; o a report on availability of collections; o an examination of the impact on regional Latino-related museums; o a site assessment and recommendation; o a determination whether the museum should be located within the Smithsonian Institution; o a governance and organizational structure for the operation of the museum; o engagement with the American Latino community in the development of the plan.
Video of new stamps show five Latino music legends By fox4kc.com
KANSAS CITY MO - While Cinco de Mayo celebrations served as a tribute to the Latino community across the nation, the United States Post Office unveiled a new series of stamps featuring five Latino musical legends. The stamps feature Selena, Carlos Gardel, Carmen Miranda, Tito Puente, and Celia Cruz.
"While each dynamic performer was a unique personality and came from unique backgrounds, they were all charismatic entertainers and made a lasting impact on American music," said a USPS spokersperson.
The "Forever Stamps" are now on sale. People at the Cinco de Mayo Fiesta appreciate the recognition that Hispanics are a vibrant part of the community.
Publisher's Note:Dr. Al Carlos Hernandez is Contributing Editor for Latino LA and a regular contributor to Vida de Oro.
I remember one September there was a guy in high school who was surreptitiously proud yet had violently mixed emotions after that summer’s vacation. All the drama was because he had a new tattoo. The tattoo was supposed to say “Born To Lose,” but it read “Born Too Loose.”
Now this seems like an old joke but I saw the tat with my own eyes. I don’t know if the guy was inebriated when he had the work done or if the error was a result of a language problem, but from that point on he demonstrated a proclivity for long-sleeved shirts. It seems self evident that a skin touch-pad does not have spell check.
My brother had a friend who, let's say, was on hiatus from society for a while and came back with a jailhouse tattoo on his forearm. This one was supposed to be of a girl, but the tattooist (I cannot say artist) messed up the lips quite badly. All the neighborhood thugs agreed that the tattooed "woman" looked exactly like rock pioneer Little Richard.
I don’t have anything against body art. Members of my family have a certain affinity for such. What an adult wants to do in decorating or modifying his/her body is his/her own business. If, however, they place something on their body for public view then as a journalist, a professor of mass communications, and professional insulter, I am compelled to comment.
On several occasions - fortuitously, when I was chronically broke - I considered getting a tattoo but then remembered a speech from a Brown Beret commander. He advised us street soldiers not to get any tattoos because that is the best way for police to identify a person. He didn’t stop to consider that they (the police) had all of our pictures on file and that probably several undercover cops were passing the chicharones (pig skins) while listening to his inspirational speech.
Many OG’s (Original Gangsters) still wear a faded green cross between the thumb and the forefinger. This should be a vivid reminder to youngsters not to try to car jack someone like that. You may find yourself in special education.
In deciding to get a tattoo, three things need to be taken into consideration: 1) what to get, 2) where to put it and 3) why you are getting it in the first place?
I understand that many tattoos are a spur-of-the-moment liquored-up decision. They, like Las Vegas marriages to cocktail servers, tend to prove to be lifestyle mistakes rather than a stroll towards happily ever after.
What to have personally immortalized on ones body can go all the way from a name to a flower to a scene from the Lord of Rings on someone’s back. There are tribal symbols, Sanskrit-writing, pictures of heroes, loved ones, and I may have seen a NBA player with a full-face portrait of Aunt Jemima on his shoulder.
I know a guy who had his girlfriend’s name placed on his chest only to have it purposely and painfully obscured after an argument by having a picture of a two-headed Latina drawn over it. A word of caution: tattoo artists do not need a college degree or even a decent credit score.
Where to put it goes from the ridiculous to the sublime. Some chrome domes have the names of their cliques scrolled up to six inches high on the back of their bald heads. You'll see scary looking guys with green cobwebs fanning out from the sides of their eyes. Then the sublime: like a rose on the top of a babe's ear or Michael Jackson-styled permanent eyeliner. Once you go there, there is no going back.
I always thought it would be funny to get a picture of your own face placed on your arm or tattoo a sign that reads This space for rent on your neck. Tattoo-lovers consider the skin a canvas to color and to decorate. This is a militant and subjective statement to society saying that you are permanently committed to looking different, not necessarily multi-cultural as much as multi-colorful, the rest of your life. Some folks I’ve seen on line look like 3D meat comic books…
I just interviewed legendary cartoon artist of the New Yorker magazine Liza Donnelly. Who knows? Maybe I can get her to do a caricature of me and maybe I can get it tatted on my arm. Certainly a conversation starter at the next faculty get-together.
In the biker tradition, many display the Harley Davidson logo with orange and black. This type of brand loyalty is unparalleled in history. Talk about a walking advertisement! You never see anybody with a Honda or Yamaha tattoo and, if you did, you would not be able to scream, "Dork!" loud enough.
I have to confess that when I was 19, I actually planned to get a tattoo. It was going to be of an AK-47 assault rifle and, underneath, the word "Venceramos." This means "Victory." I am glad I didn’t because we didn’t win. A generation "born too loose," indeed.
