Latinos have been a part of Hollywood since the silent movie era. But they continue to be underrepresented in front of and behind the cameras. USC's Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and UCLA's latest Hollywood Diversity Report show that Latino actors get just 7% of film leads.
In the early days of cinema and to this day, Anglo actors played so-called Spanish roles, sometimes in brownface. USC professor Laura Isabel Serna says Latinos were often used as background extras, wrangling horses for Western pictures. Luis Reyes, author of a new book called Viva Hollywood, says Latino actors who did get speaking parts were typecast in cliched roles.
"You know, the stereotypes: Oh, you're Latino? You'll play the bandido," Reyes says. "There was a guy that played a bandido so often he had his own costume. It was about earning a living. 'I got black hair, I look dark. You wanted me to be a cantina girl? No problem.'"
