I'm not Jane Fonda, and I'm not Barbra Streisand. I had to make decisions on how I could use my money. I've always felt that if you're hungry, you can't think straight. I (help fund) a clinic that helps people who are not insured. I didn't even know that term.Īt the moment, (I'm helping) someone from Uganda with their education. And I figured, well, we're more or less the same age. I'll tell you who my mentor was later in life, Elizabeth Taylor, by watching her in the movies. And the fact that I danced well or didn't dance well, didn't really matter a whit. And I don't even say that bitterly, it's the way it was. It's a very important question with someone like myself who comes from another country, I'll tell you who paved the way for me. Rita Moreno: I am so glad you asked that. Question: Can you talk about who paved the way for you? She went on to add an Emmy, Grammy and Tony.
Moreno is best known for playing Anita in "West Side Story," a role that won her an Oscar, making her the first Latina to win the award. "It" is one of the most celebrated and honored careers in arts and entertainment. The friend asked if she could take Moreno to her dance teacher. In Puerto Rico, her grandfather would put on records and she would bop all over the living room. She was with her mom in the New York apartment of a friend, who was a dancer, and she began dancing around the tiny apartment. You can either sink or swim, and I obviously chose to swim." "Do you have a choice to be courageous? I guess you do. She had a decision to make, one she would continue to make throughout her career.
"I was left alone to fend for myself in a room full of children that spoke no Spanish at all, because this was before the Puerto Rican diaspora. And on the way to the room (in the Bronx where we were staying), I was astonished that there were no leaves on the trees." "It was the first time I'd ever worn a coat, boots, gloves. Today, at "nearly 89," Moreno recounts the smallest details. The lady has been wounded many, many times since then." "It's easy to be derisive now and say, 'Oh, yeah, yeah.' But in fact, that's what it certainly represented then, especially.