Calendar Feedback: Diving into Hollywood's Latino culture gap
Regarding "Hollywood Has Failed Latinos for 100 Years. Here’s How to Change That" [June 13]: Your overview in Sunday’s Calendar of Latin characters in Hollywood movies [“Maid in Hollywood: Latinx Roles Across Years,” June 13] omitted the wonderfully flamboyant actress and singer Carmen Miranda. Known as the Brazilian Bombshell, she starred in films in the 1940s including Busby Berkeley’s “The Gang’s All Here” in which she sang “The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat.” She was also the first Latin American star to put her hand and footprints in cement at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.
In addition, there was a familiar movie quote in 1948’s “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” when Mexican actor Alfonso Bedoya famously said: “Badges? We ain’t got no badges. We don’t need no badges. I don’t have to show you any stinkin’ badges.”
Alan Warner
Los Angeles
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In his usual droll and satirical style, Lalo Guerrero made exactly the same points that you made in your article in his famous 1992 song “No Chicanos on TV.” It is readily available online for anyone who cares to listen. The more things change, the more they remain the same.
Noel Park
Rancho Palos Verdes
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Regarding "'We fell short’: Lin-Manuel Miranda is sorry for ‘In the Heights’ Afro-Latinx erasure" by Ruth Etiesit Samuel (June 14): I admire the creators of the film “In the Heights” for addressing all the day-to-day struggles of the people in the barrio. But after I attended a screening I came away with the feeling there were no LGBTQ issues in that community. Even the character played by LGBTQ Valentina, whose real struggles were ignored, was overlooked. Over the years countless LGBTQ people have been ostracized and even murdered in that community that Lin-Manuel Miranda celebrates.
Richard Kopelle
Los Angeles
The artist nun
Regarding “The 'Pop Art Nun' Is Still Blazing Trails” by Carolina A. Miranda [June 7]: As an English major at Immaculate Heart College in the '60s, with the help of Sister Corita, I came to comprehend the power of everyday language.
Market Basket supermarket was across the street; Corita shopped there for words to live by. Embedded in every serigraph are words of unexpected joy proclaiming Mary as “the juiciest tomato of them all,” to see Wonder Bread as the enriched bread of life. With her, we faced Vietnam, the assassinations, L.A. riots, asking “Who is my brother?” and became empowered to live in this city, seeking justice, effecting change.
We still do.
Nan Cano
Westlake Village
Editor's note: The writer is vice president of the Immaculate Heart Community
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I want to praise Carolina Miranda for this article. I remember how Sister Corita’s art got going but had no idea where it started.
Mary Erb
Garden Grove
Too brutally honest
Regarding “The Best 15 Shows to Watch Right Now” [May 30]: We’ve watched several episodes of “Underground Railroad” and while wonderfully acted and produced, I can’t watch anymore. It infuriates me about how the South treated Black people.
Black Lives Matter and reparations bubble up in my head and gut especially now that the Republicans are feverishly working on suppressing minority voting.
So much for our learning something from history.
Hal Rothberg
Calabasas
Readers read books
I looked and looked but could not find the book review and bestseller page in Sunday’s paper. Where did it go?
You do have some subscribers who like to read.
Marta Mahoney
Irvine
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The Calendar section used to present an opportunity, among other things, to read reviews of books. For decades I looked forward to reading these. Imagine my disappointment then to find that the latest Calendar section not only didn’t have a single book review, it didn’t even include the list of bestselling books.
Did you think that people who still pay to read a newspaper have lost interest in reading books?
Stan Kresowski
Yucca Valley
Editor's note: Our books coverage was held last week for a special section. It returns to its regular weekly pages this week and additional books stories ran in our daily Calendar sections last week.
Less Karen-bashing in the comics
Ordinarily, I like the “Candorville" comic strip, but the comic on June 8 promotes hate, and quite honestly, it’s alarming. I never thought I’d have to say this about a comic strip. However, I feel I can no longer remain silent.
Please, enough bashing on people named Karen. I and all the other Karens I know are good, nice people, who believe in inclusivity and loving others, accepting them for who they are. We are not into hate.
Darrin Bell’s negative, bullying mentality saddens me immensely.
Karen Skorstad
Van Nuys
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
