Heroes, Lovers, and Others: The Story of Latinos in Hollywood » (1st Edition)

Clara E. Rodríguez is Professor of Sociology at Fordham University. She has recently updated the classic Coser, Kadushin and Powell text, Books: The Culture and Commerce of Publishing, published by Stanford University Press. She has also been a consultant to a number of television shows and documentaries, most recently, "Dora, the Explorer" and "Sesame Street."

Heroes, Lovers, and Others tells the fascinating history of Latino actors in American film from the silent era to today. Rodriguez examines such Latino legends as Desi Arnaz, Dolores del Rio, Rita Hayworth, Raquel Welch, Anthony Quinn, Selma Hayek, and Antonio Banderas More than just a collection of celebrity stories, the book explores the attitudes, cultural conditions, and assumptions that influenced the portrayal of Latinos in film as well as their reception by the public. Heroes, Lovers, and Others is a comprehensive volume packed with carefully researched information and analysis for both students and cinema enthusiasts alike.

Library Journal

The history of Latinas and Latinos in American film represents a broad reflection of cinematic and sociological trends, and Rodriguez (sociology, Fordham Univ.) offers a succinct and perceptive overview of this subject. Presented are thorough profiles of stars both famous (Raul Julia, Desi Arnaz) and faded (Beatriz Michelena, Antonio Moreno), arranged in chapters that analyze the character of specific historical/cinematic eras, such as silents and early talkies, Cold War productions, postmodern films, and so on. Within this context, Rodriguez supplies insights about the attitudes, cultural conditions, and assumptions that influenced the portrayal of Latinas and Latinos, plus their reception by the general public at a given time. She discusses the impact of milieu, current events, stereotyping, image both onscreen and off, and a variety of interrelated issues. A comprehensive volume packed with carefully researched information and analysis-as well as an original, versatile complement to existing reference works like Luis Reyes and Peter Rubie's Hispanics in Hollywood: An Encyclopedia of Film and Television-this will assist both students and enthusiasts of cinema history. For circulating libraries and academic collections specializing in the arts.-Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, N Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.