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Half a century after West Side Story
brought the passion of urban Latino culture to the
fore of American culture, a new generation of Latina
actors is taking center stage. Building on the
heritage of such trailblazing artists as Chita
Rivera, who played Anita in West Side Story on
Broadway, and Rita Moreno, who won the part in the
Hollywood version, these talented Latinas are acting,
singing and dancing their way to fame. The ageless
Rivera, who is still on Broadway in the
autobiographical Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life,
and Moreno, who made her Broadway debut at the age
of 13, opened the eyes of producers, critics and
fans to the wealth of talent in the Latino community.
Today, a new crop of Latina talent is shouting,
“Hey, look at us!” And they’re not only getting
attention, they’re scoring prized roles and earning
critical raves.
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Rita Moreno |
Chita Rivera |
Sara Ramirez |
Among these
rising Latina stars are Sara Ramirez, Roxane
Carrasco, Natalie Toro and Ivette Sosa. These four
multitalented Latinas have taken different paths to
get to Broadway but have one thing in common: An
unflinching belief in themselves. Their stories
reveal both the pitfalls and rewards of this
fiercely competitive artistic arena. And they shed
light on what Latinas bring to the stage that makes
them leading candidates to become tomorrow’s hottest
Broadway stars.
Sara Ramirez, a native of Mazatlan, Mexico, who grew
up in San Diego, took the most direct route to
Broadway, going straight from graduation ceremonies
at Juilliard, where she majored in drama, to a role
in Paul Simon’s The Capeman, with barely time in
between to catch her breath. Along the way, she’s
had roles in The Gershwins’ Fascinating Rhythm, The
Vagina Monologues and Monty Python’s Spamalot, for
which she won a Tony Award for her portrayal of The
Lady of the Lake. Between on- and off-Broadway
roles, Ramirez has racked up TV credits on such
shows as Law & Order and As The World Turns and
worked in various films, including Spiderman and
You’ve Got Mail. She recently left Broadway for
Hollywood, where’s she’s been cast as a regular in
the highly rated ABC series Grey’s Anatomy.
Roxane Carrasco, whose website reveals that her
favorite cookie is the Snickerdoodle, wanted to grow
up to become an Olympic Gold Medal–winning figure
skater but had a change of plans when she saw the
Broadway production of A Chorus Line. A native of
Los Angeles, she earned a degree in theater from UC
San Diego and then launched a career that has taken
her on national tours of West Side Story, playing
Anita, and A Chorus Line. After a stint teaching
theater and flamenco dancing in the United States,
Germany and Spain, Carrasco made her Broadway debut
at the historic Shubert Theater as Velda in Chicago.
She left the musical last year to sign on to be
dance captain of The Mambo Kings, which, sadly,
crashed before making it to The Great White Way. In
a manner befitting a sentimental Broadway script,
Carrasco recently married her high-school sweetheart
after an 18-year separation.
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Sara Ramirez
spectacular performance as The Lady of the
Lake |
Roxane
Carrasco starring in Chicago |
Bronx native Natalie Toro was just 5 years old when
she took to the stage of the storied Apollo Theater,
wowing an “Armature Night“ audience as she sang and
fronted a five-piece band. She nurtured her interest
in music, studying at the Manhattan School of Music
and the Boston Conservatory of Music before making
her stage debut as Lucinda Teresa Del Fuego in the
world premiere of Sheboppin’ at Boston’s Wilbur
Theatre. She played Rosalia in a Japanese tour of
West Side Story before she got her major break as
Eponine in the Broadway production of Les
Miserables. Since then, Toro has toured with
national productions of Cats, Fame and, in the title
role, Evita. She also found time to recorded
Bailando en la Luz—Latin versions of Broadway hits,
accompanied by an “A” list of New York’s top Latin
jazz and salsa musicians.
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